Comparative Investigation of Dynamic Foam Behavior of Air-Water and CO2-Water Systems

The purpose of this study was to understand and compare the dynamic foam behavior of the surfactant Tween-20 in air-water and CO2-water systems. The foam height in the CO2-water system was less than that in the air-water system, but the foam stability was better in the CO2-water system. The effect of temperature on axial dye displacement and foam bubble size was studied, where the foam generation ability of the surfactant was directly proportional to the temperature, while the foaminess was inversely proportional. The observed highest foam volume for the air-water system was 3922 +/- 181 cm(3) and for the CO2-water system 3195 +/- 181 cm(3) at 5.0 g L-1 of surfactant at air flow rate of 1 liter per minute (LPM) at 52 degrees C. The half-life for the air-water and the CO2-water system was 110 and 40 s, respectively, at 5.0 g L-1 of surfactant at the air flow rate of 1 LPM and 28 degrees C. In wet foam, the liquid holdup range for the air-water system was 0.38-0.52% and for the CO2-water system 0.51-0.72% in the concentration range 1.0-5.0 g L-1 at 1 LPM gas flow rate.