Effect of Water Soluble Polymers on Spray Droplet Size

ABSTRACT THE effects of polymer type and concentration, nozzle orientation, nozzle core size, and liquid shear on the size distribution of spray droplets produced in a high speed airstream for mixtures of water, Triton X-100 surfactant, and polymer product were analyzed with a laser particle measurement system. The effect of polymer concentration on droplet size was found to be dependent on polymer type. Polyvinyl and polyacrylamide polymers were found to be more effective than linear alkyl epoxide or polymide copolymers in increasing volume median diameter and reducing the percentage of spray volume composed of small droplets subject to spray drift. Shearing the polymer spray mixtures by multiple passes through a gear pump reduced both liquid viscosity and the size of spray droplets produced by disc-core nozzles in a 190 km/h airstream