Droplets foamed

As long as there is a density difference between the phases, emulsion droplets, foam bubbles, and suspension particles will have some tendency to rise or settle, possibly according to Stokes law. Whereas a body in a fluid will sediment out if its density is greater than that of the fluid, it will rise if its density is lower (this is called... 

During the process of three phase foam thinning, three distinct films may occur foam films (water film between air bubbles), emulsion films (water between oil droplets) and pseudoemulsion films (water film between air and oil droplets) (Figure 1). To study the behavior of these films and particularly the oil droplet-droplet, oil droplet-air bubble and oil droplet-foam frame interactions it is necessary to utilize numerous microscopic techniques, including transmitted light, microinterferometric, differential interferometric and cinemicrographic microscopy. 

Microscopic Observations of Three Phase Foam Structure. We will now discuss observations of the microscopic oil droplet-foam interactions, and observations regarding the attachment of oil droplets to the air-water surface. 

Oil Droplet-Foam Film Interaction. The commonly known mechanism in the literature by which oil droplets affect foam stability is, as previously mentioned, the mechanism of oil droplet spreading ( ). It is suggested that during the process of foam lamella thinning, the oil droplets are squeezed between the film surface and spread on one of the film surfaces (in the form of lenses) eventually then spreading also on the second film surface. Finally, it is assumed that an "island of oil is formed which breaks the lamella (thick film) ... 

The term emulsion refers to a mixture of two non-miscible liquids, one of which is dispersed within the other in the form of droplets. Foam is a mixture of microbubbles in a liquid. The physico-chemical properties of the products are important for stabilizing emulsions and foams. If the emulsion is not stabilized, the droplets coalesce when the stirring ceases and the emulsion gradually subsides. It is the function of the egg yolk to stabilize the mayonnaise. Anyone who ever prepared a mayonnaise or whisked egg whites will have understood that the beater is a precious utensil for achieving an emulsion or a foam/mousse. It is for this reason that we discuss this issue here. 

Although it is hard to draw a sharp distinction, emulsions and foams are somewhat different from systems normally referred to as colloidal. Thus, whereas ordinary cream is an oil-in-water emulsion, the very fine aqueous suspension of oil droplets that results from the condensation of oily steam is essentially colloidal and is called an oil hydrosol. In this case the oil occupies only a small fraction of the volume of the system, and the particles of oil are small enough that their natural sedimentation rate is so slow that even small thermal convection currents suffice to keep them suspended for a cream, on the other hand, as also is the case for foams, the inner phase constitutes a sizable fraction of the total volume, and the system consists of a network of interfaces that are prevented from collapsing or coalescing by virtue of adsorbed films or electrical repulsions. 

There appear to be two stages in the collapse of emulsions flocculation, in which some clustering of emulsion droplets takes place, and coalescence, in which the number of distinct droplets decreases (see Refs. 31-33). Coalescence rates very likely depend primarily on the film-film surface chemical repulsion and on the degree of irreversibility of film desorption, as discussed. However, if emulsions are centrifuged, a compressed polyhedral structure similar to that of foams results [32-34]—see Section XIV-8—and coalescence may now take on mechanisms more related to those operative in the thinning of foams. 

Classically, aerosols are particles or droplets that range from about 0.15 to 5 p.m ia size and are suspended or dispersed ia a gaseous medium such as air. However, the term aerosol, as used ia this discussion, identifies a large number of products which are pressure-dispensed as a Hquid or semisohd stream, a mist, a fairly dry to wet spray, a powder, or even a foam. This definition of aerosol focuses on the container and the method of dispensiag, rather than on the form of the product. 

Fig. 2. Aerosol emulsion droplets containing propellant (a) in the internal phase with subsequent formation of aerosol foam and (b) in the external phase...

Other. Because a foam consists of many small, trapped gas bubbles, it can be very effective as a thermal insulator. Usually soHd foams are used for insulation purposes, but there are some instances where Hquid foams also find uses for insulation (see Eoamed plastics Insulation, thermal). Eor example, it is possible to apply and remove the insulation simply by forming or coUapsing the foam, providing additional control of the insulation process. Another novel use that is being explored is the potential of absorbing much of the pressure produced by an explosion. The energy in the shock wave is first partially absorbed by breaking the bubbles into very small droplets, and then further absorbed as the droplets are evaporated (53). 

Foam Inhibitors. Methyl sihcone polymers of 300-1000 mm /s(= cSt)) at 40°C are effective additives at only 3—150 ppm for defoaming oils in internal combustion engines, turbines, gears, and aircraft appHcations. Without these additives, severe churning and mixing of oil with air may sometimes cause foam to overflow from the lubrication system or interfere with normal oil circulation. Because sihcone oil is not completely soluble in oil, it forms a dispersion of minute droplets of low surface tension that aid in breaking foam bubbles. 

Rubber processed in latex form accounts for about 10% of new mbber consumption. Rubber latex is a Hquid, oil-in-water emulsion which is used to make foam or thin-walled mbber articles. The same accelerators and antidegradants used in dry mbber are used in latex, with longer-chain versions preferred for greater oil solubiHty. To prepare these and other additives for addition to latex, they must be predispersed in water and the surface of the powder or oil droplet coated with a surface-active agent to prevent destabilization (coagulation) of the latex. 

Droplets from the jet caused by liquid rushing to fill the cavity left by the bubble (see Fig. 14-89). These droplets range up to 1000 Im, their size depending on bubble size. This is important only at modest loadings. Once foam forms over the surface, drop ejection by this mode decreases sharply. 

The droplet analogs to the adsubble methods have been termed the adsoplet methods (from adsorptive droplet separation methods) [LeiTilich, Adsorptive Bubble Separation Methods, Ind. E/ig. Chem., 60(10), 16 (1968)]. They are omitted from Fig. 22-41, since they involve adsorption or attachment at liquid-liquid interfaces. Among them are emulsion fractionation [Eldib, Foam and Emulsion Fractionation, in Kobe and McKetta (eds.). Advances in Petroleum Chemistry and Refining, vol. 7, Interscience, New York, 1963, p. 66], which is the analog of foam fractionation and droplet fractionation [Lemlich, loc. cit. and Strain, J. Phys. Chem., 57, 638... 

Colloids are classified according to the phases of their components (Table 8.9). A colloid that is a suspension of solids in a liquid is called a sol, and a suspension of one liquid in another is called an emulsion. For example, muddy water is a sol in which tiny flakes of clay are dispersed in water mayonnaise is an emulsion in which small droplets of water are suspended in vegetable oil. Foam is a suspension of a gas in a liquid or solid. Foam rubber, Styrofoam, soapsuds, and aerogels (insu-... 

The responses chosen all relate to important foam properties. We believed that yi, the emulsion droplet size, determines y2, the cell size in the resultant foam, and we wished to determine whether this is true over this range of formulations. The foam pore size ys should determine the wetting rate y7, so these responses could be correlated, and yg, the BET surface area, should be related to these as well. The density y and density uniformity ys are critical to target performance as described above, and ys, the compressive modulus, is an important measure of the mechanical properties of the foam. 

With the oil/water/surfactant droplet system which was used, no investigations could be performed because of strong foaming. However, studies with water/kerosene emulsions are known from the literature. The results of Yoshida... 

However, experimental results have not borne out these predictions. Furthermore, the theory was developed assuming that the oil droplets are readily imbibed into the foam lamellae. Again however, experimental results show that some foams, particularly those of type A supra do not readily imbibe oil. 

The defoamer is dispersed in fine droplets in the liquid. From the droplets, the molecules may enter the surface of the foam. The tensions created by this spreading result in the eventual rupture of the film. 

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