| abstract |
A crosslinked, highly porous body derived from a water-soluble, hydrogel polymer, wherein the porous body is characterized in that it has an open-celled 3-dimensional lattice structure, a density of less than about 1.0 g/cm3, a surface area of equal to or greater than about 30 m2/g, a compression strength of equal to or less than about 10 % yield at 10 psi, and an average pore diameter of less than about 1000 Angstroms. When the hydrogel polymer used is guar gum, the resulting product is particularly useful for thermal insulation applications. |