Water-in-oil emulsion foaming by thiourea nitrosation: Reaction and mass transfer

Abstract

A study has been undertaken into the chemical production of gas bubbles within a concentrated water-in-oil emulsion, typical of those used as emulsion explosives. Chemical foaming was initiated by the introduction of a concentrated sodium nitrite solution to the emulsion, and the measurement of the decreasing emulsion density with time served to estimate the rate of nitrogen production. A conversion of emulsion density to nitrite ion concentration facilitated a kinetic analysis of the data. The change in nitrite ion concentration follows a rate equation which indicates that the rate-limiting reaction step corresponds to the N-nitrosation of thiourea by ON+, with an apparent rate constant of ..