Foam drainage in the presence of solid particles

Abstract

We conducted forced drainage experiments to study the liquid flow within the foams stabilized by a cationic surfactant (CTAB) in the presence of partially hydrophobic silica particles. The results show that the presence of solid particles, even when present in small amounts (0.0932 g L⁻¹ foam), can significantly decrease the foam permeability. The scaling behaviour (power law) between the drainage velocity and the imposed flow rate indicates that the presence of solid particles in the foams triggers a transition of the foam drainage regime from a node-dominated regime to a Plateau border-dominated regime. We applied two foam drainage equations for aqueous foams to simulate the experimental data and interpret the transition. The simulation results show that the presence of solid particles in the foams increases the rigidity of the interfaces and the viscous losses in the channels (the Plateau borders) of the foams, and decreases the foam permeability. We also generalize the theory for the effects of unattached hydrophilic particles on foam drainage by considering the effects of hydrophobicity and concentration of solid particles on the confinement of foam networks. This study explores liquid drainage in three-phase foams and is relevant to the field of hydrophobic particle separation by froth flotation, in which the wash water is commonly applied to the froth layer to improve the product grade.