Correct Antifoam Concentration Choice0 pages

Choosing the Correct Antifoam Concentration

When testing the effectiveness and practicality of a silicone antifoam from Dow Corning, a good starting point is
to add the antifoam to the foaming medium at a concentration that represents 10 parts per million (ppm) silicone
(polydimethylsiloxane).
Typically, 10 ppm is the maximum concentration of silicone allowed according to FDA and European food additive
regulations. If appropriate, further reduce the antifoam addition level to obtain the required level of foam control.
However, you should always refer to local food profiles to determine the maximum level allowed for the specific type
of food.
You can use this formula to calculate how much silicone antifoam should be added to achieve the recommended ppm
level of polydimethylsiloxane:

(ppm polydimethylsiloxane) x (amount of solution to be defoamed1)
(% active ingredient in antifoam2) x (10,000)
1
2

= antifoam to be added

Use the same units (liters, gallons, pounds, etc.) to measure the amount of antifoam added and amount of solution to be defoamed.
Insert “10” for 10% active, “30” for 30% active, etc.

If you want to add 10 parts per million of active polydimethylsiloxane in 1,000 kg of foaming solution, you will have
to add:
• 0.01 kg of XIAMETER® ACP-1500 Antifoam Compound
• 0.1 kg of XIAMETER® AFE-1510 Antifoam Emulsion
• 0.05 kg of XIAMETER® AFE-1520 Antifoam Emulsion or XIAMETER® ACP-1920 Powdered Antifoam
• 0.033 kg of XIAMETER® AFE-1530