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.
- Offers strong fundamentals on polymer properties important on foaming
- Outlines the use of supercritical fluids for foaming
- Covers theoretical points-of-view, including foam formation of the polymer/gas solution to the setting of the final foam
- Discusses the several processing technologies and applications

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.Salvatore Iannace is a senior scientist of the National Research Council of Italy. He is currently the Director of the Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta (SCITEC-CNR). His principal research interests lie in the fields of sustainable multicomponent and multi-scale foams. The main focus of the scientific activity is on the development of novel biobased materials used for thermoplastic and thermosetting composites and foams as well as on their manufacturing technologies. He chaired the international conferences on Biofoams in Italy since the first edition in 2007 and co-chaired the other editions in Canada and China. He has published ca. 150 papers in international refereed journals,1 book, 21 book chapters, 5 patents and delivered ca. 190 conference papers.Giuseppe Mensitieri is Full Professor and Director of the Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II°, Italy. He has more than 35 years of professional experience in Polymer Science and Technology with 160+ published papers. His research interests concern the general field of thermodynamics and structure-properties relationships of polymeric materials and their composites. The main focus of the scientific activity is on the theoretical and experimental aspects of sorption thermodynamics and mass transport of low molecular weight compounds in polymers, composites and organic/inorganic hybrids, on the interactional issues related to polymer mixtures and on the environmental resistance of polymer based materials. He is author of 140 publications on peer reviewed international journals, of 14 book chapters and of 6 International patents.

1. Foams and their applications2. Foam technologies3. Gas foaming with physical blowing agents4. Supercritical fluids5. Sorption thermodynamics of low molecular weight compounds in polymers6. Mass transport of low molecular weight compounds in polymers7. Interfacial tension8. Rheological properties 9. Thermal properties of polymer-penetrant mixtures10. Bubble nucleation11. Bubble growth12. Continuous processing 13. Batch processing14. Molding processes15. Ongoing research and future research challenges