Georgia Institute of Technology's New Invention ‘Capillary Technique’ Leads to Lightweight, Sustainable Foam Materials

Foam at microscopic level is a bunch of bubbles squeezed together. Liquid foams are formed by diffusion of gas bubbles in a liquid and it is seen in our mundane activities, from drinking beer to having a bath. Among applications like pharmaceutical formulation, oil production, food processing, cleaning products, cosmetics and skin care products, there include multi processes wherein foam products play a vital role. Lightweight dry foams are used in the construction of buildings, automobiles and airplanes as they help in increasing energy efficiency. Also, these dry foams are sustainable; however, keeping them stable is a big challenge.

Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology have come up with a new type of foam called ‘Capillary Foam’. The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). These capillary foams were developed by a graduate student named Yi Zhang, co-advised by the mentors Behrens and Carson Meredith.

The capillary foam is different from the traditional foam because along with the air and water as the main ingredients, a small amount of oil is added into the water-based foams for foam stability. Oil in water-based foams can lead to exceptional stability because neither the oil nor the particles alone can stabilize the foams. The symbiotic combination of oil and particulate helps in foam stability because oil is usually used as a defoaming agent. The stability in the capillary foam comes from the oil that acts as a bridge between the particles of the foam. Lightweight foams can be used in many industrial applications from construction to automobile and airplane manufacturing.

Related Report You May Be Interested:

Silicon Defoamers Market (2013 – 2018) – By Type (Aqueous System, Non-Aqueous System); By End-Use (Paper & Pulp, Textile & Leather, Paints & Inks, Water Treatment, Petroleum, Automotive & Transportation, Electrical & Electronics)

http://industryarc.com/Report/1303/silicon-defoamers-market-analysis.html

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