Defoamer

  1. Home
  2. Drymix Mortars Admixture
  3. Defoamer

Construction Chemicals

Defoamer
D-150 is a highly efficient powder defoamer with excellent foam breaking speed and foam inhibition, suitable for neutral and alkaline systems, compatible with most other additives, and better adaptability to low temperature conditions.

Excellent foam-breaking ability and defoaming ability

Silicone antifoam agents not only effectively break up already formed foam, but also significantly inhibit foam and prevent its formation. They require very little to be effective, just one part per million (1ppm) by weight of the foaming medium. They are not only cost-effective, but also do not contaminate the substance being defoamed.

Long-lasting foam suppression

Foam suppression refers to the time during which a defoamer can effectively suppress foam after being added to a system. It is an indirect measure of the cost of using a defoamer. Silicone defoamers have good foam suppression properties, especially in harsh environments (high pH, low pH, high temperature, high pressure), which highlights their excellent foam suppression properties.

Chemical resistance

Because the Si-O bond is relatively stable, so the chemical stability of silicone oil is very high, it is difficult to chemical reaction with other substances. Therefore, as long as the formulation is reasonable, silicone defoamer can be used in systems containing acids, alkalis and salts.

Scan the QR to download our Brochures

FAQ

Can't find the answer?

Contact us now
Types of defoamers, their characteristics and areas of application.

Types of defoamers, their characteristics and areas of application.
1. Silicone defoamers
Silicone defoamers have strong defoaming ability, average foam inhibition ability, poor solubility, and can quickly defoam at room temperature. However, they are prone to stratification at high temperatures, have poor foam inhibition ability, and defoam slowly. Silicone defoamers generally include polydimethylsiloxane, etc. Because of their low cost and fast defoaming ability, silicone defoamers are widely used in various fields of industrial production and are currently the mainstream defoamer products.
2. Polyether defoamers
Polyether defoamers have relatively poor defoaming ability compared to silicone defoamers, but they have stronger foam inhibition ability. They have a long foam inhibition time and good results, and they have good thermal stability. Therefore, they are mostly used in industrial cleaning and high-temperature operations. Polyether-modified silicone defoamers have the advantages of both polyether and silicone defoamers, and are currently a mainstream development direction for defoamers.
The main components of polyether defoamers generally include polyoxypropylene, glycerin, and ethylene oxide ether. They are generally added to food products such as soy products, beverages, and sucrose during the production process, and are also widely used in industrial production to suppress foam in fields such as paper making, circuit board cleaning, cement mortar, paint and ink, and power plant desulfurisation.
3. Mineral oil defoamers
Mineral oil defoamers usually consist of an active agent and a carrier. The carrier is mainly a substance with low surface tension, such as fatty alcohols in water. The carrier mainly plays a role in carrying and diluting, while the active agent plays a major role in inhibiting and eliminating foam. Commonly used active agents include fats, waxes, aliphatic amides, etc.

Defoaming process

Defoamers break down bubbles in three basic processes:
● Entry
● Distribution
● Rupture
The efficiency of a defoamer is determined by three main factors:
● Insolubility in the foaming medium. The insolubility of the defoamer is crucial for it to be able to enter the bubble film.
● Low surface tension for better dispersion in the formulation.
● Ability to enter the bubble film

Defoaming mechanism

Defoaming mechanism
For a defoamer to be effective, it needs to have the following properties:
It must maintain limited compatibility with the system for a long period of time, so that the defoamer is not wetted by the liquid film, but repels the system liquid and accelerates the loss of bubble liquid.
It must have a lower surface tension than the system, so that the defoamer can enter the bubble and spread in the bubble’s liquid film.

The defoamer works during or after the formation of the foam film:
● The evenly dispersed defoamer penetrates into the foam film and distributes in it. The increase in surface tension causes the film to break up.
● The evenly dispersed defoamer penetrates into the foam film and forms a monolayer, which reduces its adhesion and makes it easier for the film to break up.
● Defoamers containing hydrophobic particles have a third mechanism. These hydrophobic particles reach the surface of the film and adsorb surfactants at the top of the film. The film breaks up due to the lack of surfactants.

Main components of defoamers

1. Active ingredient,

e.g. higher alcohols, mineral oils, silicone oils, polyethers, etc. Their main function is to reduce the surface tension of the foam and destroy the bubble tension balance, etc., in order to achieve the effect of defoaming and breaking bubbles.
2. Emulsifiers,

e.g. soap salts, octylphenol polyethoxylates, etc. Their main function is to disperse the active ingredients into small particles, which are then dispersed in the water to inhibit the formation of bubbles and prevent the secondary generation of foam.
3. Emulsifying aids,

e.g. hydrophobic silica, polyethylene ether, etc. The main function is to make the emulsification effect better.
4. Carrier,

e.g. aliphatic hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon, oxygen-containing solvent, etc. Generally, it is a substance that exists in water, liquid oil or organic solvent. It needs to adapt to environmental conditions, pH value and temperature to exert its function, provide a medium for the introduction of other substances, and is also the main body of the defoamer formula, which can enhance its defoaming effect.

In short, recent research on defoamers has focused on complexing agents such as silicone compounds and surfactants, polyethers and silicones, and water- or oil-soluble polyethers and silicone-containing polyethers. Complexing is one of the development trends in defoamers. Different compositions result in different effects when defoamers are used in various applications.

Related products

Construction Chemicals

Defoamer
D-150 is a highly efficient powder defoamer with excellent foam breaking speed and foam inhibition, suitable for neutral and alkaline systems, compatible with most other additives, and better adaptability to low temperature conditions.

Excellent foam-breaking ability and defoaming ability

Silicone antifoam agents not only effectively break up already formed foam, but also significantly inhibit foam and prevent its formation. They require very little to be effective, just one part per million (1ppm) by weight of the foaming medium. They are not only cost-effective, but also do not contaminate the substance being defoamed.

Long-lasting foam suppression

Foam suppression refers to the time during which a defoamer can effectively suppress foam after being added to a system. It is an indirect measure of the cost of using a defoamer. Silicone defoamers have good foam suppression properties, especially in harsh environments (high pH, low pH, high temperature, high pressure), which highlights their excellent foam suppression properties.

Chemical resistance

Because the Si-O bond is relatively stable, so the chemical stability of silicone oil is very high, it is difficult to chemical reaction with other substances. Therefore, as long as the formulation is reasonable, silicone defoamer can be used in systems containing acids, alkalis and salts.

Scan the QR to download our Brochures

FAQ

Can't find the answer?

Contact us now
Types of defoamers, their characteristics and areas of application.

Types of defoamers, their characteristics and areas of application.
1. Silicone defoamers
Silicone defoamers have strong defoaming ability, average foam inhibition ability, poor solubility, and can quickly defoam at room temperature. However, they are prone to stratification at high temperatures, have poor foam inhibition ability, and defoam slowly. Silicone defoamers generally include polydimethylsiloxane, etc. Because of their low cost and fast defoaming ability, silicone defoamers are widely used in various fields of industrial production and are currently the mainstream defoamer products.
2. Polyether defoamers
Polyether defoamers have relatively poor defoaming ability compared to silicone defoamers, but they have stronger foam inhibition ability. They have a long foam inhibition time and good results, and they have good thermal stability. Therefore, they are mostly used in industrial cleaning and high-temperature operations. Polyether-modified silicone defoamers have the advantages of both polyether and silicone defoamers, and are currently a mainstream development direction for defoamers.
The main components of polyether defoamers generally include polyoxypropylene, glycerin, and ethylene oxide ether. They are generally added to food products such as soy products, beverages, and sucrose during the production process, and are also widely used in industrial production to suppress foam in fields such as paper making, circuit board cleaning, cement mortar, paint and ink, and power plant desulfurisation.
3. Mineral oil defoamers
Mineral oil defoamers usually consist of an active agent and a carrier. The carrier is mainly a substance with low surface tension, such as fatty alcohols in water. The carrier mainly plays a role in carrying and diluting, while the active agent plays a major role in inhibiting and eliminating foam. Commonly used active agents include fats, waxes, aliphatic amides, etc.

Defoaming process

Defoamers break down bubbles in three basic processes:
● Entry
● Distribution
● Rupture
The efficiency of a defoamer is determined by three main factors:
● Insolubility in the foaming medium. The insolubility of the defoamer is crucial for it to be able to enter the bubble film.
● Low surface tension for better dispersion in the formulation.
● Ability to enter the bubble film

Defoaming mechanism

Defoaming mechanism
For a defoamer to be effective, it needs to have the following properties:
It must maintain limited compatibility with the system for a long period of time, so that the defoamer is not wetted by the liquid film, but repels the system liquid and accelerates the loss of bubble liquid.
It must have a lower surface tension than the system, so that the defoamer can enter the bubble and spread in the bubble’s liquid film.

The defoamer works during or after the formation of the foam film:
● The evenly dispersed defoamer penetrates into the foam film and distributes in it. The increase in surface tension causes the film to break up.
● The evenly dispersed defoamer penetrates into the foam film and forms a monolayer, which reduces its adhesion and makes it easier for the film to break up.
● Defoamers containing hydrophobic particles have a third mechanism. These hydrophobic particles reach the surface of the film and adsorb surfactants at the top of the film. The film breaks up due to the lack of surfactants.

Main components of defoamers

1. Active ingredient,

e.g. higher alcohols, mineral oils, silicone oils, polyethers, etc. Their main function is to reduce the surface tension of the foam and destroy the bubble tension balance, etc., in order to achieve the effect of defoaming and breaking bubbles.
2. Emulsifiers,

e.g. soap salts, octylphenol polyethoxylates, etc. Their main function is to disperse the active ingredients into small particles, which are then dispersed in the water to inhibit the formation of bubbles and prevent the secondary generation of foam.
3. Emulsifying aids,

e.g. hydrophobic silica, polyethylene ether, etc. The main function is to make the emulsification effect better.
4. Carrier,

e.g. aliphatic hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon, oxygen-containing solvent, etc. Generally, it is a substance that exists in water, liquid oil or organic solvent. It needs to adapt to environmental conditions, pH value and temperature to exert its function, provide a medium for the introduction of other substances, and is also the main body of the defoamer formula, which can enhance its defoaming effect.

In short, recent research on defoamers has focused on complexing agents such as silicone compounds and surfactants, polyethers and silicones, and water- or oil-soluble polyethers and silicone-containing polyethers. Complexing is one of the development trends in defoamers. Different compositions result in different effects when defoamers are used in various applications.

Related products

× How can I help you?