Anti-Foaming Agent for Washing Components Contaminated with Lubricating Greases

The challenge

A company specializing in the maintenance of railway carriages contacted us with the need to eliminate the foam that forms during the washing phases of various components contaminated primarily with lubricating greases.

These lubricating greases tend to react with the alkalinity of the detergent, forming soaps. The high washing pressure due to the pump, combined with the presence of soaps, generates a foam so compact that it prevents the correct functioning of the washing system.

The client wished to solve the problem caused by the foam without modifying the formula of the detergent in use, using a high-efficiency anti-foaming agent with the lowest possible environmental impact, and that does not interfere with the subsequent treatments to which the washed parts will be subjected.

Our solution

An anti-foaming agent or defoamer is a chemical additive that has the function of hindering and reducing the formation of foam from any industrial, food, or pharmaceutical process.

In industrial sectors, foams generally form due to the surfactants contained in detergents, degreasers, some types of lubricating oils, coolants, or due to saponification between alkaline detergents and oils or greases contained in the lubricants themselves.

Surfatek anti-foaming agents have been formulated with the aim of obtaining the maximum foam abatement efficiency, without interfering in any way with the process in which they are dosed and, above all, without interfering with the phases subsequent to washing, such as painting or galvanic treatments.

Anti-foaming agents can be dosed both manually and with automatic dosing systems.

In this specific case, we started testing some anti-foaming agents already in our production, trying to identify which of these acted most effectively and, above all, with a long-lasting effect.

After a series of tests, we developed a new high-performance formulation, capable of rapidly breaking down the foam.

Results

The new anti-foaming agent was named NOFOAM XP.

It is an anti-foaming agent rich in active substances, mainly consisting of three-dimensional siloxane molecules. This particular morphology of the main molecule that constitutes NOFOAM XP makes it very efficient in all those situations in which classic anti-foaming agents are inadequate. Furthermore, it is perfectly rinsable and does not interfere in any way with any bonding or painting treatments subsequent to the washing phase.