Foam control inhibition

Nemati investigated the inhibiting effect of ferrous iron on the rate of oxidation in a bioreactor packed with a polyurethane foam. Fynn and Whitmore investigated the ability of methanogen species to colonize reticulated polyurethane foam in a continuous culture system. Electron micrographs confirmed that two methanogen species colonized the matrix. The methane output was superior to a liquid culture control. 

Physical Stabilization Process. Cellular polystyrene, the outstanding example polytvinyl chloride) copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrile (SAN copolymers) and polyethylene can be manufactured by this process, Chemical Stabilization Processes. This method is more versatile and thus has been used successfully for more materials than the physical stabilization process. Chemical stabilization is more adaptable for condensation polymers than for vinyl polymers because of the fast yet controllable curing reactions and the absence of atmospheric inhibition. Foamed plastics produced by these processes include polyurethane foams, polyisocyanurates. and polyphenols. 

Methods which enploy liquid phase treating liquors (spray, transfer rolls and belts, etc.) share a cannon difficulty stemming from the lew volume of liquor in relation to the large surface area of the fibers conprising the substrate to be treated. This difficulty is acerbated when aqueous liquors are to be applied to hydrophilic fibers. Foam coating methods enploy stable foams which allow the thickness of the liquid-air mixture to be controlled by a doctor blade or roll. Conparatively low add-ons can be achieved by virtue of the low density of the foam layer, but the stable nature of such foam, and its immobile liquid phase, inhibit rapid, uniform distribution through the substrate. 

Because of the availability of these new methods, devices, and purer materials, it has become more feasible to carry on effective research with adequate surface-chemical control of gas and liquid adsorption, wetting, adhesion, emulsification, foaming, boundary friction, corrosion inhibition, heterogeneous catalysis, electrophoresis, electrode surface potentials, and a variety of other subjects of interest in the surface-chemical and allied fields of research. In view of the present situation, serious investigators should now be able to report results in the scientific literature which will have much more value than ever before. There is no excuse for any investigator s taking such inadequate care in controlling surface composition or surface-active contaminants as was common in over 50% of the research publications in surface and colloid science in the past. 

Bhende S, Spangler D. In vitro assessment of chlorhexidine gluconate-impregnated polyurethane foam antimicrobial dressing using zone of inhibition assays. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2004 25 664-7. 

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