Silicone and Organic Anti-Foaming Agents

An anti-foaming agent, or defoamer, is a chemical additive that functions to reduce and hinder the formation of foam in any industrial process.

In industrial settings, foam typically forms due to surfactants contained in detergents, degreasers, some types of lubricating or cutting fluids, or as a result of saponification that can occur between alkaline detergents and oils or fats. Foam can generate during washing operations or during the treatment of process water.

Surfatek anti-foaming agents have been formulated with the aim of achieving maximum foam control effectiveness without interfering in any way with the process in which they are dosed.

Anti-foaming agents can be dosed either manually with corrective action and only when necessary, or preventively thanks to automatic dosing systems.

Anti-foaming agents can be divided into two main categories: silicone anti-foaming agents and organic anti-foaming agents.

SILICONE ANTI-FOAMING AGENTS

Our production of silicone anti-foaming agent is a water-based silicone emulsion that, thanks to its high effectiveness, ensures foam reduction even at very low dosages.

Silicone anti-foaming agents are mainly used in the treatment of wastewater within purification plants. They are stable at all pH levels and act even at room temperature. They have relatively low costs compared to organic anti-foaming agents.

Among the main Surfatek silicone anti-foaming agents, we highlight NOFOAM S CONC.

ORGANIC ANTI-FOAMING AGENTS

​Surfatek organic anti-foaming agent is a water-based emulsion based on non-silicone oils.

These anti-foaming agents are used in all those situations where the presence of silicone could create problems, such as in the purification treatment of water that must then be reused, or in the abatement of foams that can form in washes prior to painting or electroplating treatments.

The action of organic anti-foaming agents is longer-lasting compared to silicone anti-foaming agents.

Among the main Surfatek organic anti-foaming agents, we highlight NOFOAM 408, NOFOAM 508, and NOFOAM 8000.

NOFOAM 8000 is a specific anti-foaming agent for water treatment and purification processes. NOFOAM 8000 is very effective in both biological treatments and in the conditioning of final effluents leaving purification plants, but its main distinguishing feature is its extremely low environmental impact, being a readily biodegradable anti-foaming agent.