The influence of the pore size, the foaming temperature and the viscosity of the continuous phase on the properties of foams produced by membrane foaming

Membrane foaming is a new method of foaming. To enlarge the knowledge about the influencing factors and to know how to vary the structure of the resulting foam, different factors were evaluated. A whey protein solution with 10% protein was foamed as a model solution by means of a tubular cross-flow filtration membrane. The pore size of the membrane was varied. The smaller the pore size, the smaller the bubbles produced. As a result, the foam firmness increases and less drainage was observed when smaller pore sizes were applied.

An important factor is that the added amount of gas must be stabilised as completely as possible in the foam. In order to achieve this, both the process and the product parameters were varied. Raising the foaming temperature increased the quantity of stabilised gas. The whey proteins then diffuse faster to the bubble surfaces and stabilise these by unfolding and networking reactions to prevent the coalescence of the bubbles.

The product parameter viscosity was found to influence the foaming result in such a way that up to a viscosity of 40 mPa s the incorporated gas bubbles are stabilised by the higher viscosity. At viscosities higher than 40 mPa s it is difficult to incorporate in the bubbles, and the foam structure becomes coarser due to increased coalescence at the pores of the membrane. The foam stability is enhanced with higher viscosities.     

系列磺丁基甜菜碱的表征及表面活性

用FT-IR、1H NMR和元素分析对自制的3种磺丁基甜菜碱(SBm-4)的结构进行了表征,研究了它们的表面性能、泡沫性能和乳化性能。 获得SB12-4的cmc为2.20×10-3 mol/L,γcmc为31.48 mN/m;SB14-4的cmc为2.80×10-4 mol/L,γcmc为29.68 mN/m;SB16-4的cmc为2.30×10-5 mol/L,γcmc为32.06 mN/m。 3种磺丁基甜菜碱的cmc值随着烷基链长增加逐渐减小,γcmc先减小后增加,三者的起泡性随浓度增加而增加,到一定值后保持不变;泡沫稳定性随浓度增加逐渐增强,起泡性随着温度的增加有缓慢增加趋势,泡沫稳定性随温度增加逐渐降低。 3种表面活性剂的乳化能力随浓度增加先增加后降低。     

Influence of alkyl chain length of alpha olefin sulfonates on surface and interfacial properties

Alpha olefin sulfonates (AOS) with various alkyl chain lengths have been used to investigate the influence of alkyl chain length on the interfacial properties at air–water, liquid paraffin–water, and parafilm–water interfaces. It was found that the critical micelle concentration decreased with increasing alkyl chain length, while the efficiency of reducing surface tension was inverse relationship with alkyl chain length. The diffusion coefficient obviously reduced with an increase of surfactant concentration and alkyl chain length. The C_14-16AOS shows better wettability and emulsification than C_16-18AOS and C_20-24AOS. For foaming properties, the foamability and foam stability dramatically decreased with increasing alkyl chain length.     

超临界流体制备微发泡聚合物材料的研究进展

以超临界流体为物理发泡剂制备的微发泡聚合物材料具有小的泡孔尺寸和高的泡孔密度,从而赋予材料优异的性能.本文首先阐述了微发泡聚合物材料的制备原理,以及聚合物微发泡过程中泡孔形成的四个阶段;基于这些认识,针对微发泡聚合物材料泡孔形态的改善,即增加泡孔密度、减小泡孔尺寸以及均化泡孔尺寸分布,从加强泡孔成核、控制泡孔增长的角度综述了近年来的研究进展;最后对如何有效控制泡孔形态提出了建议,并对微发泡聚合物材料的应用前景进行了展望.     

Suppression of slag foaming by a sound wave

The aim of this work was to study the effects of sound frequency, sound intensity and viscosity of slag on the slag foaming rate and the steady-state foam height. Experiments were carried out using two slags (BaO–B₂O₃) melted at a temperature of 1223 or 1273 K, as well as water–glycerin solutions at room temperature. Low frequency sound waves (<1.3 kHz) are found to be more effective in the slag foaming suppression than high frequency waves (1.3–12 kHz). The steady-state foam height decreases abruptly when the sound pressure reaches a threshold value that depends on sound frequency and liquid viscosity. The results can be explained in terms of enhancing the rates of liquid drainage and film rupture induced by sound.     

Effect of Molecular Modification on PCL Foam Formation and Morphology of PCL

Poly(ϵ-caprolactone) was chemically modified by using dicumyl peroxide from 0.25 to 2 % (w/w) and the effects of molecular architecture on the density and morphology of PCL foams were examined. The polymer was first blended with dicumyl peroxide at a low temperature (80°C), to prevent premature peroxide decomposition. The peroxide modification was then performed at different temperatures, from 110°C to 150°C. The reaction kinetic was followed by measuring the dynamical rheological properties of the melt in isothermal experiments by using a parallel plate rheometer. The evolution of the macromolecular structure during the chemical reaction was followed by analyzing the time evolution of the complex viscosity. Foams were prepared from the peroxide modified PCL with a batch foaming process using nitrogen as the foaming agent under different process conditions. As expected, the increase of the molecular modification led to a shift towards higher temperatures of the foaming window and, moreover, influenced the viscoelastic behavior of the expanding polymeric matrix so that the final foam properties are affected.     

PBAT/PVA复合材料发泡行为及抗收缩性能研究

为提高聚己二酸丁二醇酯-对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯(PBAT)发泡材料的抗收缩性,用热塑性加工的方法制备PBAT/聚乙烯醇(PVA)复合材料,并采用超临界二氧化碳技术制备发泡材料.探讨了PVA含量、发泡温度以及压力对泡孔形貌的影响.流变性能、动态力学分析的结果表明, PVA的加入改善了PBAT熔体的黏弹性,提高了其熔体强度,增强了复合材料的发泡能力.研究结果表明, PVA的加入可提高PBAT的发泡温度,降低发泡材料的收缩率.当PVA含量为10%时,可将发泡温度提高至105℃,稳定体积膨胀率为15倍,体积收缩率仅有1.25%;而此时PBAT的体积膨胀率只有7倍,体积收缩率却达到了78.83%.     

Biodegradable elastomer for soft tissue engineering

In this work we present the synthesis of a biodegradable, elastomeric material with a wide range of mechanical properties. The synthesis of the material was done by condensation polymerization of malic acid and 1,12–dodecandiol. The synthesized materials have low Young’s modulus ranging from about 1 to 4 MPa and a high elongation at break of 25–737% depending on the crosslinking density of the system. The cell growth observed under microscope showed good proliferation at 3 days of culture indicating good biocompatibility and support of L929 cells growth. The fabrication of 3D scaffold from these materials using the super critical CO₂ foaming method was also attempted. This method of scaffold fabrication is appropriate for materials that are easily hydrolysable and it also has the advantage of being a solvent free process. These materials are generally soft, biocompatible and biodegradable making them suitable for tissue engineering of soft tissues that are elastic in nature like muscles and blood vessels.     

泡沫混凝土发泡剂的发泡性能研究

为提高混凝土发泡剂性能,分别选用月桂酰基肌氨酸钠(LS-95)、甲基葡萄糖苷聚氧乙烯(120)醚双油酸酯(DOE-120)和丙烯酸交联树脂(340)对常用发泡剂十二烷基苯磺酸钠(LAS)进行复配研究.通过罗氏泡沫仪的起泡高度和消泡半衰期表征发泡剂泡沫稳定性,并对产生的结果进行解释.实验结果表明,在适当条件下,3种复配添加剂都能在一定程度上改善十二烷基苯磺酸钠的泡沫性能,其中0.7% LAS加入25%(与LAS质量比)的DOE-120和10%(与LAS质量比)的340所组成的三组分复合体系,泡沫性能优异.