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What are the characteristics of silicone-based water treatment defoamers and oil-based defoamers?
Release Date:
2022-08-31
Generally speaking, pure water and pure surfactants do not form bubbles because their surfaces and interiors are uniform, preventing the formation of a flexible, elastic film; even if such a film does form, it is unstable and quickly collapses. However, when a surfactant is present in the solution, upon bubble formation, intermolecular forces cause the hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups within the surfactant molecules to adsorb onto the bubble wall, arranging themselves in a specific orientation: the hydrophobic groups face the aqueous phase, while the hydrophilic groups point toward the interior of the bubble. This results in the creation of an elastic membrane at the bubble’s surface, which is highly stable and resistant to rupture under normal conditions.
Generally speaking, pure water and pure surfactants do not form bubbles because their surfaces and interiors are uniform, preventing the formation of a flexible, elastic film; even if such a film does form, it is unstable and quickly collapses. However, when a solution contains surfactants, upon bubble formation, intermolecular forces cause the hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups within the surfactant molecules to adsorb onto the bubble wall, arranging themselves in a specific orientation: the hydrophobic groups face the aqueous phase, while the hydrophilic groups point toward the interior of the bubble. This creates a resilient, elastic membrane on the bubble surface that is highly stable and resistant to rupture under normal conditions. The stability of foam depends on factors such as surface tension, surface viscosity and elasticity, electrostatic repulsion, the mobility of the surface film, temperature, and evaporation. Furthermore, bubble stability is inversely related to the interfacial tension between the gas and liquid phases; the lower the supporting force, the more readily bubbles form. In daily life and industrial production, the presence of foam often causes significant inconvenience, necessitating its elimination.
① Organic chemistry exhibits plasticity and is unlikely to react with other foaming chemicals;
② Physiological plasticity, non-toxicity, and environmental friendliness; it poses no harm to the natural environment.
③ Exhibits excellent demulsification properties and requires a low dosage;
④ It offers a wide operating temperature range, with outstanding resistance to high and low temperatures, weathering, and aging.
⑤ Possesses excellent flexibility and wetting properties, which help improve the quality of coated paper, among other benefits.
Recent scientific research has focused primarily on compounded defoamers, including blends of organosilicon compounds with surfactants, polyethers with organosilicon materials, and water‑soluble or oil‑soluble polyethers with silicone‑containing polyethers. Compounding represents the leading trend in defoamer development. At present, polyether‑based and organosilicon‑based defoamers exhibit superior performance, and active research is underway to modify these two major classes and to develop high‑performance formulations. A more recent class of defoamers is the silicon‑ether copolymer type, which offers rapid demulsification, long foam‑inhibition duration, excellent alkali and acid resistance, thermal stability, and good compatibility. It combines the broad compatibility of conventional defoamers with the outstanding demulsifying efficacy characteristic of organosilicon defoamers.
Defoamers are available in a wide variety, with broadly applicable uses. The entire process of defoaming—both foam suppression and foam destruction—works as follows: once a defoamer is added to the system, its molecules disperse randomly across the liquid surface, inhibiting the formation of elastic films and thereby halting foam generation. When significant foam has already formed, adding a defoamer causes its molecules to rapidly spread over the foam’s surface, quickly spreading out to create an extremely thin bilayer that deepens diffusion and penetration, eventually replacing the original thick foam film. Due to its low interfacial tension, the defoamer molecules flow into the high‑tension liquid phase responsible for foam formation; these low‑tension defoamer molecules continue to diffuse and penetrate at the gas–liquid interface, causing the foam film to soften rapidly. Simultaneously, the surrounding high‑tension film exerts a strong pulling force on the foam, leading to stress imbalance around the bubble and ultimately resulting in foam breakup. The defoamer molecules, which do not dissolve in the system, then migrate again to the surface of another foam film, repeating this cycle until all the foam is completely suppressed.
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