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China Surfactant Detergent & Cosmetics ›› 2019, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (7): 435-440.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1001-1803.2019.07.003

• Development and application • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Investigation on the foaming properties of surfactants with different structure in organic solvents

YAN Yong-Li   

  1. College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710065, China
  • Received:2019-01-23 Revised:2019-06-21 Online:2019-07-25 Published:2019-07-26

Abstract:

The foaming properties for various organic solvents in the presence of surfactants with diverse structure were investigated. The foam volume and foam stability were determined by a foam attenuation method. The effects of surface tension, viscosity and solvent polarity on foaming properties were also analyzed. The experimental results showed that the anionic, nonionic and amphoteric surfactants under investigation could not produce foams in n-alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons, while some of them only form foams in liquid paraffin and glycerin. The volume fractions of gas in foams for liquid paraffin and glycerin range from 66.6% to 83.3% and 72.2% to 83.7%, respectively, while the half-lives range from 0.21 to 1.44 min and 1.79 to 16.69 min, respectively. The best foaming agents are AEO-3 for liquid paraffin and OBS for glycerin. It can be concluded that the greater the polarity of the organic solvent, the better is its foaming capacity. The viscosity is only related to the stability of the foam formed from these solutions, and it is found that the decrease of surface tension of the non-aqueous solutions is not closely related to its foaming performance.

Key words: surfactant, non-aqueous solvent, solvent polarity, foaming properties, stability

CLC Number: 

  • TQ423