Patent ID: 8217087

Claim:
An aerogel composition having a substantially neutral charge, the aerogel composition comprising: a plurality of aerogel particles having positively charged portions being formed by addition of a charge modifying additive (CMA); and a plurality of aerogel particles having negatively charged portions; wherein the positively charged portions, of the plurality of aerogel particles having positively charged portions, are attracted to the negatively charged portions, of the plurality of aerogel particles having negatively charged portions, to form a plurality of clumps or agglomerates of the aerogel composition which at least one of minimizes static charge build-up, minimizes creation of loose dust and reduces flowability of the aerogel composition, wherein the charge modifying additive (CMA) is selected from the group consisting of N-Trimethoxysilylpropyl-N,N,N-Trimethyl Ammonium Chloride, Octadecyldimethyl (3-Trimethoxysilylpropyl) Ammonium Chloride, Silyl Ammonium Halides, silyl amine salt compounds, non-reactive ammonium salts, Tetramethylammonium Hydroxide, Methyltributylammonium hydroxide, Lautrimonium Chloride, Behentrimonium Chloride, Methyltriectylammonium Chloride, Quarternary Ammonium Halides and combined mixtures of the above.