Apparatus for programmed high-performance purification of surfactant solutions

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Abstract
Generally, surfactants contain trace impurities that will falsify their adsorption properties enormously. To carry out reliable experiments with surfactant solutions necessitates removing those trace impurities beforehand. A programmed apparatus for removing surface-active trace impurities from surfactant solutions has been constructed and tested. It takes advantage of the contaminants’ stronger surface activity and considerably lower content in comparison with the main surfactant component. Surface-active material of the solution to be purified is allowed to adsorb at its surface. After considerable reduction of the solution surface area, the adsorbed material is sucked off from the surface in a definite manner by using a fine capillary. The single operating steps are repeated periodically and automatically until the solution reaches the state of ‘‘surface chemical purity.’’ The apparatus can be utilized for a wide range of different conditions given by the individual surfactant properties simply by changing the operating parameters. The instrument favorably and effectively provides that peculiar grade of surfactant purity necessary for all kinds of fundamental surfactant research and characterization.