Analysis of Carbopol And Triethanolamine Concentration in The Viscoplastic Properties of Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Materials with viscoplastic characteristics have being widely studied due to their applicability in industries, but also because of their common presence in nature. Fluids with such characteristic can be modelled by the equation known as Herschel-Bulkley. This type of fluid has a yield stress property, which is extremely important to characterize it. Carbopol solution is the most common fluid used for experimental studies involving this type of fluid. However, the Carbopol solution needs a neutralizing agent, which acts as a pH regulator, prevents the formation of fungus, but it also affects the yield stress. In the present work, measurements of the yield stress from flow curve tests, performed in a rheometer, were made for different combinations of Carbopol and Triethanolamine (neutralizing agent) concentrations. The yield stress increased with the increment in the concentration of both, Carbopol and Triethanolamine (TEA), in addition, it was observed that TEA concentrations must be greater than 500 ppm to avoid the formation of fungi and less than 700 ppm to obtain a homogeneous solution.