Foam Technology
Foam Technology
Foam Technology
Types of Foam:-
Solid foam (PU foam, PS insulation material etc.). Air is trapped inside in
bubbles. Another example includes cellular plastic where air cells are
entrapped inside the expanded plastic. Air is trapped inside in bubbles.
Other examples of solid foam include bread, meringue etc. which involves
the disperse phase being gas and the dispersed medium being solid.
Solid foams are used mainly in the preparation of insulation and in
upholstery and even found in pumice stone (lava; pumice stone being
used in garment washing (denim washing))
For textile use, we use Gaseous foam where the dispersed phase is
water and the dispersed medium is gas or air. E.g. of gaseous foams
include egg whites, whipped cream, beer. Here, Foam is a material of tiny
air bubbles separated by fine films. The mass of air bubbles are
Spherical Foam
Polyhedral Foam
The
ratio.
Blow ratio is defined as the ratio of mass of a given
volume of liquid before foaming to the mass of the
same volume of foam.
Eg.
2) Foam Stability
-
initial properties (foam density, blow ratio etc.) after being generated.
Foams that are very stable are difficult to collapse or rupture cause poor
penetration of formulation into the fabric.
Foams half-life range according to the type of process making use of foam
technology:
3) Foam Viscosity
-
Sequence of Processing:-
1)
Liquor Preparation
Essential ingredients go into the recipe for the preparation of the liquor to be
used. Careful attention is needed with regard to the individual components
mixed.
(ll)
Class
Surfactant
Sodium or Ammonium Stearate
Sodium Oleate
Anionic
Cationic
Dodecylamine hydrochloride
Non-ionic
Amphoteric
(IV) Stabilizers
These are used in combination with thickeners.
These are substances that doesnt thicken but are added to improve
foam stability further, through enhancing thickening ability.
Eg. Sodium polyphosphates and Dodecanol (Lauryl alcohol) C12H25 OH
(V) Emulsion Polymers or Copolymers
Colloidal dispersions (aqueous or water based) used to modify physical
properties of finished fabrics (these are only used in special cases
when processing with foam).
E.g. Common types of polymer emulsions used include PVC and
Polyacrylates
2)
Foam Generation
the product.
Air injections have to be controlled with the liquor being flowed in at
The static mixer can also have a vertical arrangement too instead of a
horizontal one.
In this static foam generator, a stream of air under pressure is introduced to
the liquor to produce irregular shaped foam bubbles. Foam can also be
generated by feeding a liquor together with air through a chamber containing
a number of closely packed glass balls, stainless-steel shavings, plastic or
chips.
Both air and liquid are metered into the head where they are mixed to
Air under pressure + liquor are metered into the mixing head and the
foam exits after getting produced .
static mixer.
This system has better control over foam supply quantity, air dosing
and gelling agent quantities according to the speeds of the coating
plant.
These computer assisted systems represent the present state-of-theart.
Stirring Method
Combination
of Air-
Blowing and
Stirring
Method
*Note that all methods of foam generation mentioned so far are all batch methods.
3)
-
Foam Application
The systems of foam application include:
Direct System (Pressurized and Non-Pressurized)
Indirect System
Direct systems involve foam directly being applied to the fabric with this foam being
held under pressure in the distribution box. Foam application to the fabric is done
through a variable-dimensional slot applicator or through a rotary screen with the
fabric pressed against a backing roller.
3. Indirect system
-
The first indirect system involves the use of a carrier/transfer or kiss roller.
This carries the foam along the circumference of the roller and transfers it
onto the fabric.
The foam is metered by some means which is transferred to the fabric by
the carrier roller. The carrier doesnt necessarily have to be a roller but
can also a drum or a blanket.
Transfer of the foam is achieved as the carrier and fabric come into
contact.
Transfer of foam is achieved as the carrier and fabric come into contact. In
the Monforts system, transfer of foam is assisted by vacuum through the
perforations of the carrier drum.
Transfer of the foam to the fabric occurs when the blanket makes contact
with the fabric.
Penetration of the foam into the fabric is assisted by vacuum as the fabric
passes round a perforated drum.
Wpu (%) for cotton is 35-40% and that for PET fabric is 10%.
Even elastic warp-knitted fabrics and pile fabrics can be treated by this
system. Its been claimed that crease-recovery angle and abrasion
resistance of the cotton fabrics treated with foam were much better than
conventional padding techniques.
The Mini-Foam system is built in three standard models, for one sided
application on the face side of the fabric, for one-sided application on the
back side of the fabric, and for simultaneous two-sided application. The
latter model being called Janus Mini-Foam applicator.
In the Janus Mini-Foam system, the foam is fed into the foam through a
trough by an oscillating feed pipe.
An adjustable doctor roller at the lower end of the trough controls the
amount of foam and thickness of the foam layer (0.4 40 mm) on the
rotating application roller.
Foam is transferred and pressed into the fabric as it passes 180 around
the application roller. The foam is collapsed by capillary forces and
pressure.
The two distinct mechanisms involved are the application of foam to the
application roller and the transfer of foam to the fabric.
4)
Foam Destruction
Capillary forces withdrawing the liquid from the foam lamellae and so
destruction.
High drying or ambient temperatures causes lowered foam viscosity,
increasing motion of molecules in the lamellae and increasing the bubble
volume. Plus, when surfactants are heated beyond their turbidity point/
cloud point, they close their foaming ability and instead function as
destabilizers.
Shear forces cause foam bubbles to burst by increasing their volume and
5)
Drying-energy costs are lowered due to low- add-on techniques used in foam
application. Drying-energy costs can be reduced by about 50%. The actual
savings differ considerably and range from as little as 15% to as high as 80%.
Drying temperature can be reduced considerably (by 65C). Its also possible
to maintain a relatively high drying temperature but to increase the
processing speed.
Water consumption is reduced by 30-90%. Reduction in the volume of
effluent water. Effluent treatment costs could be reduced by 50-80%. Air
pollution is also reduced.
Chemicals are utilized more productively. Chemical consumption costs are
reduced. Reduced concentrations of auxiliary chemicals like printing
thickeners. In some cases, some auxiliaries can be completely removed from
the formulation. Less dyestuff can be used than in conventional padding
processes. Chemical savings of less than 10% to up to as high as 50%.
Migration of DP or CRF resin finishes during drying is one of the most serious
problems with conventional finishing methods of cotton fabrics. This
migration effect is reduced if wet pick-up is reduced. Foam application this
way reduces or eliminates this migration to produce a uniform distribution of
chemical on the fabric. This improves qualities like crease-recovery angle,
abrasion resistance, tear strength, tensile strength, bursting strength and
resistance to flex abrasion. Width shrinkage during washing can be reduced.
Handle and wash-and-wear properties of the fabric are also improved.
Elimination of pre-drying, making it possible to do wet-on-wet applications.
Different finishes can be applied to the face and back of a fabric. It is possible
to dye the two sides of a fabric independently in one process, for example,
applying a basic dye to an acrylic fiber pile face and a direct dye to a cotton
back. Alternatively, one sided application is possible too.
Delicate fabrics can be processed under low tensions by foam-application
techniques.
It is difficult to produce deep shades at low wet pick-up (%) because of the
limitations of dyestuff solubility.
The half-life of a foam is the time in which 50% of the liquid is a given
foam has been drained from the foam to the bulk-liquid phase. Foams
for textile applications can have half-lives from a few seconds to
several hours.
One side applicators apply foam to only one side of the fabric, leaving
open the possibility of two different finishes on different sides of the
fabric. The two side applicators, on the other hand, apply the same
foam to both sides of the treated fabric.
Two side applicators normally employ two slots to apply the foam to
the fabric. Two distinctly different finishes can be applied to different
sides of the same fabric simultaneously.
To maintain the same chemical add-on with lower wet pickups, the
concentrations of the finish bath components must be increased
according to the equation:-
Foam applicators:
Relative amount of liquid and air in the foam are usually expressed as
the blow ratio of the foam. Blow ratio is the reciprocal of specific
gravity of foam. For instance, if a foam (made of only air and water)
Foams are inherently unstable and will separate into gaseous and
liquid phases as the foam ages. Relative stability of a foamed
formulation is important in foam application systems. Some methods
require very stable foams while others require very unstable foams.
Stability of a foam has to be tailored for the particular application.
Two general types of foam applicators are called open foam and
closed foam processes. An open foam process is one in which the
foam leaves the particular generator and come in contact with the
atmosphere before being applied to the fabric.
Open foam applicators include knife coaters which spread the foam on
the fabric surface and the horizontal nip pad which coats the fabric
with foam and crushes the foam into the fabric as the fabric passes
through the nip of the rolls.
The closed foam applicator forces the foam under presser through a
slot, which is sealed by the fabric passing continuously across the slot.
The wet pickup is determined by the feed rate of the foam generator
and the speed of the fabric crossing the slot.