Non-silicone defoamers: opening a new chapter of defoaming in multiple fields

Application scope of non-silicone defoamers

Non-silicone defoamers (such as mineral oils, polyethers, natural oils, polymers, etc.) are widely used in multiple industrial fields due to their environmental protection, high compatibility and specific process adaptability. The following is an explanation from the application field, process link and advantage scenarios:

1. Water-based system

Water-based coatings

Application scenarios: architectural coatings, industrial coatings, wood coatings, automotive coatings, etc.

Function: eliminate bubbles during grinding, paint mixing, and spraying, and avoid defects such as shrinkage cavities and pinholes.

Advantages: good compatibility with water-based resin systems, and does not affect gloss and adhesion.

Typical dosage: 0.1%~0.5% (adjusted according to viscosity).

Water-based inks

Application scenarios: flexographic printing, gravure printing, screen printing, etc.

Function: prevent bubbles caused by stirring and pumping during printing, and avoid flying ink and ink piling.

Advantages: Does not affect the ink transfer rate and drying speed, and complies with environmental regulations.

Typical dosage: 0.2%~0.8%.

Water-based adhesive

Application scenarios: packaging glue, label glue, woodworking glue, etc.

Function: Eliminate bubbles during stirring and coating to ensure bonding strength.

Advantages: Compatible with water-based polymer systems to avoid affecting the curing speed.

Typical dosage: 0.3%~1.0%.

2. Oily system

Solvent-based ink

Application scenarios: UV ink, solvent-based gravure ink, screen ink, etc.

Function: Prevent bubbles from being generated during solvent evaporation and avoid white spots and pitting on printed products.

Advantages: Strong solvent resistance, does not affect the adhesion and weather resistance of ink.

Typical dosage: 0.3%~0.8%.

Adhesive

Application scenarios: hot melt adhesive, pressure-sensitive adhesive, structural adhesive, etc.

Function: Eliminate bubbles during high-temperature melting or mixing to avoid bonding failure.

Advantages: High temperature resistance (such as hot melt adhesive needs to be resistant to more than 180°C), does not affect the fluidity of the colloid.

Typical dosage: 0.5%~1.5%.

3. Food and medicine field

Food processing

Application scenarios: fermentation process (such as beer, soy sauce), dairy processing, juice concentration, etc.

Function: Eliminate the foam generated during fermentation and stirring to avoid overflow or affect product quality.

Advantages: Comply with FDA, GB and other regulatory standards, non-toxic and harmless, and does not affect the flavor of food.

Typical dosage: 0.05%~0.1%.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing

Application scenarios: biological fermentation, injection preparation, tablet coating, etc.

Function: Prevent microbial culture, stirring process from generating foam, avoid contamination or uneven dosage.

Advantages: Comply with GMP standards, good biocompatibility, and do not affect drug stability.

Typical dosage: 0.01%~0.05%.

4. Papermaking industry

Application scenarios: pulping, papermaking, coating and other links.

Function: Eliminate bubbles in slurry and coating liquid, avoid paper holes and strength reduction.

Advantages: Good compatibility with fibers and fillers, does not affect paper gloss and printing performance.

Typical dosage: 0.05%~0.3%.

5. Textile and printing and dyeing

Application scenarios: dyeing, printing, finishing and other processes.

Function: Prevent dyes and additives from foaming during stirring and spraying, and avoid color spots and color differences.

Advantages: Does not affect the dye coloring rate and color fastness, and meets environmental protection requirements.

Typical dosage: 0.1%~0.5%.

6. Metal processing

Application scenarios: cutting fluid, grinding fluid, electroplating fluid, etc.

Function: Eliminate bubbles in the liquid, avoid tool wear and reduce processing accuracy.

Advantages: Compatible with metal ions and additives, does not affect lubrication and cooling effects.

Typical dosage: 0.2%~1.0%.

7. Environmental protection and energy fields

Wastewater treatment

Application scenarios: biochemical treatment, flotation process, sludge dehydration, etc.

Function: eliminate foam generated during aeration and stirring to avoid sludge overflow.

Advantages: does not affect microbial activity and meets emission standards.

Biodiesel

Application scenarios: transesterification reaction, distillation process.

Function: prevent methanol, glycerol and other reactants from generating foam and avoid product loss.

Advantages: high temperature resistance, acid and alkali resistance, and does not affect product quality.

8. Summary of advantage scenarios

Fields with high environmental protection requirements: such as food, medicine, and wastewater treatment, silicone-free defoamers can avoid silicon spots and microbial contamination risks.

Fields sensitive to gloss: such as water-based coatings and inks, polyether defoamers can avoid shrinkage and loss of gloss.

High temperature or strong shear environment: such as hot melt adhesives and metalworking fluids, polymer defoamers can maintain long-term stability.

Scenarios with regulatory restrictions: such as EU REACH and China RoHS, silicone-free products are easier to pass compliance tests.

9. Precautions

System compatibility: The compatibility of defoamers with resins, solvents and additives needs to be verified through experiments.

Dosage control: Excessive dosage may lead to shrinkage and poor leveling, and it is necessary to optimize gradually from small doses.

Process adaptation: Different processes (such as grinding and spraying) have different requirements for defoamer performance, and targeted selection is required.

Long-term stability: Observe the dispersibility and precipitation risk of the defoamer in the system to avoid affecting storage stability.

By rationally selecting a defoamer that does not contain silicone, the bubble problem can be effectively solved, while meeting multiple requirements such as environmental protection, safety, and performance.