The effect of surfactants on oxygen mass-transfer through the air-water interface

The aim of the current study was to investigate the oxygen transfer rate through the water-air interface in the presence of different concentrations of various surfactants. The surfactants used in the current study were methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-butanol. The measurements were performed with an apparatus based on the electrochemical oxygen sensor. The results obtained showed that the impediment to oxygen mass-transfer through the water-air interface depends on the molecular structure and concentration of the surfactant used. A simple mathematical model was proposed, which allowed us to calculate the characteristic constants of surfactants-K' and delta k starting from the experimental results. K' is the reciprocal of the equilibrium constant of adsorption process and delta k characterizes the influence of the surfactant to oxygen mass-transfer through the air-water interface.