Lubricating oil plays a vital role in the operation of mechanical equipment, reducing friction, reducing wear, cooling, cleaning and preventing corrosion. However, in lubricants, foam formation and stabilization are often a common problem. Foam will reduce the cooling effect of the lubricating oil, prevent its even distribution, and even cause machine failure. Therefore, defoaming agents play an important role in lubricants. This article will detail the key role and practical applications of defoaming agents in lubricants.
In lubricants, defoaming agents play a vital role. Lubricating oil is widely used in the lubrication of various mechanical equipment to reduce friction, reduce wear, cool and clean. However, lubricants often encounter foaming problems during use. These foams will affect the performance of the lubricating oil, so defoaming agents are needed to solve them. This article will introduce in detail the role of defoaming agents in lubricants, application scenarios and practical application cases.
The role of defoaming agents
Defoaming agent is a substance that can destroy the foam structure. Adding it to lubricating oil can effectively control and eliminate foam. The defoaming principle of defoaming agents mainly includes physical defoaming and chemical defoaming. Physical defoaming uses the surface tension of the defoaming agent to destroy the stability of the foam and cause the foam to burst. Chemical defoaming uses the defoaming agent to interact with the surfactant in the foam to reduce its surface tension, thereby causing the foam to burst. Defoaming agents are suitable for various lubricants, including mechanical lubrication, hydraulic lubrication, circulation lubrication, etc.
According to the mechanism of action, defoaming agents can be divided into non-silicon defoaming agents and silicone defoaming agents. The main components of non-silicone defoaming agents are hydrocarbons, fatty alcohols, etc., which have good defoaming properties and low surface tension. Silicone defoaming agents contain silicone components, which have high surface activity and can reduce the surface tension of the solution, making the foam more likely to burst.
Classification of defoaming agents
According to chemical composition, defoaming agents can be divided into silicone, polyether, lipid, etc.
Silicone defoaming agents have good defoaming effects and can adapt to high temperature, high pressure and high shear environments. Such defoaming agents mainly include modified polysiloxane, silicone emulsion, silicone elastomer, etc.
Polyether defoaming agents have good foam suppression properties and can achieve ideal defoaming effects at lower concentrations. Such defoaming agents mainly include polyoxyethylene glycidyl ether, polyoxypropylene glycidyl ether, etc.
Lipid defoaming agents have good high temperature resistance and can maintain stable defoaming effects under high temperature conditions. Such defoaming agents mainly include fatty acid esters, fatty acid glycerides, etc.
Production and preparation method of defoaming agent
The production and preparation methods of defoaming agents mainly include physical methods, chemical methods and biological methods.
The physical method mainly uses mixing, emulsification, dispersion and other processes to mix different raw materials together to form substances with defoaming properties. The advantages of this method are simple process and low cost, but the defoaming performance of the product is relatively poor.
The chemical method mainly synthesizes raw materials into substances with defoaming properties through chemical reactions. The advantages of this method are stable product performance and good defoaming effect, but the cost is higher and environmental pollution may occur.
Biological methods mainly use microbial fermentation or enzyme-catalyzed reactions to prepare defoaming agents. The advantages of this method are good environmental performance and low production cost, but the product performance is relatively poor.
In practical applications, appropriate production and preparation methods should be selected according to specific needs.
case analysis
A machinery manufacturing company encountered foaming problems when using lubricants during production.
Select the appropriate defoamer: According to the reasons, a silicon-based defoamer was selected because it has good compatibility and high temperature resistance, and is suitable for use in high-temperature environments in machinery manufacturing.
Determine the amount of defoaming agent added: Through experiments, it was determined that the optimal amount of defoaming agent added is 0.05%, which can effectively eliminate foam without affecting other properties of the lubricating oil.
Add defoaming agent: Before adding defoaming agent, the lubricating oil needs to be fully stirred to ensure that the defoaming agent can be evenly dispersed in the oil. Add the defoaming agent to the lubricating oil and mix well. Through testing, it was found that the defoaming agent effectively solved the foam problem and had no impact on other properties of the lubricating oil. During the addition process, it is necessary to pay attention to mixing evenly and observe and detect the effect to ensure the best defoaming effect.
Through the scientific and reasonable use of defoaming agents, the foam problem in lubricating oil can be effectively solved and the performance and service life of lubricating oil can be improved. With the continuous development of science and technology, it is believed that more efficient and environmentally friendly defoaming agent products will appear in the future, bringing more convenience and development prospects to the application and development of lubricants.