Enhanced Foamability of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Surfactant Mixed with Superspreader Trisiloxane-(poly)ethoxylate

Gravitational drainage from thin vertical surfactant solution films and gravitational drainage in a settler column are used to study the behavior of foams based on two-surfactant mixtures. Namely, solutions of the anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and nonionic superspreader SILWET L-77, and their mixtures at different mixing ratios, are studied. It is shown, for the first time, that solutions having a longer lifetime in the vertical film drainage process also possess a higher foamability. An additional and unexpected unique result is that when using a mixed surfactant system, the foamability can be much greater than the foamabilities of the individual components.