What are the effects of carboxymethyl cellulose on the morphology and characteristics of dust-suppression foam ? 

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Reference: Wei, X., Wang, H., Xie, Y., & Du, Y. (2020). An experimental investigation on the effect of carboxymethyl cellulose on morphological characteristics of dust-suppression foam and its mechanism exploration. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 135, 126-134.

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Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), a water-soluble polymer, is commonly used as a foaming agent auxiliary to control the morphology of dust-suppression foam.

 

In this paper, CMC is added in alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS) solution at different concentrations and tested for the influence on bubble size, distribution and uniformity of AOS foams. Using the FOAMSCAN™ form analyzer and the Cell Size Analysis software, the first results showed that an increase of AOS concentration results in a decrease in the average bubble size and an increase in the foam uniformity. A sweet spot is found at  0.1 % AOS and 800 mg/L CMC where the average radius of the foam could reach a minimum of 0.13 mm, and the uniformity reaches the highest. Moreover, oscillatory experiments using an automatic drop tensiometer (TRACKER™  by TECLIS) showed that the addition of CMC has a noticeable effect on the elastic modulus when the AOS concentration is below 0.1%. Above this critical concentration, the effect od CMC is no longer obvious.

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TECLIS product: TRACKER™  automatic drop tensiometer, FOAMSCAN™ foam analyzer, Cell Size Analysis software (CSA)

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Key words: Dust-suppression foam, polymer, morphology bubble size, foam uniformity, interfacial elasticity