Blowing agent

Description

A substance used to produce gas, bubbles or structural holes in liquids, polymers, plastics, and metals. The purpose of blowing, or foaming, agents are to reduce a meterial's density while also increasing its thermal and acoustical insulation properties. Some blowing agents, such dinitroso compounds (dinitroso pentamethylene tetramine) and hydrazides (benzene sulfonyl hydrazide) generate nitrogen upon heating. They are used in fire extinguishers and to produce foamed plastics from Polyethylene, Silicone, Epoxy, and vinyl resins. Other types of foaming agents, such as bicarbonates, produce carbon dioxide. In Ethafoam, isobutene is used as a blowing agent along with glycerol monostearate as a permeation control agent (Williams 2019).

Synonyms and Related Terms

foaming agent; agent moussant (Fr.)

Resources and Citations

• R. Scott Williams, ‘Plastic Storage Products’ In ‘Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage’ Lisa Elkin and Christopher A. Norris (eds.), Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, New York. 2019.

• Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000