Is There Any Difference Between Silicone Defoamers and Non-silicon Defoamers

Jun 9, 2021

According to the composition of the defoamer, it can be divided into many types, such as silicone defoamer, polyether defoamer, silicone polyether defoamer, mineral oil defoamer, tributyl phosphate defoamer, silicon Oxyane defoamer, n-butanol defoamer, etc. These are relatively common defoamers, and there are some uncommon ones, so I won't introduce them.
If it is divided by industry, there are even more. Each industry has corresponding defoamers, such as water treatment defoamers, paper defoamers, cutting fluid defoamers, circuit board defoamers, Textile defoamer, oil field defoamer, fermentation defoamer, paint defoamer, cleaning agent defoamer, desulfurization defoamer, rubber defoamer, etc.
Each industry can be divided into different types of defoamers according to different uses, such as defoamers in the paper industry, as well as papermaking defoamers, pulp defoamers, pulp defoamers, white water defoamers, Papermaking water treatment defoaming agent, papermaking degassing defoaming agent, black liquor defoaming agent, coating defoaming agent, etc.
Is there any difference between silicone defoamers and non-silicon defoamers?
The main difference between the two is that the defoaming active material is different. The active material of the non-silicon defoaming agent is naturally not silicone; it is generally believed that the silicone defoaming agent defoams quickly, but the durability requires follow-up observation. The foaming agent has better long-lasting defoaming properties, and the specific defoaming agent to be selected depends on the specific needs. For continuously running water-based systems, non-silicon defoamers are recommended.

With the continuous development of science and technology, many indispensable products have been created, such as defoamer, a product that can eliminate industrial foaming. It is an indispensable product for many companies. Many people may not know well about defoamers. In fact, it has a wide range of applications, such as dyeing, papermaking, power plants, sewage treatment, and many other industries. Sometimes during the production process, a lot of bubbles will be generated on the liquid surface due to certain reactions, which is very important for production. Unfavorable, not only can affect our normal production and operation, but also pollute the environment and cause harm. There are also many types of defoamers. For different foaming problems, different defoamers are used., Defoamer is to inhibit or eliminate the generation of foam. There are different types of defoamers, which are mainly divided into three categories: mineral oils, silicones, and polyethers. Mineral oil defoamers are mainly composed of a carrier and an active agent. The function of the carrier is to carry and dilute, and the function of the active agent is to defoam. There are silicone oil defoamers, which mainly include polydimethylsiloxane, etc., its solubility is average, the defoaming efficiency is very high under normal temperature conditions, and the effect of inhibiting bubbles is also very good, but the effect is not very good under high temperature conditions. ideal. Polyether defoamers contain materials such as polyoxypropylene oxide ethylene glyceryl ether, which have very good effects, such as long bubble suppression time, high speed, and good temperature stability. According to the different industrial production conditions of different sites, choose the corresponding defoamer.
Defoamers are widely used in industrial production to solve foam problems. This must be well known to everyone. There are many types and wide applications. We all know that there are many types of defoamers, but apart from the defoamers commonly used in your products, how much do you know about other types of defoamers? We said that there are so many types of defoamers, and it is a headache to remember them all. The editor tells you that there is no need to remember them. In fact, you only need to know which types of defoamers are roughly divided into, and you will probably eliminate them. Know the types of foaming agents.
According to the classification of defoamers in different reference books, the methods are often different. Generally speaking, it can be divided into water-based and solvent-based; or silicon-containing and non-silicon-containing. Then we can generally think that there are four main types of markets that are more common:

(1) Lower alcohols and esters: lower alcohols and esters including isopropanol, butanol, tributyl phosphate, etc. have certain toxicity and VOC, and the defoaming effect is not obvious, and the foam suppression is not good. Fading out gradually.
(2) Organic polar compounds: Organic polar compounds mainly refer to some surfactants with low HLB value, such as polyether surfactants, polyethylene glycol fatty acid esters, etc. These are on the market due to the relationship between HLB Not much.
(3) Mineral oils: In addition to the defoaming effect of mineral oil complexes, mineral oils also contain some hydrophobic particles, such as stearic acid metal soap and polyurea. Also has a certain effect. Common in the market.
(4) Silicones: Silicones mainly use hydrophobic silicone oil as the active ingredient, plus some other carrier surfactants to use together, the effect is better, but the amount of addition needs to be considered.

However, the more common ones in the market, the general market is more common in the third and fourth categories. Do a good job of matching to ensure the integration of the defoamer and the entire system, and only need to exert the defoaming and anti-foaming properties and long-term effects. As for the specific types, there are countless defoamers in the Chinese market, so it is necessary to conduct specific experiments in our own laboratory to see whether they are suitable.