Influence of the interfacial adsorptions on the imbibition of aqueous solutions of low concentration of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 into calcium fluoride porous medium

Abstract

The imbibition of aqueous solution of Triton X-100 in porous columns of calcium fluoride has been carried out in order to investigate the surfactant influence on the capillary rise. Experiments have consisted of the measurement of the increase in the weight of the porous columns caused by the imbibition of the solutions. From their analysis, it has been found that the capillary rise velocity does not depend on the surfactant concentration, and that imbibition of these solutions behaves as in the case of water. This unexpected finding can not be attributed to depletion of the surfactant molecules from the advancing meniscus, since this effect can not be caused by the adsorption at the solid. This lack of surfactant adsorption on the solid is precisely the reason that justifies the observed behaviour. So, it has been proved that the driving force for the capillary rise movement will remain unaltered despite the surfactant addition whenever the free energies of the solid interfaces are not modified by the adsorption on the solid. Therefore, it is concluded from this study that only if adsorption on the solid happened, the imbibition could be influenced by the surfactant concentration.