Effect of surfactant on the characteristics of a droplet-laden jet

The present study discusses the effect of adding a non-ionic surfactant on the characteristics of an air–water spray. The addition of the surfactant resulted in the production of smaller droplets. The jet width was also lowered by 20–30% and the centerline droplet velocities were increased by about 5–18%. The droplet size–probability plots indicated that the coalescence of drops is reduced when a surfactant is added. In general, the dynamic surface-tension effects can be very important and may be the rate-limiting step for some key processes. The concentration and the nature of surfactant used also need to be considered as they may significantly affect the spray characteristics.