Deaerators

TEGO® Airex

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 Figure 1: Surfactants orient
themselves at the liquid/air
interface

Foam – a well-known problem

Foam is one of the most common prob- Not all foams are the same orient themselves in this interface and
lems which a formulator must consider “encapsulate” the micro-foam bubble
when developing coatings and printing There are two types of foam: micro-foam (fig. 1).
inks. It is particularly important in water- and macro-foam. However, it is fre-
borne, radiation-curing, solvent-free and quently difficult to distinguish easily The TEGO® Foamex range of coatings
high solids formulations. between these foam types as they often additives from Evonik eliminates primarily
occur together as a “foam problem.” macro-foam particularly in waterborne
Foam is a stable distribution of small gas formulations. However, depending on the
(usually air) bubbles in a liquid. Pure liq- In principle, it is possible to classify structure of the additive, they are also
uids, however, do not foam. A stable macro- and micro-foam. The former is effective against micro-foam. These prod-
foam can only occur when substances found in, for example, the coating film ucts are fully described in the “Technical
with a surfactant structure are present in surface, the latter is found within the Background Defoamers”.
the liquid. coating film. Both types of foam can be
distinguished in the liquid coatings mate- TEGO® Airex additives are predominantly
Surfactants, with their hydrophilic and rial and in the dried/cured coating film. effective against micro-foam although
hydrophobic regions, orient themselves they show positive effects when tackling
preferentially at the liquid/air interfaces. Macro-foam bubbles in liquid paint are macro-foam. The mode of operation of
A liquid with included or incorporated air generally air bubbles surrounded by a the TEGO® Airex family is described
has such interfaces. Surfactants orient duplex film of a surfactant double layer. below.
themselves at this interface and thus sta- Two liquid/air interfaces exist here.
bilize the air bubbles producing stable Micro-foam bubbles can be described as
foam. air inclusions which only exhibit one
liquid/air interface. The surfactants also

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 Figure 2: Waterborne wood coating, airless application

Micro-foam is usually only recognized

at second glance

Many coating problems are not thought How is micro-foam formed?

of as being associated directly with micro-
foam. Furthermore, entrapped air is often Micro-foam consists of small air or gas
only recognized with the help of visual bubbles in the coating. When present,
aids such as a magnifying glass or micro- surfactants orient themselves at the air/
scope. liquid interface, i.e. the air or gas bubble,
and stabilize it (fig. 1).
Turbidity effects or a reduction in gloss in
a coating can be caused by micro-foam Air or gas can be incorporated in the coat-
bubbles, an undesirable effect in, for ing film by:
example, high gloss finishes (fig. 2). • stirring/mixing/dispersing during
manufacture of the coating
Premature corrosion can be caused by • mixing when adding curing agents in
micro-foam bubbles since they reduce the 2-pack systems
effective film thickness of the coating. • application processes such as rolling,
Micro-foam bubbles can also cause small dipping, spraying and, most impor-
pinholes as the coating dries. These are tantly, airless-/airmix-spraying
small channels which can reach right • release of gas by chemicaI processes
down to the metallic substrate. The pro- during curing of the coating (e.g.
tective function of the coating is compro- release of CO2 through reaction of iso-
mised and corrosion can progress more cyanate with moisture)
rapidly. • application on porous substrates such
as wood or stone (air entrapped in
pores rises in the coating)

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 Besides the surfactants, two further fac- This means that if the coating viscosity  Fig. 4 shows the rising velocity of an air/
tors play a key role in the formation of is relatively high, the rate of rise of the gas bubble at constant velocity as a func-
micro-foam: air/gas bubble is relatively small. Air/gas tion of its radius, i.e. its size based on
• the viscosity of the coating bubbles, particularly in formulations with Stokes’ Law.
• the size of the air or gas bubbles a relatively high viscosity (e.g. high solids
or UV formulations, floor coatings, high The rising velocity of very large air/gas
build glazes, anti-corrosion coatings), bubbles increases exponentially. These
Micro-foam – relationship between rise slowly to the coating surface. The reach the surface during curing or drying
viscosity of the coating and the bubble viscosity of the coating increases as dry- of the coating where they form macro-
size ing/curing progresses. As a consequence, foam and can be eliminated with the aid
the bubbles remain in the coating film of defoamers (see “Technical Background
The factors mentioned are closely related and result in the well-known problem of Defoamers”).
by Stokes’ Law which, in simplified form, is: micro-foam.
This raises the question: What happens
v ~ r / 2 However another important relationship
is indicated by Stokes’ Law: the size of
with small air/gas bubbles, known as the
micro-foam? An answer is given in the
the air bubble has a far more marked next section.
where effect on the rising velocity than the vis-
v = velocity of rise of the foam bubble cosity of the coating because the radius of
r = radius of the foam bubble the bubble appears to the power of 2 in
 = viscosity of the coating the equation.
(fig. 3).

Figure 3: Rising speed depends on viscosity of the paint and size of the bubble Figure 4: Rising speed depending on the radius of the bubble
rising speed (v)

V Rising speed

foam bubble radius (r)

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 Figure 5: View through a micro-
scope: dissolving of micro-bubbles
with time lapse, waterborne on
glass, airless application
Micro-foam immediately after application Micro-foam after 10 min Micro-foam after 20 min

Can micro-foam bubbles dissolve of At first, there is a mixture of micro-bub- equation, which relates the internal pres-
their own accord? bles of different sizes. As drying pro- sure of a micro-foam bubble to the exter-
ceeds, the picture alters. Relatively nal pressure of the surrounding medium.
Micro-foam bubbles can disappear of large micro-bubbles slowly become The smaller the micro-foam bubble, the
their own accord. They continuously larger while small micro-bubbles rapidly greater the rise in the internal pressure
shrink until they disappear. This phenom- become even smaller. They literally compared to the external pressure. This
enon can be easily observed using a shrink until they disappear. pressure difference causes air from the
microscope during, for example, the dry- micro-bubble to diffuse into the sur-
ing phase of an airless-applied coating. The driving force for the shrinkage of the rounding medium and dissolve there.
One can easily track how the micro-foam small micro-bubbles is the Laplace pres- Diffusion, and with it, shrinking of the
bubbles change during this time (fig. 5). sure of the foam bubble. The Laplace micro-foam bubble continues faster and
pressure is given by the Young-Laplace faster as the bubble becomes smaller.

Young-Laplace equation
How do deaerators
work?
Effective deaerators exhibit a partial or
targeted insolubility in the medium to be
treated and, ideally, a certain surface
activity. The deaerators concentrate pref-
interfacial
tension erentially at the liquid/air interface and
form, in the ideal case, an additive film
The internal pressure of an air bubble is Laplace Pressure around the micro-foam bubble. They thus
greater than the external pressure as the Derived from the Young-Laplace prevent stabilization of the bubble by sur-
effect of interfacial tension must be over- equation with Pi = Pa + 2/r. factants. In addition, the partially insolu-
come. The ratio of the interfacial tension Pi = internal pressure of air bubble ble active deaerating substances promote
to the radius of the bubble 2/r is greater Pa = external pressure of air bubble diffusion of air from the micro-foam bub-
the smaller the air bubble. This leads to an  = interfacial tension ble into the surrounding medium.
increase in the internal pressure Pi. For r = radius of the air bubble
small air bubbles between 10 and 20 μm
diameter, the internal pressure can be 10
to 15% higher than the external pressure.

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 Partial or targeted incompatibility of the
deaerator means that there is an optimum
balance between the effectiveness of the
deaerator and the coatings formulation.
On the one hand, if the deaerator is too
compatible it would not be effective. On
the other hand, if it is too incompatible,
defects such as craters, fish-eyes or tur- Figure 6: Solventborne clearcoat with different deaerators added: from left to right, completely soluble/
bidity would occur (fig 6). insoluble/partially or targeted insoluble/incompatible

What substances are effective Is there a universal deaerator? Combinations of additives are helpful
deaerators?
A deaerator is effective against micro- In cases where deaerators are highly
There is a wide range of chemical com- foam and, at the same time, sufficiently effective but cause surface defects such
pounds which are potentially suitable for compatible with the paint, lacquer or as craters, a combination with substrate
use as deaerators in coatings including: printing ink formulation. This means that wetting agents or surface active additives
• organic polymers such as polyethers or the deaerator prevents/eliminates micro- is recommended (see “Technical Back-
polyacrylates foam but does not give rise to, for exam- ground Slip, Flow and Radiation-curing
• dimethylpolysiloxanes (silicone oils) ple, flow problems, fisheyes, craters or Additives“, and “Substrate Wetting Addi-
• organically modified polysiloxanes, turbidity. tives“).
such as aryl-alkyl modified polysiloxanes
• fluorosilicones This balance is dependent on the coating
formulation. Changes, particularly in Storage stability tests are necessary
These are frequently used for formulating binder or solvent, strongly influence
deaerators. Such deaerators are supplied the effectiveness and compatibility of a High storage stability is expected from
in the following variants: deaerator. Therefore, there is no universal many coatings systems. The ideal deaera-
• as concentrates with 100% active deaerator for all coatings systems. Rather, tor should therefore be effective and
ingredient content not only the effectiveness but also the compatible even after extended storage.
• as solutions in organic solvents compatibility of the deaerator with the Tests under specified conditions are
• as aqueous emulsions, specially for coatings system must be checked. The essential (e.g. four weeks at room tem-
use in waterborne formulations choice and amount of deaerator used in perature, 40 °C and 4 °C). In many cases
the formulation as well as the method a combination of several deaerators or a
The effect of deaerator formulations is of application play important roles. Pre- deaerator and defoamer is the best
further enhanced by the addition of liminary tests are certainly helpful in choice.
hydrophobic solids to the above men- choosing possible deaerators.
tioned active substances. Hydrophobic
solids used include silicas, ureas or metal- It is essential to confirm the choice of
lic soaps. deaerators by evaluation under end-appli-
cation conditions.

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 Which test methods for preliminary selection of deaerators
have proven themselves?

Test method for low to medium visco- application. After drying/curing, the In the case of high-build application, the
sity coatings formulations micro bubble is examined using a magni- freshly foamed coatings material can sim-
fying glass or microscope. It can be help- ply be filled into a lid (e.g. of a metal
50 g of the coating is stirred for 1 minute ful to document the results using photos. paint can or poly beaker) and taken out
at a high speed (3,000 rpm) on a dis- for assessment after curing (see also video
solver with a disc. This causes air to be Evaluation of pigmented coatings can “Deaerating of floor coatings“)
incorporated and finely distributed in the often be difficult because of their poor
coating. Immediately after stirring, the transparency. In this case, differences in
coating is poured down on a transparent gloss can be used as a criteria: the more Testing of the finest micro-foam
polyester film fixed on a glass panel micro bubbles, the lower the gloss.
inclined at 25° to the perpendicular. Micro-foam can occur in such a fine form
During drying, the coating can deaerate. that it is not visible to the unaided eye and
After drying, the film is assessed visually Testing of high viscosity coatings com- examination through a microscope or
for bubbles, pinholes (effectiveness) and pounds magnifying glass, etc., is required. How-
for possible defects such as craters, fish- ever, there are other methods of render-
eyes, turbidity or flow problems (compat- For coating compounds (e.g. 2-pack floor ing visible or measuring the very fine
ibility) (fig. 7). coatings) the flow test on inclined sur- pores which can result from micro-foam
faces is unsuitable. For such formulations, bubbles in the coating:
casting of defined film thicknesses (e.g. 3
Test method for medium to high visco- mm) has proved satisfactory. In this test,
sity coatings formulations the coating material is sheared for 2 min- Copper sulphate test
utes at 2,000 rpm to incorporate air.
It is difficult to find the ideal deaerator Directly afterwards, the material is The coating is applied in a realistic thick-
by means of simple preliminary tests, poured onto a PE film. After 10 minutes, ness to a sand-blasted steel panel. After
particularly for formulations applied in one third of the surface is screeded and, completely drying or curing, about 4 ml
thick layers by airless/airmix methods. after drying/curing, visually assessed for of 10% copper sulphate solution is
It is more meaningful to carry out a spray foam bubbles or surface defects. (fig. 8) poured into a small watch glass. The
panel is placed coated-surface down on
the filled watch glass and the apparatus
inverted so that the copper sulphate solu-
tion can react. After 24 hours, the coating
Figure 7: Test foil from the flowout test, left with deaerator, right without additives surface is rinsed with water. If there are
fine pores in the coating, they show up as
red dots. These red marks are elemental
copper deposited from the copper
sulphate solution while iron has been
dissolved from the panel.

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 Pinhole detector

This method is based on the fact that all

electrically insulating coatings materials
have a higher dielectric strength than air.
Pores are detected by arcing between the
test electrode and conductive substrate
where there is a defect. The presence of
pores is shown optically and acoustically.
However, the detector can only be used
for coatings on conductive substrates.
Figure 8: Specimen of a floor coating

Assessment of entrapped air in coatings

for wooden frames or panels

This method is used to assess entrapped How important is the method of applica- should be engineered to minimize the
air in coating films (after drying/curing) tion when choosing the deaerator? entrapment of air in the coatings material.
which are applied to wood substrates. The method by which the coating is However, parameters such as raw materi-
Defined cross-sections of the “coating applied plays a very important role. There als, manufacturing regulations and appli-
film/wood substrate” are produced and are deaerators which, because of their cation are usually specified and the room
examined microscopically to assess the strong incompatibility produce, for exam- for maneuver is thus significantly
number and size of micro-foam bubbles. ple, a break of curtain at the curtain restricted. The addition of coatings addi-
This method is particularly well suited for coater machine. In this case, only rela- tives is the simplest way of preventing and
pigmented formulations. tively compatible deaerators should be eliminating micro-foam.
used.

With airless and airmix application, micro-

FAQ: bubble formation is very strong. This
requires especially effective and, there-
At what stage in a coatings formulation fore, more incompatible deaerators and a
should the deaerator be added? good balance between effectiveness and
Deaerators can be added to the millbase compatibility must be found.
or the let-down. This depends primarily
on the incompatibility of the deaerator What fundamental ways are there of
with the coating system. It is generally preventing micro-foam?
true that the greater the incompatibility, There are various possibilities of counter-
the more shear force is required. Some acting micro-foam in coatings and print-
deaerators are excellent as millbase ing inks. The choice of low-foam raw
deaerators while others can be used in the materials or optimally adjusting the coat-
let-down or in clear coats. For the ideal ing viscosity can significantly reduce
point of addition, please see the product micro-foam problems in a formulation.
data sheets. Production and application of the coating

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