The interfacial conformation of polypropylene glycols and foam behaviour

The foam behaviour of low molecular weight polypropylene glycols (PPG) was investigated as a function of concentration and molecular weight (190–2000 g mol⁻¹). For each polypropylene glycol, foam stability increases with concentration and passes through a maximum, beyond which foamability is suppressed as the solubility limit of the glycol is exceeded and droplets of glycol form. Light-scattering data as well as static and dynamic surface tension results provide the key information leading to these interpretations. A maximum in foamability was observed for the PPG molecules with increasing molecular weight (caused by a change in molecular conformation at the interface). This suppresses the Marangoni effect and leads to a decrease in foam stability.     

Foams and surface rheological properties of β-casein, gliadin and glycinin

Interfacial rheological properties and their suitability for foam production and stability of two vegetable proteins were studied and compared to β-casein. Proteins used ranged from flexible to rigid/globular in the order of β-casein, gliadin and soy glycinin. Experiments were performed at pH 6.7. Network forming properties were characterised by the surface dilational modulus (determined with the ring trough) and the critical falling film length (L_still) at which a stagnant protein film will break. Gliadin had the highest dilational modulus, followed by glycinin and β-casein, whereas glycinin formed the strongest film against fracture in the overflowing cylinder. The rate of decrease in the surface tension was studied at the air–water (Wilhelmy plate method) and the oil–water interface (bursting membrane) and the dynamic surface tension during compression and expansion in the caterpillar. Gliadin had the lowest equilibrium interfacial tensions and β-casein the lowest dynamic surface tension during expansion. Hardly any foam could be formed at a concentration of 0.1 g/l by shaking. At a concentration of 1.4 g/l most foam was formed by β-casein, followed by gliadin and glycinin. It seems that in the first place the rate of adsorption is important for foam formation. For the vegetable proteins, adsorption was slow. This resulted in lower foamability, especially for glycinin.     

The physical properties of pressure sensitive rubber composites

Nitrile butadiene rubber, NBR, structural foam of different apparent densities was obtained by using different concentrations of foaming agent, azodicarbonamide, ADC/K. The true stress-strain characteristics, in case of compression, of foamed samples after the application of cyclic stress-strain were measured. The effect of the cyclic stress-strain on strain energy density of ADC/K foaming agent-filled NBR rubber composites was studied. The mechanical parameters were found to depend on the foaming agent concentration and on the pre-cyclic fatigue number. Results also indicated that the strain energy decreased with filler concentration.The effects of the cyclic stress-strain on the conductivity of ADC/K foaming agent-filled NBR rubber composites were studied. The electrical properties were found to depend on the foaming agent concentration, the strain amplitude and the number of stress-strain cycles of pre-strain. This study was assisted by the current-voltage characteristics which were measured under the effect of different compression ratios: 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%. The free current carrier mobility and the equilibrium concentration of charge carriers in the conduction band were produced as functions of compressive strain. Results also indicate that there is a linear variation between pressure and conductivity for all samples, which means that these samples can be used as a pressure sensor.     

铁掺杂PMP泡沫制备工艺研究

 以聚-4-甲基-1-戊烯为泡沫骨架，二茂铁为掺杂材料，通过热诱导倒相技术制备出铁掺杂聚合物泡沫。掺杂泡沫的实际密度均高于理论密度，且沿轴向从上至下逐渐增大。在理论密度不变的情况下，掺杂泡沫实际密度随掺杂元素原子百分含量的升高而呈降低趋势。与PMP泡沫相比，掺杂泡沫的孔洞直径分布变宽且网络骨架尺寸有变大的趋势。     

改性二氧化硅纳米颗粒提高二氧化碳泡沫稳定性的研究

通过纳米二氧化硅的硅烷化改性, 使其在高矿化度盐水中可以稳定存在的前提下, 研究了改性纳米颗粒与阳离子表面活性剂十二烷基三甲基氯化铵混合体系的溶液稳定性及协同稳定CO₂泡沫的效果. 研究结果表明, 无机盐离子对改性纳米颗粒与阳离子表面活性剂间的静电吸引力具有屏蔽作用, 且矿化度越高, 屏蔽效果越明显, 从而混合溶液更易于在高盐水中稳定; 纳米颗粒表面的活性剂吸附层受二者浓度的影响, 进而影响了颗粒的亲/疏水性; 当混合体系中的表面活性剂浓度低于临界胶束浓度(CMC)时, 混合溶液与CO₂的界面张力高于单独活性剂溶液, 而当活性剂浓度高于CMC时, 对CO₂-溶液界面张力几乎无影响, 最低界面张力可降至6 mN/m左右; 改性纳米颗粒的加入可以进一步提高CO₂体相泡沫半衰期一倍以上, 但受二者浓度比例的影响; 纳米颗粒的加入有效提高了多孔介质中泡沫的表观黏度, 最大增幅由20 mPa·s增至55 mPa·s左右, 泡沫黏度增加接近3倍, 增强了CO₂泡沫驱的封堵作用.     

Experimental Validation of the Temperature-Resistant and Salt-Tolerant Xanthan Enhanced Foam for Enhancing Oil Recovery

Xanthan enhanced foam (XGF) is a newly developed chemical agent for enhanced oil recovery in high-temperature and high-salinity reservoirs. In this paper, laboratory experiments were performed to characterize the morphology and foam properties of XGF, to study its performance under different temperature and different salinity conditions, respectively. Based on simulate reservoir formation conditions of Xidaliya field, a series of research on XGF were conducted. The experimental results showed that the scanning electron microscopy of XGF reflected a more viscoelastic and stable nature of the foam system. High temperature had a great adverse impact upon the stability of XGF, and the increase of salinity in the solution helped to improve the stability of foam. The foam stability increased remarkably when XG4 is added, and an increase in ambient pressure made enhancement of foam stability became more noticeable. In the presence of crude oil, Xanthan could enhance the stability of emulsions and was more favorable to stabilize foam. XG4 enhanced foam had dramatic properties for mobility controlling and oil displacement in the porous media.     

On the Origin of Foam Stability: Understanding from Viscoelasticity of Foaming Solutions and Liquid Films

The foam stability (drainage half-life) of α-olefin sulfonate (AOS) with partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) or xanthan gum (XG) solution was evaluated by the Warring Blender method. With the increase of polymer (HPAM or XG) concentration, foam stability of the surfactant–polymer complexes increased, and the drainage half-life of AOS-XG foam was higher than that of AOS-HPAM foam at the same polymer and surfactant concentration. With the addition of polymer (HPAM or XG), the viscoelasticity of bulk solution and the liquid film were enhanced. The viscoelasticity of AOS-XG bulk solution and liquid film were both higher than that of AOS-HPAM counterparts.      

The evolution of numerical methods for predicting the distribution of surfactant in the bubble-scale dynamics of foams

Many numerical methods now exist to simulate the structure and dynamics of surface-tension-dominated aqueous foams at the level of the individual films and the liquid structures where they meet. We review these methods, focusing in particular on bubble-scale simulations of foam rheology. We highlight methods that allow the distribution of surfactant during flow to be taken into account.     

Stability of aqueous foam films and foams containing polymers: Discrepancies between different length scales

Polymer-stabilized foams and foam films have received considerable attention during the past years. This review paper gives an overview of recent studies dealing with polyelectrolyte/surfactant mixtures, proteins, and microgels adsorbed at single air/water interfaces, in foam films and in macroscopic foams. These polymeric systems have in common that their structure or shape changes when adsorbing at an air/water interface. These structural changes in comparison to their bulk behavior greatly influence the properties of foam films and foams. Regarding the foam stability, formation of adsorbed layers or aggregates plays an important role. The discrepancy between stabilization of macroscopic foams and destabilization of single foam films might be attributed to the blockage of Plateau borders and, therefore, slowed down drainage. Another important parameter is the interfacial viscoelasticity.     

Effect of hydrophobically modified SiO2 nanoparticles on the stability of water-based SDS foam

In the present study, SiO₂ nanoparticles were first hydrophobically modified and then added into anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) stabilized water-based foam to improve the foam stability. The foam stability was experimentally evaluated by measuring surface tension, Zeta potential and half-life of the foam. The foam stabilizing mechanism was also studied from a micro perspective by molecular dynamics simulation through analyzing the equilibration configuration and MSD curve of both SDS surfactant and water molecules. The results show that foam exhibits an optimal stability when SiO₂ concentration is 0.35 wt% under a specific surfactant concentration (0.5 wt%) in this work. The addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles with suitable concentration could improve the adsorption between SDS molecules and nanoparticles, thus limiting the movement of SDS and restricting the movement of surrounding water molecules, which is beneficial to enhance the foam stability.