Charge-Related Measurements – a Reappraisal. Part 1. Streaming
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Martin A. Hubbe and Junhua Chen Charge-Related Measurements – A North Carolina State University, Reappraisal. Dept. of Wood and Paper Science Part 1. Streaming Current In a 1995 article in this journal Jaycock(1) (a) various factors can interfere with the A 1995 article in this maga- expressed concerns about the accuracy and analyses, and zine raised concerns about interpretation of two types of charge-related (b) one should not stray too far outside of the use and interpretation of measurements that have become increasingly the ranges of conditions under which the two kinds of measurements common in papermaking applications, methods can be expected to give reliable that are being carried out in namely, the streaming current (SC) and the answers. paper mills to evaluate the SP (c) In addition to these two reasons, there electrical charges at sur- streaming potential ( ) methods. faces in fibre slurries. In the intervening years there does not are concerns about the interpretation of SC This article relates to the appear to have been any attempt either to data obtained in paper mills. streaming current method, support or to refute those cautionary state- To start, it is worth quoting Jaycock’s which is widely used for ments. Rather, there has been increasing use statements about the SC method in the Con- (1) endpoint detection when in the paper industry of the test methods that clusions section of the article: (2-10) testing the charge demand of Jaycock cautioned us about. The present “The piston type streaming current detec- whitewater or filtrate sam- article deals with SC measurements. A tor has no established theoretical basis! It is ples from fibre stock. companion article will deal with a second assumed that the measured potential is related Although there is still type of measurement discussed in the same to the zeta potential, and that the adsorbed (11) some truth in the statement article. layers responsible for the generation of this that the “streaming current It seems that there are two ways in which potential are characteristic of the papermak- detector has no established one could view the set of circumstances ing system as a whole, being in equilibrium theoretical basis,” subse- described in the first paragraph. with it. There are doubts about the validity of quent work has helped to i) On the one hand, maybe the increased both of these assumptions.” define ranges of experimen- use of SC devices – even without considering In addition, Jaycock advocated use of tal conditions within which other factors – is sufficient proof that the microelectrophoresis(10,21) as the best way to the test gives reliable results. method must be providing practical value to obtain zeta potential data for a papermaking Also, some specific sources the users. Otherwise, the thinking goes, cost furnish. of interference have become conscious managers of paper companies and To address Jaycock’s concerns, it is first better understood. chemical supply companies would not con- necessary to describe the main equipment and tinue to invest in that technology. a little bit about the procedure of analysis ii) Another way to view the situation is to used in a typical papermaking application. assume that Jaycock’s worst fears were cor- rect, and that much of the data obtained by SC The streaming current (SC) method measurements in paper mills over the inter- Figure 1 (next page) is a schematic diagram vening years have been either inaccurate or of a typical SC device. It is worth bearing in misleading. mind that different brands of equipment can Fortunately, due to some ongoing research be quite different in appearance, despite their during the period between 1995 and now, we sharing the same basic operating principles. are now in a better position to answer some of Suppliers of SC equipment, in different forms, the concerns raised by in the 1995 article.(1) include Rank Brothers, Mütek, Chemtrac, and Some of that continued work was conducted Milton-Roy companies. by us North Carolina State University(12-14) and As noted by others,(1,22-24) the main wetted some was done by others.(15-20) parts of the SC device consist of a plastic pis- The purpose of this review article is to re- ton that moves in a sinusoidal manner back examine the main concerns raised by Jaycock and forth within a dead-ended plastic cylin- and to give qualified support for continued der, usually at a frequency of about 4 Hz. efforts to implement SC measurements, both Because the gap between the piston and cylin- in the laboratory and online in paper machine der is narrow (often less than 1 mm) systems. The reason that the support needs to compared to the diameter of the piston (often be “qualified” is that about 12 mm), the motion of the piston gives 17 PAPER TECHNOLOGY OCTOBER 2004 STREAMING CURRENT MEASUREMENTS rise to a more rapid movement of aqueous These “extra” ionic charges will exist very fluid back and forth within the annulus. near to the surface in a region that is often Also, there are two metal electrodes built called the “double layer.” The average distri- into the cylinder wall at different axial posi- bution of counter-ion charges in the double tions. The probes are connected to an layer depends on electronic system capable of rectifying and (a) attraction to the surface smoothing any electrical signal that results (b) random diffusion of the ions in all direc- from the reciprocating motion. tions, and Except in some unusual cases,(25) the origin (c) screening of the electrostatic effects by of most of the electrical signal that is salt ions.(26-28) observed with SC devices arises due to the electrically charged nature of the plastic sur- The movement of aqueous solution past the faces, with the understanding that the word charged surface causes net movement of the “surface” includes anything that becomes counter-ions, especially in the “tail” of the adsorbed onto the plastic itself. counter-ion distribution lying farthest from Many SC devices are made with the charged surface. poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a contamina- The most common use of SC devices in the tion-resistant substance which, if absolutely paper mill has been to determine the cationic pure, would have no surface charge of its demand or anionic demand of samples of own. Practical use of the SC method, espe- process water, usually in the absence of cially in the case of paper machine fibres.(5-8,12,17) In other words, the device is used applications, requires that the plastic becomes as the means of detecting the endpoint of a charged due to the adsorption of polyelec- titration. trolytes and colloidal materials from the A solution of charged polymer is gradually sample. added to a stirred aliquot of process water, The user makes an implicit assumption and a “zero” reading on the SC device is taken that any excess of charged materials existing as evidence that a sufficient amount of poly- in the sample will determine the sign of the mer solution has been added to the mixture to electrical current signal that is generated. just neutralize any excess of electrical charge. Setting aside, for the moment, the question This excess is understood to exist at the about whether the water-loving, charged surfaces of particles, very finely divided materials present in paper mill water samples materials (i.e. “colloidal matter”), dissolved actually adsorb to a significant extent onto the polyelectrolytes, and various surface-active low-energy plastic surfaces, the reciprocating molecules in the mixture, such as salts of flow of aqueous solution past a charged sur- resin acid molecules from the wood.(29) face gives rise to an electrical signal due to (15-20) the presence of counter-ions. Theoretical limitations to the SC method For example, if the net charge of the PTFE, Before considering practical uses of SC with its covering of colloidal materials, is tests, let’s consider what Jaycock meant by negative, then there needs to be an equal and saying that the SC method has “no theoretical opposite excess of positively charged ions in basis”.(1) To help justify these strong words, it the solution phase adjacent to the surface. is worth noting that typical raw output of an SC device does not have a simple, quantitative relationship to zeta potential. The inventor of the SC method used only a rudimentary theo- retical approach to rationalize the observed output signals in terms of a zeta potential at the plastic surfaces of the piston and cylinder in the SC device.(22) Though there has been important progress more recently in quantifying the SC signal in ideal cases,(16-20) the calculation depends criti- cally on the annular distance between the piston and cylinder. That distance is subject to change due to wear, a “ribbed” pattern of some SC pistons, and possible changes in alignment of the piston within the device. Further support of the words “no theoreti- cal basis” involves the fact that one is measuring an electronic quantity related to a coated PTFE surface, despite the fact that PTFE has a completely different surface character Figure 1 Schematic diagram of wetted parts of a common type of streaming compared to that of the fibres, fine particles, current detector or colloidal materials in a sample of process 18 PAPER TECHNOLOGY OCTOBER 2004 STREAMING CURRENT MEASUREMENTS water from a paper mill. After all, it takes a Streaming current – the range of reliability brave individual to place their trust in that the For purposes of process control, it is often PTFE (i.e. Teflon® ) surface becomes uni- more important that a measurement be repro- formly and consistently coated by the ducible, regardless of whether the results can colloidal materials in the sample.