Defoamers | Industrial Defoamers & Antifoams
Effective Foam Control Chemistry for
Industrial Processes and Systems
Ineffective Foam Control
Can Be Catastrophic
Foam is an inconvenient reality of many industrial processes. Foam not only reduces processing speed and capacity, it can also pose damage risk to other equipment or limit the effectiveness of additive chemistries in process fluids. The problem is, while foam will disappear on its own, you need to be able to dispel it fast.
Fully Customized Defoaming Solutions
Foam is a by-product of many processes and can cause severe equipment malfunction and contamination if not handled effectively. Often you require more than simple commodity chemistries to solve these complex problems. Guardian works with our clients to solve their unique foaming issues by understanding the broader set of systems and problems they’re encountering. And once we’ve created a solution, we provide the application training, emergency response, and regular reviews and evaluations that ensure our customers feel confident in our chemistry. Here are just some of the areas where we can help solve issues and improve performance:
Commercial Buildings
Hospitals
Schools
Residential Buildings
Data Centres
Hotels
Arenas
Painting and Coatings
Chemical Manufacturing
Cannabis
Plastics
Building Materials
Machining and Metal Working
Wood Mills and Engineered Wood Products
Food and Beverage Processing
We Find Solutions for Every Industry
We create effective defoaming solutions to suit different processes and industries. Surface foams can be difficult to prevent and break down due to the fluid composition and surface properties.
Guardian provides a large variety of process defoaming products formulated to rapidly destabilize and break down foams while preventing further foam buildup. Our in-house and in-field testing technologies are available to ensure accurate chemical functions and application rates, and our experts are working consistently to create innovative new solutions capable of more effectively defoaming while using less product.
Featured Defoamers
NOFOME APEX
Mineral-Oil Based Defoamer
NOFOME APEX is a powerful, highly concentrated mineral oil-based blend that is specifically formulated to provide optimal foam control at very low dosages. Properly applied, it prevents foam formation and ensures a stable production process saving energy and resources. It prevents foam problems from harming your equipment, product quality and production efficiency. The highly concentrated formula of NOFOME APEX means you need less product to achieve the same results, making it a cost-effective solution for foam control.We don’t believe in ‘deliver-and-done’. True benefits revolve around the consistency of program execution, which is why we’re there when you need us both for regular servicing and emergency support for life.
Our experts know your industry and will seek to understand the unique challenges of your business. Let’s talk.
Your systems and processes are interconnected. We’ll arrange a site visit to understand the bigger picture.
Industrial Defoamer Solutions
Tailored For Your Systems
Foam control is crucial for maintaining efficient industrial operations, protecting equipment, improving product quality and preventing environmental damage. With the right solutions in place, you can effectively control foam and improve your bottom line.
With a variety of options available, our team works with you to identify the best industrial defoamer and process optimizations to address your foam issues. We create a customized defoamer solution tailored to your specific needs, provide training and ongoing evaluations to ensure it continues to be effective. By working with us, you can be assured your industrial systems are protected from the negative effects of foam.
Chemical Defoamers You Can Trust
At Guardian Chemicals, we pride ourselves on being a trusted and innovative chemical supplier. We have a reputation for providing cutting-edge solutions to our customers across various industries. Our wide range of custom industrial defoaming solutions can help you address foam issues and optimize your systems.
With our comprehensive range of defoaming chemicals, you can be sure that Guardian Chemicals will help improve your business processes and achieve optimal performance. Browse or chemical product finder or contact us to learn more and see the difference our products can make for your company.
Defoamer products
Every Guardian product we recommend for this application. Each product page has the technical detail. Not sure which one fits your system? Ask our team.
Frequently Asked Questions About Industrial Defoamers
Industrial defoamers work by breaking the surface tension of the foam, causing the bubbles to collapse. Some defoamers also work by creating a barrier on the surface of the liquid that prevents the formation of foam.
Our industrial defoamers are used in a wide range of industries and environments, including:
- Water and Wastewater Treatment
- Construction, Building Materials and Composites
- Oil and Gas
- Chemical Manufacturing
- Metal Working
- And more!
Yes, beyond our chemical defoamer selection, Guardian Chemicals has a vast line of specialty chemical products, including cleaners and degreasers, sanitizers and disinfectants, water treatment chemicals, degassing agents and more.
A defoamer knocks down foam that has already formed. An antifoam is dosed ahead of the foaming step to stop it forming in the first place. Most industrial products do both to some degree, but the injection point and dose rate are different, so the same drum used the wrong way will underperform.
Usually the system changed rather than the product. Temperature or pH drift, a new surfactant upstream, higher solids, or a change in make-up water will all shorten a defoamer’s life. Emulsions can also separate in storage or freeze over winter. A side-by-side foam test against fresh product tells you which it is.
Yes. An overdosed or mismatched defoamer can behave as a surfactant and stabilise the foam it was meant to break. If foam got worse right after a change, halve the dose before you add more. Spent defoamer also leaves a system foaming harder than it started.
It depends on what happens downstream. Silicone carries over and causes fisheyes, craters and adhesion failures in paints, coatings, inks and paper. Where any of that is in the process, use a non-silicone polymer or ester chemistry. Where it is not, silicone is usually the lowest cost per unit of foam controlled.
There is no universal rate. It depends on the foam type, temperature, solids loading and where you inject. Most industrial systems run in the low parts-per-million range. Overdosing is the most common mistake we see. Start low, measure knockdown time and persistence, and step up only if you need to.
The system and its temperature and pH, what is foaming, whether silicone is permitted downstream, your current product and dose, and a sample of the foaming liquid if you can send one. We screen candidates against your actual sample rather than a laboratory standard.
Yes. Our lab runs candidate defoamers against your sample with your incumbent product included as a comparison, so you can see knockdown speed and persistence side by side before committing to a drum.
Yes. Water treatment applications need fast knockdown at low dose without depressing oxygen transfer or upsetting the biology. AQUAGUARD AF1 is our defoamer for water and wastewater systems; NOFOME 518 and NOFOME APEX cover process and manufacturing applications.
Yes, and for us that is the normal path rather than the exception. We formulate and manufacture our own chemistry, so adjusting actives, carrier and emulsion stability to suit your temperature, pH and contact time is a formulation change, not a special order.
At our plant in Sturgeon County, Alberta, and at our Kissimmee, Florida facility. Canadian customers are buying Canadian-made chemistry and US customers are buying US-made, which matters for procurement policies on both sides of the border.
Discover the Difference Our Chemical Defoamers Can Make
If you need to remove foam from your industrial processes, Guardian Chemicals can help. We offer a variety of industrial defoamers for use in many different industries and environments. Our defoamers prevent foam issues, help improve your business processes and achieve optimal system performance. Contact us today, our industry experts are ready to answer your questions about defoamers and find the right solution for you.
Something Better
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