Deposition studies of carbon particles on stainless steel surfaces from hydrocarbon media

The adsorption isotherms for carbon particles of about 200 nm size, in the presence of various combinations of a terminally functionalised (amine) polyisobutylene polymer and alkylpropoxylate/alkylbutoxylate surfactant molecules, on 7 μm diameter stainless steel beads from isooctane solutions have been obtained. The deposition of carbon particles on stainless steel plates was achieved using a flow-cell and analysed using scanning electron microscopy. The flow-cell was also used to study the “cleaning” properties of various polymer/surfactant solutions, in their ability to remove deposited particles. It was found that the polymer molecules were much more effective dispersants and stabilisers for the carbon particles, but the surfactant molecules were much better at effecting anti-deposition and subsequent removal of deposited carbon particles, and provide carried adsorbed polymer chains.