Physical separations, foams

Separations. Foams have important uses in separations, both physical and chemical (51,52). These processes take advantage of several different properties of foams. The buoyancy and mechanical rigidity of foam is exploited to physically separate some materials. The large volume of vapor in a foam can be exploited to filter gases. The large surface area of a foam can also be exploited in the separation of chemicals with different surface activities. 

Froth flotation (qv) is a significant use of foam for physical separations. It is used to separate the more precious minerals from the waste rock extracted from mines. This method reHes on the different wetting properties typical for the different extracts. Usually, the waste rock is preferentially wet by water, whereas the more valuable minerals are typically hydrophobic. Thus the mixture of the two powders are immersed in water containing foam promoters. Also added are modifiers which help ensure that the surface of the waste rock is hydrophilic. Upon formation of a foam by bubbling air and by agitation, the waste rock remains in the water while the minerals go to the surface of the bubbles, and are entrapped in the foam. The foam rises, bringing... 

Interfacial Forces. Neighboring bubbles in a foam interact through a variety of forces which depend on the composition and thickness of Hquid between them, and on the physical chemistry of their Hquid—vapor interfaces. For a foam to be relatively stable, the net interaction must be sufficiently repulsive at short distances to maintain a significant layer of Hquid in between neighboring bubbles. Otherwise two bubbles could approach so closely as to expel all the Hquid and fuse into one larger bubble. Repulsive interactions typically become important only for bubble separations smaller than a few hundredths of a micrometer, a length small in comparison with typical bubble sizes. Thus attention can be restricted to the vapor—Hquid—vapor film stmcture formed between neighboring bubbles, and this stmcture can be considered essentially flat. 

Foams have a wide variety of appHcations that exploit their different physical properties. The low density, or high volume fraction of gas, enable foams to float on top of other fluids and to fiU large volumes with relatively Httle fluid material. These features are of particular importance in their use for fire fighting. The very high internal surface area of foams makes them useful in many separation processes. The unique rheology of foams also results in a wide variety of uses, as a foam can behave as a soHd, while stiH being able to flow once its yield stress is exceeded. 

Although adsorption has been used as a physical-chemical process for many years, it is only over the last four decades that the process has developed to a stage where it is now a major industrial separation technique. In adsorption, molecules distribute themselves between two phases, one of which is a solid whilst the other may be a liquid or a gas. The only exception is in adsorption on to foams, a topic which is not considered in this chapter. 

While we will discuss the control of the various properties presented in the last section, the composition of a device must represent an optimum of all the properties. As we have shown, the quality of a foam is achieved by a complex combination of chemical and physical effects. No unifying model combines them in a sufficiently precise way as to minimize the work involved. Thus, as we discuss ways to control compressive and tensile strength, we must be aware that these properties will affect the foaming process. The design process is made somewhat easier by using composite techniques. In this way, one can separate the physical requirements of a device... 

Many different kinds of polyurethanes are available (391), and the exact form used in the published investigations is not specified. The physical form as foam or open pore is specified, and these are listed separately. 

Block copolymers are widely used industrially. In the solid and rubbery states they are used as thermoplastic elastomers, with applications such as impact modification, compatibilization and pressure-sensitive adhesion. In solution, their surfactant properties are exploited in foams, oil additives, solubilizers, thickeners and dispersion agents to name a few. Particularly useful reviews of applications of block copolymers in the solid state are contained in the two books edited by Goodman (1982,1985) and the review article by Riess etal. (1985). The applications of block copolymers in solution have been summarized by Schmolka (1991) and Nace (1996). This book is concerned with the physics underlying the practical applications of block copolymers. Both structural and dynamical properties are considered for melts, solids, dilute solutions and concentrated solutions. The book is organized such that each of these states is considered in a separate chapter. 

This book provides an introduction to the colloid and interface science of three of the most common types of colloidal dispersion emulsions, foams, and suspensions. The initial emphasis covers basic concepts important to the understanding of most kinds of colloidal dispersions, not just emulsions, foams, and suspensions, and is aimed at providing the necessary framework for understanding the applications. The treatment is integrated for each major physical property class the principles of colloid and interface science common to each dispersion type are presented first, followed as needed by separate treatments of features unique to emulsions, foams, or suspensions. The second half of the book provides examples of the applications of colloid science, again in the context of emulsions, foams, and suspensions, and includes attention to practical processes and problems in various industrial settings. 

The relationship between the structure of the disordered heterogeneous material (e.g., composite and porous media) and the effective physical properties (e.g., elastic moduli, thermal expansion coefficient, and failure characteristics) can also be addressed by the concept of the reconstructed porous/multiphase media (Torquato, 2000). For example, it is of great practical interest to understand how spatial variability in the microstructure of composites affects the failure characteristics of heterogeneous materials. The determination of the deformation under the stress of the porous material is important in porous packing of beds, mechanical properties of membranes (where the pressure applied in membrane separations is often large), mechanical properties of foams and gels, etc. Let us restrict our discussion to equilibrium mechanical properties in static deformations, e.g., effective Young s modulus and Poisson s ratio. The calculation of the impact resistance and other dynamic mechanical properties can be addressed by discrete element models (Thornton et al., 1999, 2004). 

Foam films are usually used as a model in the study of various physicochemical processes, such as thinning, expansion and contraction of films, formation of black spots, film rupture, molecular interactions in films. Thus, it is possible to model not only the properties of a foam but also the processes undergoing in it. These studies allow to clarify the mechanism of these processes and to derive quantitative dependences for foams, O/W type emulsions and foamed emulsions, which in fact are closely related by properties to foams. Furthermore, a number of theoretical and practical problems of colloid chemistry, molecular physics, biophysics and biochemistry can also be solved. Several physico-technical parameters, such as pressure drop, volumetric flow rate (foam rotameter) and rate of gas diffusion through the film, are based on the measurement of some of the foam film parameters. For instance, Dewar [1] has used foam films in acoustic measurements. The study of the shape and tension of foam bubble films, in particular of bubbles floating at a liquid surface, provides information that is used in designing pneumatic constructions [2], Given bellow are the most important foam properties that determine their practical application. The processes of foam flotation of suspensions, ion flotation, foam accumulation and foam separation of soluble surfactants as well as the treatment of waste waters polluted by various substances (soluble and insoluble), are based on the difference in the compositions of the initial foaming solution and the liquid phase in the foam. Due ro this difference it is possible to accelerate some reactions (foam catalysis) and to shift the chemical equilibrium of some reactions in the foam. The low heat... 

However, though very important, the physical differences between open and closed alveolar lining layer will not be discussed here since they need a separate consideration. Our present aim is to emphasise on the microscopic foam film as an effective... 

Dakery products may be classified into two main groups—those leavened by yeast and those by chemical or physical means. Yeast-raised goods include bread, rolls, sweet rolls, raised doughnuts, and crackers. Chemically leavened products include most cakes, cake doughnuts, pastries, and cookies. Foam-type cakes such as angel food and sponge cake are physically leavened by aeration. Pies represent a separate class. 

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