Performance evaluation of solvents blend for silicone defoamer

Thesis Abstract

Foam are substances that are been formed when pockets of gases are trapped in a liquid or solid. Foam stabilizations are caused by van der waals force between molecules, there are conditions required for foaming to occur. Foams have different applications that are been utilised in their different forms. Defoamers are substances that hinders the formation of foam in liquids. The purpose of the defoaming test is to check the performance of silicone defoamer as an antifoaming agent after meeting some certain criteria. They are different method that can be used to test for defoamers which include the bartsch method, ross-miles test, automated shake test (AST) and foam rise method. The foam rise method was used to carry out this investigation. The foam sample used for this research was crude oil foam

Defoamers used for this experiment were improvised with solvents and silicone. Silicone was mixed with`each of the solvents in different proportions. During the experiment, physical properties of the components and defoamers were determined with measuring instruments and visual examinations. Different parameters were used to rate the defoamer’s performance. Charts in which the parameters were used to compare the defoamers were depicted.

From the figures(charts) shown, the defoamer which could be preferable for use in checkmating crude oil foam was defoamer E.