Surface tension and gas dispersion properties of fatty acid solutions

•Systematic bubble size data for three fatty acids as a function of pH.•Associated acid was shown to have a stronger effect on bubble size compared to anion.•Two mechanisms of bubble size reduction were identified for different fatty acids.•Colloidal precipitates were found to interfere with formation of small bubbles.

The gas dispersion properties of aqueous solutions of fatty acids of different hydrocarbon chain lengths were assessed through measurements of average bubble size and bubble size distributions. Two mechanisms of gas dispersion were identified depending on the pH and speciation of the tested solutions. Solutions of long chain fatty acids containing colloidal precipitates at low pH exhibited low surface tensions, and only a small decrease in bubble sizes was observed for such solutions compared to bubble sizes measured in water. This relatively small change in bubble sizes could theoretically be predicted based only on the corresponding change in the surface tension of the solutions. In contrast, true solutions of long chain fatty acids affected bubble sizes to a much greater extent even though their surface tension values were higher and in some cases comparable to the surface tension of water. A combination of the surface tension and surface tension gradient effects was found to be operative in this case. Experimental results on shorter chain fatty acids strongly suggested that the associated acid species were more surface-active and more capable of reducing bubble sizes than the dissociated carboxylate anion.