Coalescence rupture

Film Rupture. Another general mechanism by which foams evolve is the coalescence of neighboring bubbles via film mpture. This occurs if the nature of the surface-active components is such that the repulsive interactions and Marangoni flows are not sufficient to keep neighboring bubbles apart. Bubble coalescence can become more frequent as the foam drains and there is less Hquid to separate neighbors. Long-Hved foams can be easHy... 

Foams Two excellent reviews (Shedlovsky, op. cit. Lemlich, op. cit.) covering the literature pertinent to foams have been published. A foam is formed when bubbles rise to the surface of a liquid and persist for a while without coalescence with one another or without rupture into the vapor space. The formation of foam, then, consists simply of the formation, rise, and aggregation of bubbles in a hquid in which foam can exist. The hfe of foams varies over many magnitudes—from seconds to years—but in general is finite. Maintenance of a foam, therefore, is a dynamic phenomenon. 

Gravitational force favors the separation of gas from liquid in a disperse system, causing the bubbles to rise to the hquid surface and the liquid contained in the bubble walls to drain downward to the main body of the liquid. Interfacial tension favors the coalescence and ultimate disappearance of bubbles indeed, it is the cause of bubble destruction upon the rupture of the laminae. 

The second type of coalescence arises from the rupture of films between adjacent bubbles [Vrij and Overbeek, y. Am. Chem. Soc., 90, 3074 (1968)]. Its rate appears to follow first-order reaction kinetics with respect to the number of bubbles [New, Proc. 4th Int. Congr. Suif. Active Substances, Brussels, 1964, 2, 1167 (1967)] and to decrease with film thickness [Steiner, Hunkeler, and Hartland, Trans. In.st. Chem. Fng., 55, 153 (1977)]. Many factors are involved [Biker-man, Foams, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1973 and Akers (ed.). Foams, Academic, New York, 1976]. 

It is important to note that we assume the random fracture approximation (RPA) is applicable. This assumption has certain implications, the most important of which is that it bypasses the real evolutionary details of the highly complex process of the lattice bond stress distribution a) creating bond rupture events, which influence other bond rupture events, redistribution of 0(microvoid formation, propagation, coalescence, etc., and finally, macroscopic failure. We have made real lattice fracture calculations by computer simulations but typically, the lattice size is not large enough to be within percolation criteria before the calculations become excessive. However, the fractal nature of the distributed damage clusters is always evident and the RPA, while providing an easy solution to an extremely complex process, remains physically realistic. 

Foam persistence increases with rise in BW TDS because the bubbles are stabilized by the combined repelling forces of electrical charges at the steam-water interface that result from the high concentration of dissolved salts. The repulsion effect of similar charges prevents bubble thinning, bubble rupture and coalescence mechanisms from taking place. 

As dispersion proceeds drops come into close contact with each other and may coalesce. Coalescence is commonly divided into three sequential steps (Chesters, 1991) collision or close approach of two droplets, drainage of the liquid between the two drops, and rupture of the film (see Fig. 26). 

If a critical film thickness is not reached during film drainage, the drops separate from each other. Conversely, if the critical film thickness is reached, the film ruptures—as a result of van der Waals forces—and the drops coalesce. This generally occurs at thin spots, because van der Waals forces are inversely proportional to h (Verwey and Overbeek, 1948). The value of bent can be determined by setting the van der Waals forces equal to the driving force for film drainage, giving (Verwey and Overbeek, 1948)... 

The primary factor controlling how much gas is in the form of discontinuous bubbles is the lamellae stability. As lamellae rupture, the bubble size or texture increases. Indeed, if bubble coalescence is very rapid, then most all of the gas phase will be continuous and the effectiveness of foam as a mobility-control fluid will be lost. This paper addresses the fundamental mechanisms underlying foam stability in oil-free porous media. 

Demulsihcation by induced coalescence requires the rupture of the protecting him as the emulsion hows through the small passages in the hbrous media. Coalescence of the dispersed phase is then possible because of the preferential oil-wetting characteristics of the media surface. 

As the dispersed phase moves, the bubbles (gas in liquid) or drops (liquid in liquid or gas) may either coalesce or rupture, depending on the conditions existing. Sometimes packings or stirrers are introduced to facilitate these phenomena. When the dispersed-phase particles arrive at the top of the column, they coalesce and form a bulk interface with the continuous phase, across which transfer processes can continue. 

It can be used for measuring bubble sizes not only at the nozzle tip but also at any position in the liquid column. Thus, even coalesced and ruptured bubbles can be examined by this method. 

The regime governed by coalescence was examined in more detail. The process of film rupture is initiated by the spontaneous formation of a small hole. The nucleation frequency. A, of a hole that reaches a critical size, above which it becomes unstable and grows, determines the lifetime of the films with respect to coalescence. A mean field description [19] predicts that A varies with temperature T according to an Arrhenius law ... 

As drops of this dispersed phase collect near the separation interface, they will flocculate into a closely packed mass which can best be described by the term liquid-liquid foam. Each drop is surrounded by a thin film of the continuous phase. The film between two adjacent drops can rupture and the two combine by coalescence in the foam layer. Only those drops near the general phase boundary can coalesce into the general drop phase layer. The residence time in the flocculation zone can be many minutes, and considerable mass transfer may occur there. 

When a drop (water) falls to a flat interface (benzene-water) the entire drop does not always join the pool (water). Sometimes a small droplet is left behind and the entire process, called partial coalescence, is repeated. This can happen several times in succession. High-speed motion pictures, taken at about 2000 frames per second, have revealed the details of the action (W3). The film (benzene) ruptures at the critical film thickness and the hole expands rapidly. Surface and gravitational forces then tend to drag the drop into the main pool (water). But the inertia of the high column of incompressible liquid above the drop tends to resist this pull. The result is a horizontal contraction of the drop into a pillar of liquid above the interface. Further pull will cause the column to be pinched through, leaving a small droplet behind. Charles and Mason (C2) have observed that two pinches and two droplets occurred in a few cases. The entire series of events required about 0.20 sec. for aniline drops at an aniline-water interface (C2, W3). 

Coalescence must occur through the rupture of a separating film at a critical film thickness. Why can we not predict this thickness more accurately ... 

The gel of gelatine differs from that of silica in that in the former the sol-gel transformation is reversible and not in the latter. The coalescence of the amicrons of gelatine to form streptococcic fibrils occurs at low temperatures, a process readily reversed by elevation of the temperature which decreases the amount of adsorbed water, increases the mobility of the fibrils, and permits of their rupture into smaller units. Gelatine is thus readily rendered more disperse by water. 

In order to understand the basis for the prevention of bubble coalescence and hence the formation of foams, let us examine the mechanical process involved in the initial stage of bubble coalescence. The relatively low Laplace pressure inside bubbles of reasonable size, say over 1 mm for air bubbles in water, means that the force required to drain the water between the approaching bubbles is sufficient to deform the bubbles as illustrated in Figure 8.2. The process which now occurs in the thin draining film is interesting and has been carefully studied. In water, it appears that the film ruptures, joining the two bubbles, when the film is still relatively thick, at about lOOnm thickness. However, van der Waals forces, which are attractive in this system (i.e. of air/water/air), are effectively insignificant at these film thicknesses. 

The polymer concentration sets the osmotic pressure of the system. This is increased until film rupture occurs, resulting in coalescence, which is easily seen under the microscope since the original emulsions are monodisperse. 

A stabilising effect in the presence of salt was also noted by Aronson and Petko [90]. Addition of various electrolytes was shown to lower the interfacial tension of the system. Thus, there was increased adsorption of emulsifier at oil/water interface and an increased resistance to coalescence. Salt addition also increased HIPE stability during freeze-thaw cycles. Film rupture, due to expansion of the water droplets on freezing, did not occur when aqueous solutions of various electrolytes were used. The salt reduced the rate of ice formation and caused a small amount of aqueous solution to remain unfrozen. The dispersed phase droplets could therefore deform gradually, allowing expansion of the oil films to avoid rupture [114]. 

The proteins in the liquid film should 1) be soluble in the aqueous phase, 2) readily concentrate at the liquid-air interface, and 3) denature to form cohesive layers possessing sufficient viscosity and mechanical strength to prevent rupture and coalescence of the droplet. That is, the polypeptides of the denatured proteins in the liquid film should exhibit a balance between their ability to associate and form a film and their ability to dissociate, resulting in foam instability. 

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