Blowing Agent

Name:
Blowing Agent
Detailed information:
A substance incorporated into a mixture for the purpose of producing a foam. One type decomposes when heated to processing temperature to evolve a gas, usually carbon dioxide, which is suspended in small globules in the mixture. Typical blowing agents of this kind are baking powder (bread and cake), sodium bicarbonate or ammonium carbonate (cellular or sponge rubber), halocarbons and methylene chloride in urethane, pentane in expanded polystyrene, and hydrazine and related compounds in various types of foamed plastics. Another type is air used at room temperature as a blowing agent for rubber latex; it is introduced mechanically by whipping, after which the latex is coagulated with acid. Air is also used for this purpose in ice cream, whipped cream, and other food products, as well as in blown asphalt and blown vegetable oils.See Foam.