During the bottling of drinks with high carbon dioxide content, under certain conditions the physiological development of bubbles at the contact surfaces between container and CO2 over-saturated liquid may reach such severe proportions that the thus produced foam overflows from the bottle mouth, preventing proper filling and causing problems for the production line: such a phenomenon is called “foaming”.

In order to minimize production losses and speed up the resolution of foaming problems, Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro has developed a special integrated analysis protocol that allows to identify and understand the causes of the phenomenon of “uncontrolled” nucleation of foam.

The protocol foresees a series of comparative analyses on various significant and representative samples of the issue at hand, which must be collected at the bottling facility during the foaming event in accordance with specifically developed guidelines.

The analysis typically includes a preliminary visual endoscopic inspection of the inner surfaces of the bottles, followed by further investigation using FE-SEM or FTIR, depending on the findings obtained through endoscopy.