Composition of sea foam

Abstract

A study of the organic and inorganic composition of five Texas coast foams has shown that they were enriched in organic matter and a number of trace metals and that the inorganic and mineral composition far exceeded the organic constituents. Two foams were collected in a relatively pollution-free area off Bolivar Peninsula and two were sampled in Galveston Harbor on Pelican Island in an area marked by heavy shipping, sulfur storage and many dead fish. A fifth foam was collected a year later on Bolivar Peninsula at the same location as the second foam. The foams were preserved and separated into supernatant (soluble) and particulate portions. These portions were analyzed for organic and inorganic carbon, metals, protein, carbohydrate, lipid, sulfur and minerals. After these general analyses, the supernatant portions were fractionated by a liquid/liquid extraction method into 38 to 40 fractions and the particulate portions also were fractionated by a similar method into at least 25 fractions. A total of 318fractions for the five foams were analyzed for loss of weight on combustion and qualitatively analyzed by infrared ATR spectrophotometry, functional group spot tests and metals by emission spectroscopy.