Effect of fluid properties on two-phase froth characteristics

Fluid properties have a significant influence on the structure and dynamics of froths in agitated vessels. In this paper, the structure and dynamics of surface froths of 21 different liquids in agitated vessels were studied by use of features extracted from digitized images of the froths. The effect of fluid density, surface tension, viscosity, and ionic strength on two froth features representing the average bubble size and the stability of the froth was investigated. Experimental results indicated that the surface tension and the fluid density had the most significant influence on the structures of the froths. An increase in surface tension resulted in a decrease in the stability of the froth as well as a decrease in the average bubble size of the froth. Likewise, an increase in the density resulted in a decrease in froth stability as well as a decrease in the average bubble size distribution of the froths.