Porous ceramics have been applied in the refining process, micro filtration of liquids and emulsions and, also, as thermal insulators for high temperatures. Nevertheless, there are few studies in the literature concerning the production of ceramics using foam as the porosity precursor and its effect on the final properties of the material. Thus, the objective of this work comprises the evaluation of the different cationic and anionic foaming chemical additives, and a thickening agent on the production and stabilization of the water based foams. The evaluating criteria of these agents involved the foam volume generated, the time for the coalescence of the air bubbles and the chemical nature of the surfactants. The properties of the porous ceramic samples were carried out considering the porosity, the density and the distribution of pore size.
foams; porous alumina; ceramic processing
