Anyone here has experience with ultrasonic defoaming? We got foaming issues, in our production proces, and we add surfactents to stimulate foaming (deinking process, flotatation) in one part of our proces. And this is giving problems in another water collection tank, adding anti-foam agents isnt an option cause the water gets reused to dilute the deinking (flotation process) so adding anti-foam would basicly kill our deinking proces.

Now its a 40m3 tank, the tank is usually filled till 20m3 max 25m3 but the foam is flowing out of the top of the tank.

Now im wondering if anyone here has experience with ultrasonic defoaming and maybe an indication of the price of such device for such a tank.

Thank already for any information given.

Thanks for the information Grunn,

We have water sprays in those tank but they cant handle the amount of foam very well. The principle of the ultrasonic defoaming is that you focus on a small area wich foam is being destroyed and other foam collapses into this hole, so you would only need to treat a rather small area. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O1CXZrPf_w at 1min40 you can see the idea).

The possible cause of all the air entrapment might be the flow and speed the water gets into the tank. We are looking for ways for the water to get into the tank by changing pipe work.

Maybe you should be looking back at the deinking process to see if the use of surfactant in that process can be eliminated or reduced?
Maybe increase temperature or pressure in the deinking area?

I expect that if there is still a surface active agent in the water stream then any "fall" or turbulence is likely to give rise to foaming.