Growing bubbles in a slightly supersaturated liquid solution

TL;DR

This paper presents an experimental system to study the growth of gas bubbles in slightly supersaturated liquids, focusing on diffusion-driven growth and bubble interactions near hydrophobic cavities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental setup for controlled bubble growth in supersaturated liquids, enabling detailed study of bubble interactions and mass transfer mechanisms.

Findings

Bubbles grow from hydrophobic cavities with controlled positioning.

The system allows investigation of bubble interactions in diffusion-limited conditions.

Experimental results shed light on bubble growth dynamics in supersaturated solutions.

Abstract

We have designed and constructed an experimental system to study gas bubble growth in slightly supersatu- rated liquids. This is achieved by working with carbon dioxide dissolved in water, pressurized at a maximum of 1 MPa and applying a small pressure drop from saturation conditions. Bubbles grow from hydrophobic cavities etched on silicon wafers, which allows us to control their number and position. Hence, the experiment can be used to investigate the interaction among bubbles growing in close proximity when the main mass transfer mechanism is diffusion and there is a limited availability of the dissolved species.