What is an emulsion defoamer?
The main components of emulsion defoamers are fatty alcohols and their derivatives. The structure of the main material fatty alcohol is an amphiphilic structure similar to that of surfactant molecules. One end of it is a lipophilic long-chain carbon-hydrogen bond, and the other end is a hydrophilic hydroxyl group. Since the hydroxyl groups at the end of the long-chain carbon-hydrogen chain form infiltration with the hydroxyl groups on the fiber surface, the long-chain hydroxyl groups have an expulsion effect on the bubbles adsorbed on the fiber surface, so that the tiny bubbles adhering to the fiber can be easily peeled off from the fiber. Under the action of alcohol defoamers, the peeled free bubbles quickly merge and gradually increase in volume. Due to the buoyancy, the bubbles rise to the water surface. Similarly, for the foam on the water surface, the hydroxyl groups of fatty alcohols enable it to quickly spread on the bubble film, and the lipophilic carbon-hydrogen chain adsorbs on the gas-liquid interface of the bubble, destroying the tension balance of the molecular film formed by the surfactant, polymer compound, wet-end chemicals, etc. originally arranged on the interface, causing the surface film to become thinner and the bubbles to burst quickly.
