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Surface Active Agents, or surfactants, are chemicals which provide a surface (interface) activity when
dispersed in liquids. They have different purposes, can be used as herbicides, anti-foaming agents, adhesives,
cleaning agents and softeners. For cleaning purposes, their function is to alter (decrease) liquid surface
tension. In this function they are ubiquitous in both industrial processes (cleaning of production equipment,
storage vats, packaging lines, and cooking units either during the manufacturing process) and domestic
applications. ProtoNeat proposed an alternative way to decrease water surface tension without adding
chemicals (surfactants). This can be done by charging the water (producing protonically charged water), i.e.
positive and negative Bjerrum-defect like charges. This phenomenon was experimentally observed by Fuchs
et al in anolyte and catholyte when doing high voltage electrolysis of highly pure water during the so-called
‘floating water bridge’ experiment. The work done by the authors, when working with this “bridge”, showed
that, in case of positive excess charge, the hydronium ions migrate to the surface [8] thereby significantly
lowering the surface tension [9,10]. However, for how long this effect can be maintained and how effective it
is to produce such water is still unknown. In the ProtoNeat project, charged water was produced using the
electrospray technique and collected in containers. The electrostatic potential of the charged water was
measured with a Kelvin probe, showing that in a glass beaker, 80% of the charge dissipated within 2 minutes.
Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of hydronium ions (H₃O⁺) on the surface of the water, which
caused high positive electrostatic potentials. Surface tension was measured using the contact angle method,
revealing a significant drop in contact angle and a reduction in surface tension from 70 to 40 mN/m for charged
water compared to uncharged water. The results are positive and show the potential application of charged
water as a sustainable and environmentally friendly cleaning agent, since the surface tension was significantly
reduced.
Surface Active Agents, or surfactants, are chemicals which provide a surface (interface) activity when dispersed in liquids. They have different purposes, can be used as herbicides, anti-foaming agents, adhesives, cleaning agents and softeners. For cleaning purposes, their function is to alter (decrease) liquid surface tension. In this function they are ubiquitous in both industrial processes (cleaning of production equipment, storage vats, packaging lines, and cooking units either during the manufacturing process) and domestic applications. ProtoNeat proposes an alternative way to decrease water surface tension without adding chemicals (surfactants). This can be done by charging the water (producing protonically charged water) [2], i.e. positive and negative Bjerrum-defect like charges [3, 4]. This phenomenon was experimentally observed by Fuchs et al [5] in anolyte and catholyte when doing high voltage electrolysis of highly pure water during the so-called ‘floating water bridge’ experiment. The work done by the authors, when working with this “bridge”, showed that, in case of positive excess charge, the hydronium ions migrate to the surface [8] thereby significantly lowering the surface tension [9,10]. However, for how long this effect can be maintained and how effective it is to produce such water is still unknown. ProtoNeat wants to tackle these two questions and investigate whether a continuous production of protonically charged water as an environmentally friendly and sustainable cleaning agent is possible.