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Foam inhibition

Measurements for avoiding and inhibiting foam formation

Natural or added surfactants, e.g. wetting agents, have a side effect that is very unwelcome in many industrial sectors: the generation of foam. Low-foaming surfactants combined with foam inhibiting or defoaming agents are used to reduce foam formation and solve related product quality issues. Our instruments for foam analysis provide valuable information about foamability and foam stability.

Frequent Foaming issues to be solved

  • Foam bubbles in inks, paints and lacquers
  • Reduced heat transfer capacity of cooling lubricants and other liquids due to foam
  • Foam in industrial cleaning and washing, e.g. dishwashers
  • Increased volume and decreased speed when pumping or mixing liquids
  • Poor surface quality in paper production

Measuring foamability and foam stability

To study the foaming tendency of liquids and the efficiency of defoaming agents and their working principle, the Dynamic Foam Analyzer – DFA100 is a suitable device for such applications. It generates foam from a sample in different, but highly reproducible ways while continuously measuring the foam and liquid volume.

For deeper understanding the foam formation and decay, modules for liquid content measurement and foam structure provide supplemental information which fulfills the analysis as a whole. A completive scientific approach by the Surface Rheology Module relates foamability and foam stability to physical parameters like the elastic and viscous moduli.

KRÜSS Application Reports

AR282: A reliable method for monitoring the aging and performance of cooling liquids used in machining processes

The performance of cooling liquids used in machining processes decreases during usage. Aging effects such as reduced air release and increased foam formation are hard to monitor with standard lab tests, whereas foam height measurements provide reliable results for effective quality control.

AR269: Investigating the foam-inhibiting effect of antifoaming agents in printing lacquers

To avoid the numerous quality problems due to foam, antifoaming agents are added to aqueous printing inks and lacquers. The efficiency of two silicone-based antifoaming agents is investigated and compared using foam height measurements with respect to time.

AR267: Foam behavior and foam stability of aqueous surfactant solutions

The foaming and stability behavior of three surfactant low-foaming solutions are characterized. Comparative interfacial rheology measurements provide a good correlation between interfacial rheology parameters and the data from the foam measurements.

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