Subject foaming

Goldberg and Rubin [Ind. Eng. Chem. Proce.s.s Des. Dev., 6 195 (1967)] showed in tests with a disk spinning vertically to the foam layer that most mechanical procedures, whether centrifugation, mixing, or blowing through nozzles, consist basically of the application of shear stress. Subjecting foam to an air-jet impact can also provide a source... 

MoistureResista.nce, Plastic foams are advantageous compared to other thermal insulations in several appHcations where they are exposed to moisture pickup, particularly when subjected to a combination of thermal and moisture gradients. In some cases the foams are exposed to freeze—thaw cycles as well. The behavior of plastic foams has been studied under laboratory conditions simulating these use conditions as well as under the actual use conditions. 

Environmental Aging. AH ceUular polymers are subject to a deterioration of properties under the combined effects of light or heat and oxygen. The response of ceUular materials to the action of light and oxygen is governed almost entirely by the composition and state of the polymer phase (22). Expansion of a polymer into a ceUular state increases the surface area reactions of the foam with vapors and Hquids are correspondingly faster than those of soHd polymer. 

Foams prepared from phenol—formaldehyde and urea—formaldehyde resins are the only commercial foams that are significantly affected by water (22). Polyurethane foams exhibit a deterioration of properties when subjected to a combination of light, moisture, and heat aging polyester-based foam shows much less hydrolytic stabUity than polyether-based foam (50,199). 

The WAG process has been used extensively in the field, particularly in supercritical CO2 injection, with considerable success (22,157,158). However, a method to further reduce the viscosity of injected gas or supercritical fluid is desired. One means of increasing the viscosity of CO2 is through the use of supercritical C02-soluble polymers and other additives (159). The use of surfactants to form low mobihty foams or supercritical CO2 dispersions within the formation has received more attention (160—162). Foam has also been used to reduce mobihty of hydrocarbon gases and nitrogen. The behavior of foam in porous media has been the subject of extensive study (4). X-ray computerized tomographic analysis of core floods indicate that addition of 500 ppm of an alcohol ethoxyglycerylsulfonate increased volumetric sweep efficiency substantially over that obtained in a WAG process (156). 

Example 2.8 A polypropylene sandwich moulding is 12 mm thick and consists of a foamed core sandwiched between solid skin layers 2 mm thick. A beam 12 mm wide is cut from the moulding and is subjected to a point load, IV, at mid-span when it is simply supported over a length of 200 mm. Estimate the depth of a solid beam of the same width which would have the same stiffness when loaded in the same way. Calculate also the weight saving by using the foam moulding. The density of the solid polypropylene is 909 kg/m and the density of the foamed core is 6(X) kg/m. ... 

A sheet of chopped strand mat-reinforced polyester is 5 mm thick and 10 mm wide. If its modulus is 8 GN/m calculate its flexural stiffness when subjected to a point load of 200 N midway along a simply supported span of 300 mm. Compare this with the stiffness of a composite beam made up of two 2.5 mm thick layers of this reinforced material separated by a 10 mm thick core of foamed plastic with a modulus of 40 MN/m. ... 

These coatings bubble and foam to form a thermal insulation when subjected to a fire. They have been used for many decades. Such coatings cannot be differentiated from conventional coatings prior to the occurrence of a fire situation. Thereupon, however, they decompose to form a thick, nonflammable, multicellular, insulative barrier over the surface on which they are applied. This insulative foam is a very effective insulation that maintains the temperature of a flammable or heat distortable substrate below its ignition or distortion point. It also restricts the flow of air (oxygen) to fuel the substrate. 

Microbial cultures may foam when they are subjected to vigorous mechanical stirring and aeration. If this foaming is not controlled, culture is lost by entrainment in the exhaust gases and so there are systems, often automatic, for detecting incipient foaming. 

Closely akin to the subject of emulsions is the field of foams, mentioned only in passing. The two fields are similar, in that their properties both depend on surface effects, changes in interfacial tension, electrolyte composition, and manner of preparation. 

However, the fundamental theory of simple foams is not as well formulated as the theory for simple emulsions. Because foams consist of gases dispersed in a semisolid film, the properties and behavior immediately become more dramatically subject to external variables, such as temperature and external air pressure. Minute changes in surface tension of the film can make or break the foam. However, a similar approach might be suggested in the foam field. In this case, the variable with which we are most concerned is whether or not a stable foam is produced and the diagrams would be drawn accordingly. 

Thirdly, a stable icing foam requires a tendency for the surface of the extended protein film to solidify, thereby giving structure and permanence to the foam. Egg albumen is a hydrophilic (water-loving) colloid, for it is readily soluble in water. However, when subjected to heat, egg albumen becomes insoluble in water or is said to be hydrophobic (water-hating). Through this phenomenon of changing solubility, egg whites make very stable foams if used at sufficient concentration. 

The correlation is valid in the range 0.25 m < /// < 0.6 m. Equation 9.63 tends to predict low values of Kr and hence can be considered to be conservative, especially at high pressures and high liquid rates. Also, the system might be subject to foaming, in which case Kr must be decreased to allow for this. For a system particularly subject to foaming, the value of Kt from Equation 9.63 should be multiplied by a factor that is less than unity to allow for this13 ... 

Recent research and field tests have focused on the use of relatively low concentrations or volumes of chemicals as additives to other oil recovery processes. Of particular interest is the use of surfactants as CO (184) and steam mobility control agents (foam). Also combinations of older EOR processes such as surfactant enhanced alkaline flooding and alkaline-surfactant-polymer flooding have been the subjects of recent interest. Older technologies polymer flooding (185,186) and micellar flooding (187-189) have been the subject of recent reviews. In 1988 84 commercial products polymers, surfactants, and other additives, were listed as being marketed by 19 companies for various enhanced oil recovery applications (190). 

To explain the role of the medium capillary pressure upon foam coalescence, consider a flat, cylindrical, stationary foam lamella of thickness, 2h, circa 1000 A, and radius, R (i.e., 50 to 100 /xm), subject to a capillary pressure, P, at the film meniscus or Plateau border, as shown in Figure 3. The liquid pressure at the film meniscus is (P - P ), where P is the gas pressure. g c g... 

---