FACTORS AFFECTING INITIAL FOAM HEIGHT IN ROSS-MILES FOAM TEST

A study has been made of the relationship between initial foam height, H, as measured by the Ross-Miles test, and such factors as surfactant concentration, critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the solute, surface tension (γ) of the solution, surface area (A) of the foam, and the work involved in the production of the foam surface. The initial foam was remarkably constant in character for the systems studied and there was a linear relationship between H and A. For five of the six solutes used, the work of producing the foam surface fell within a narrow range at concentrations in the neighborhood of the CMC, indicating an inverse relationship between A and γ. For these solutes, H≈(1000/γ)-3.6. The maximum in H occurred in the neighborhood of the CMC. © 1969 AOCS Press.