Overcoming unwanted foam in industrial processes of the chemical and food industry – an ongoing survey

Leuner, Hannes; Gerstenberg, Christoph; Lechner, Kai; McHardy, Christopher; Rauh, Cornelia; Repke, Jens‐Uwe

doi:10.1016/j.cherd.2020.09.006

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To reduce the negative impact of foam in columns, various foam management solutions have been developed in the past comprising either inhibition methods to passively prevent foam formation or destruction methods to actively eliminate existing foam [5]. According to Strigle [3], it might not be necessary to fully prevent or eliminate foam, but to lower foam formation and existence to a desired threshold enabling safe and reliable column operation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A sophisticated change in equipment design inside columns is the most efficient method to passively inhibit foam formation by limiting the penetration of gas through liquid [2,5]. One approach is the use of the empirical calculation parameter System Factor which describes the maximum fractional capacity of a foaming system compared to a non-foaming system [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common tool to actively destruct foam in columns is again the use of anti-foam agents including all unwanted side effects as discussed before [5,6,10]. Other destruction methods include the reduction of throughput or change of operation conditions like pressure or temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other destruction methods include the reduction of throughput or change of operation conditions like pressure or temperature. Those methods reduce the capacity of the process causing issues in downstream processes and are therefore less favorable [5]. Furthermore, mechanical foam destruction devices are used to destruct the foam but often rated with a bad performance due to their ability to convert existing foam into a fine-pored, more resilient and stable condition [5,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Those methods reduce the capacity of the process causing issues in downstream processes and are therefore less favorable [5]. Furthermore, mechanical foam destruction devices are used to destruct the foam but often rated with a bad performance due to their ability to convert existing foam into a fine-pored, more resilient and stable condition [5,11]. Another foam destruction method includes the application of ultrasonic or acoustic waves, which has been successfully used in vessels in different industrial processes, but so far have not been applied to foam in columns [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Foam in Absorption Columns with Structured Packings – Part 2: Inhibition and Destruction

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Foam in absorption and distillation processes is one of the main reasons for malfunctions in columns including higher pressure loss, lower throughput, and lower mass transfer rates leading to a reduction in the separation efficiency. This study evaluates different foam management solutions aiming at a foam-reduced operation of columns with structured packings based on fundamental investigations. Firstly, the effect of spacers between structured packing layers is presented as a passive foam inhibition method. Secondly, the ability of acoustic waves at low frequencies around 50 s -1 (Hz) destructing existing foam in columns is analyzed and discussed. This method is able to reduce the pressure loss by -56 % and increase the corresponding F-factor by +22 % in a DN300 column in continuous operation.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Foam in Absorption Columns with Structured Packings – Part 2: Inhibition and Destruction

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Ultrafast Bubble Bursting by Superamphiphobic Coatings

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Controlling bubble motion or passively bursting bubbles using solid interfaces is advantageous in numerous industrial applications including flotation, catalysis, electrochemical processes, and microfluidics. Current research has explored the formation, dissolution, pinning, and rupturing of bubbles on different surfaces. However, the ability to tune and control the rate of bubble bursting is not yet achieved. Scaling down surface‐induced bubble bursting to just a few milliseconds is important for any application. In this work, the hierarchical structure of superamphiphobic surfaces is tuned in order to rapidly rupture contacting bubbles. Surfaces prepared using liquid flame spray show ultrafast bubble bursting (down to 2 ms) and superior durability. The coatings demonstrate excellent mechanical and chemical stability even in the presence of surface‐active species. Air from the ruptured bubble is absorbed into the aerophilic Cassie‐state. Long‐term applicability is demonstrated by preventing the accumulation of air in the plastron via a connection of the plastron to the environment. The times recorded for bubble rupture and complete reorganization of air are reduced by approximately a factor of 3 compared to previously reported values. The concept is utilized to passively control surfactant‐rich foam in froth flotation. Material collection efficiency increased by more than 60 times compared to controls.

show abstract

Foam in Absorption Columns with Structured Packings – Part 1: Characterization

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Foam in absorption and distillation processes is one of the main reasons for malfunctions in columns including higher pressure loss, lower throughput, and lower mass transfer rates leading to a reduction in separation efficiency. Detailed investigations on the foam formation and its behavior in structured packings are conducted using two different scales: a transparent rectangular measurement cell and a DN300 column. The influence of maldistributions in structured packing is discussed along with a first-time identified foam-related hysteresis effect. Ad-and disadvantages of fully wetted film flow and partially wetted rivulet flow on foam formation are discussed in detail. Overall, structured packings without a microstructure show a reduced foam formation compared to structured packings with a microstructure.

show abstract

Overcoming unwanted foam in industrial processes of the chemical and food industry – an ongoing survey

Cited by 18 publications

References 32 publications

Foam in Absorption Columns with Structured Packings – Part 2: Inhibition and Destruction

Foam in Absorption Columns with Structured Packings – Part 2: Inhibition and Destruction

Ultrafast Bubble Bursting by Superamphiphobic Coatings

Foam in Absorption Columns with Structured Packings – Part 1: Characterization

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About