What is a blowing agent?
Foaming agents are substances that make the target material pores. It can be divided into three categories: chemical foaming agents, physical foaming agents and surfactants. Chemical foaming agents are compounds that can release gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen after being heated and decomposed, and form pores in the polymer composition; physical foaming agents are the changes in the physical form of the foam pores through a certain substance, That is, a compound formed by the expansion of compressed gas, the volatilization of liquid, or the dissolution of solids. Foaming agents have high surface activity, can effectively reduce the surface tension of the liquid, and arrange the double-electron layer on the surface of the liquid film to surround the air to form bubbles, and then a single bubble forms a foam. The blowing agent is divided into organic and inorganic.
What are the main categories of organic foaming agents?
1. Azo compounds
2. Sulfonyl hydrazides
3. Nitroso compounds
What are the main categories of inorganic foaming agents?
Carbonate
A kind of inorganic foaming agents, mainly calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate. Among them, sodium bicarbonate is a white powder with a specific gravity of 2.16. The decomposition temperature is about 100-140℃, and part of CO2 will be released, and all CO2 will be lost when it reaches 270℃. Soluble in water but not in alcohol.
Water glass
That is, sodium silicate, when mixed with glass powder and heated to about 850°C, it reacts with the glass and emits a large amount of gas. At the same time, it can strengthen the compressive and tensile strength of the material. It is mainly used as a foaming agent for preparing foam glass.
Silicon carbide
The main blowing agent used in the current industrial production of foam glass emits a large amount of gas during sintering at 800-900°C.
Carbon black
It is also a very easy-to-use foaming agent. It emits CO2 when heated and has a good foaming effect, but the disadvantage is that the price is relatively high.
What is the core of foaming agent?
The anionic surfactant aqueous solution produces a large amount of foam when mechanical force is introduced into the air, which is widely used in the fields of plasterboard and foamed concrete. The essence of foaming agent is its surface activity. Without surface activity, it cannot be foamed and cannot become a foaming agent. Surface activity is the core of foaming.
What are the commonly used surfactant foaming agents?
1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (K12)
2. Fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether sodium sulfate (AES)
3. Rosin soap foaming agent
4. Animal and vegetable protein foaming agent
5. Pulp waste
The development prospects of foaming agents
Only after knowing the type of foaming agent can you understand its performance characteristics. When choosing a foaming agent, you can have a target. In general, taking the composite road is the prospect of the foaming industry. At present, the most common and easy-to-use ordinary physical foaming agent is a combination of anionic surfactants and foam stabilizers, or a foam stabilizer with excellent compatibility with animal and plant surfactants; anionic surfactants are made of fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene Sodium vinyl ether sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc. are the mainstream, and the foam stabilizing system is mainly composed of silicone resin polyether emulsions.
What are the prices of foaming agents?
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