Foaming with Supercritical Fluids

Foaming with Supercritical Fluids, Volume Nine provides a comprehensive description of the use of supercritical fluids as blowing agents in polymer foaming. To this aim, the fundamental issues on which the proper design and control of this process are rooted are discussed in detail, with specific attention devoted to the theoretical and experimental aspects of sorption thermodynamics of a blowing agent within a polymer, the effect of the absorbed blowing agent on the thermal, interfacial and rheological properties of the expanding matter, and the phase separation of the gaseous phase, and of the related bubble nucleation and growth phenomena. Several foaming technologies based on the use of supercritical blowing agents are then described, addressing the main issues in the light of the underlying chemical-physical phenomena.

Ernesto Di Maio is professor of Materials Science and Technology at the Dept. of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering of the University of Naples Federico II, Italy. His research interests are within the fields of polymer processing, composites and the physical properties of polymer/blowing agent solutions. The main focus of the scientific activity is on polymeric foams, both thermoplastic and thermosetting, on their processing technologies and the process-structure relationship, with the aim of tailoring the density and the morphology of the foams to achieve high value-added products. He is author of 90 publications on peer reviewed international journals, of 12 book chapters and of 7 International patents.

1. Foams and their applications 2. Foam technologies 3. Gas foaming with physical blowing agents 4. Supercritical fluids 5. Sorption thermodynamics of low molecular weight compounds in polymers 6. Mass transport of low molecular weight compounds in polymers 7. Interfacial tension 8. Rheological properties 9. Thermal properties of polymer-penetrant mixtures 10. Bubble nucleation 11. Bubble growth 12. Continuous processing 13. Batch processing 14. Molding processes 15. Ongoing research and future research challenges