Interaction of foams with porous materials
Lead Research Organisation:
Loughborough University
Department Name: Chemical Engineering
Abstract
The overall aim of the project is to determine and predict the conditions providing the absorption of the desired amount of liquid from foam in a contact with a porous substrate to the porous material. For this purpose, a theory and corresponding computer simulations will be developed of the interaction of foams with porous substrates. The theoretical predictions will be validated against a range of experimental investigation of the process. Understanding of interaction of foams made of both Newtonian and non-Newtonian (polymer-surfactant mixtures) liquids with porous substrates: application of foams onto porous substrates, drainage, capillary suction of the foaming liquid into the porous substrate will allow developing a completely new theory of interaction of foams with porous materials. The developed theory will be applied to both model (filter paper, porous support built up by glass beads) and real (house hold care sponges) porous substrates. This will give a possibility to predict the influence of wetting properties, porosity and pore size distribution inside the porous substrates on the rate of delivery of liquid from foam to the porous substrates. The developed theory will allow determining and predicting the conditions providing the absorption of desired amounts of liquid from foam in a contact with a porous substrate to the porous material and to remove greasy soil from the porous material without foam collapse.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Anna Trybala (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Phillip Johnson (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509516/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 1966185 | Studentship | EP/N509516/1 | 01/10/2017 | 31/03/2021 | Phillip Johnson |
| Description | In this project a model of the foam formation within a porous media when under compression has been developed and has been compared to experimental results. It was found that this model agreed with experimental investigations indicating that the amount of foam generated is dependent on the mass of surfactant and the minimum thickness of the media when fully compressed. This latter point is dependent on the material properties of the media and the force applied. The amount of foam was discovered to be independent on the rate of compression and decompression of the media. Whereas the quality of foam i.e. bubble size and the volume of liquid within the foam is determined by the rate of air flow which is a consequence of the decompression of the media. The amount of foam was determined to be independent on the pore size of the media and this property only affected the quality of the foam. For commercial dish washing solution it was found that only a small amount of water is required to produce the maximum amount of foam where the maximum was found to be 60-80% of dish washing solution. |
| Exploitation Route | This work allows the understanding of how surfactant products will interact with the porous media and the amount of foam that will be generated. Allowing the manufacturer to adapt the product of media used to achieve the optimum foam. Foams are used in many industries and this investigation further develops the understanding of the interaction of foams and porous media. This has been explored experimentally and mathematically. With these results the model can be developed for the foaming system and the porous media being used. The future work related to this work is to further develop the model and understanding of how the foam behaves within the porous media. Also investigations with biosurfactants and compare with foam formation with chemical surfactants to see if there is a sustainable replacement to the current chemicals used. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Environment,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Retail |
| Description | The findings from this project have been used to advise our industrial partners at proctor and gamble, informing them how surfactant solutions interact with a soft porous media and what are the driving factors the effect foam formation and quality of the foam produced. How they have used this information has not been disclosed. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Chemicals,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Retail |
| Impact Types | Economic |