What is CLC Physical and Chemical Foaming Agent?

In terms of international pricing benchmarks, according to the CP data released by Saudi Aramco, the propane contract price (CP) in March was $895 / ton, up $120 / ton from the previous month, up 15.48% from the previous month and up 43.20% from the same period last year. Butane contract price (CP) in March was 920 US dollars/ton, up 145 US dollars/ton compared with last month, up 18.71% month-on-month, up 54.62% compared with the same period last year; In March, CP in Saudi Arabia rose sharply, giving a strong boost to the international and domestic LPG market. Benchmark LPG prices are higher than a year ago as the economy continues to recover and demand for crude oil continues to repair. According to this trend, the market price of concrete foaming agent will also be affected to a certain extent.

Introduction to CLC Concrete Foaming Agent

There are two general cement-based foaming materials, one is chemical foaming, that is, through the chemical reaction of aluminum and other aerating agent and alkali in cement to produce gas; Another is physical foaming, through surfactants and mechanical stirring action to produce gas to join cement foaming. Relatively, chemical foaming is more stable and reliable, and more suitable for large-scale promotion.

CLC Physical Foaming Agent 

Clc physical foaming agent or cellular lightweight concrete physical foaming agent is an additive which can reduce liquid surface tension and produce a large number of uniform and stable foam, in order to produce foam agent lightweight concrete.

The foaming agent is a kind of substance that can make its aqueous solution produce a lot of foam when mechanical force is introduced into the air. This kind of substance is the surfactant or surface-active substance. The essence of the foaming agent is its surface activity. Without surface activity, it cannot foam.

CLC Chemical Foaming Agent

Chemical foaming, that is, aluminum and other aerating agent reacts with the cement alkali to produce gas foaming.

Aluminum is a very active metal, which can react with water to replace hydrogen in the effluent and form strong alumina. The surface of aluminum particles exposed to air has been oxidized by oxygen in the air, forming an inert protective film of aluminum oxide, which prevents the contact of aluminum with water.

There is a certain amount of alkaline substances in aerated concrete slurries, such as calcium hydroxide and alumina, which can be dissolved in an alkaline solution to produce metaluminate. When the oxide film on the surface of the aluminum powder is dissolved, the aluminum reacts with water to replace the hydrogen in the effluent and form gelatinous aluminum hydroxide. But it, like alumina, prevents the water from touching the surface of the metal, preventing the reaction from proceeding. But aluminum hydroxide can also dissolve in an alkaline solution to form metaluminate. In this way, in an alkaline solution, the aluminum can continuously react with water to form hydrogen gas until it is used up. And hydrogen gas to approximately spherical bubbles, evenly distributed in the slurry, the slurry volume expansion, hardening to form porous silicate products. The aerating agent used in aerated concrete is mainly active aluminum powder. Of course, the active aluminum powder is specially treated. Because active aluminum powder in the natural environment will occur oxidation and lose activity. 

Aerated concrete is a new building wall material made of cement, fly ash, lime, and foaming agent through mixed reaction and steam autoclaved. The pores evenly distributed inside make this material very light, and enable it to block sound, and it also has good heat insulation performance. Most of all, it's made of concrete, so it's very strong. Therefore, aerated concrete has the advantages of lightweight, high strength, heat preservation, sound insulation, and fire prevention. 

Precautions When Using the Chemical Foaming Agent:

1. The foaming speed should be appropriate, the quality of concrete will be affected no matter if it is too fast or too slow.

2. The generated hydrogen bubbles should be small in diameter and evenly dispersed.  Especially in the full volume of cement slurry pouring mold, it is necessary to disperse evenly to ensure the quality of the pouring mold. 

3. The condensation and solidification of cement should not be affected when gas is generated. If the cement setting delays, it will lead to cement strength decline or produce an abnormal cement setting phenomenon.

Suppliers of Concrete Additives

TRUNNANO is a reliable foaming agents supplier with over 12-year experience in nano-building energy conservation and nanotechnology development.

If you are looking for high-quality CLC foaming agents, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. (sales@cabr-concrete.com)

We accept payment via Credit Card, T/T, West Union, and Paypal. TRUNNANO will ship the goods to customers overseas through FedEx, DHL, by air, or by sea.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to develop, there is growing concern about the potential disruption of Russia's energy supply. Geopolitical premiums have pushed up the price of crude oil and natural gas, and the energy price is expected to remain high in the short term. Affected by this, the market price of the concrete foaming agent may keep rising.

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