Effect of Calcium Ions Concentration on the Foaming Power of Anionic Surfactants

Water solutions based on the novel surfactant sulfoxylated methyl ester (Phi-MES C16) have been studied and compared to two leading types of surfactants used today: linear alkylbezene sulfonate (LAS) and secondary alkane sulfonate(SAS) with regard to foaming power. This work describes the foam height related experimental results carried out according to the Ross Miles test where either the anionic concentration and water hardness have been varied alternatively. The experimental results obtained indicate that [Anionic]/[Ca(2+)] ratio strongly influences foam height and that Phi-MES C16 is superior to LAS and SAS.