I would like to know the reason why some water soluble polymers shows extreme foaming once mixed with the water at high speed mixer.
Dear O.Kubra Akdogan, due to the action of shear, water is subdivided to small droplets on which the polymer is adsorbed where the the hydrophobic part of the chains being outward. This foam is more likely similar to a suspension, polyvinyl alcohol is famous in this regards. Water is sometimes used as a foaming agent, but generally unstable foams results, due to the unstability of the this film between bubbles. My Regards
Abdelkader BOUAZIZ Thank you for the information.
I recently observed that once the solution is cooled down and shear is stopped, foam is diminished significantly. Only the color of the solution changed to milky white ( it supposed to be a transparent) . Does this phenomena impact the mechanical and thermal properties of polymer or is it safe to use for end application? Can we comment on that?
Generally, high shearing is accompagned by mechanical dégradation. Did you noticed any increase in temperature during mixing? If so, one may expect other possible alterations. The white color is due to polymer chains orientation and/or aggregation once the agitation is settled. In principle, with time and gentle mixing thé solution return clear if the structural changes are not dramatic. My Regards
It's depend on the polymer weight and the fonctions of the polymer. Try to use water in excess with weak agitation.
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