Section
| HS Code | 294866 |
| Product Name | BYK-037 |
| Product Type | Mineral Oil Defoamer |
| Chemical Family | Mineral oil-based defoamer |
| Composition | Mixture of mineral oil, hydrophobic particles, and nonionic emulsifiers |
| Active Matter | 100% |
| Appearance | Liquid |
| Color | Yellowish to amber |
| Density At 20 C | 0.94 g/cm³ |
| Viscosity At 20 C | 500 mPa·s (typical) |
| Flash Point | >100°C |
| Solubility In Water | Dispersible |
| Recommended Dosage | 0.2 – 1.0% on total paint formulation |
| Applications | Latex paints, emulsion paints, and aqueous coating systems |
As an accredited BYK-037 Mineral Oil Defoamer for Latex Paints factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | BYK-037 Mineral Oil Defoamer for Latex Paints is supplied in a 20 kg sealed plastic pail, ensuring safe storage and handling. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | One 20′ FCL: palletized drums/IBCs of BYK-037 defoamer, loaded securely to maximize volume while ensuring safe transport. |
| Shipping | BYK-037 is shipped as a non-hazardous liquid in sealed drums or totes, requiring no special dangerous-goods classification. Protect from freezing and direct sunlight; store between 5–40°C. Standard land, sea, or rail freight is acceptable, with adequate ventilation and secure loading to prevent container damage during transit. |
| Storage | Store BYK-037 Mineral Oil Defoamer in a tightly sealed original container. Keep in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight, heat, and incompatible materials. Avoid extreme temperatures; protect from freezing and excessive heat. Ensure containers remain upright to prevent leaks. Use within recommended shelf life, and stir or re-homogenize before use if separation occurs. |
| Shelf Life | Shelf life is 2 years from production date when stored unopened in original containers at moderate temperatures. |
At 70–80% PVC in VAE or styrene-acrylic interior wall paint bases, high-speed disperser incorporation of calcium carbonate, talc, and calcined clay entrains air that survives letdown as microfoam, producing pinholes during medium-pile roller application and destabilizing Stormer viscosity after 24 h storage. BYK-037 is added at 0.2–0.5 wt% of total formulation, split 1/3 into the grind phase before pigment addition and 2/3 after hydroxyethylcellulose hydration, because full addition before dispersion reduces knock-down efficiency against macrofoam generated at Cowles blade tip speeds of 12–18 m/s. The downstream process is a high-speed disperser grind at 40–50°C mill-base temperature followed by letdown under low-shear paddle agitation; the mineral oil carrier must be dispersed rather than dissolved, and process control focuses on preventing oil droplet coalescence that leads to crater-like surface defects. Typical target viscosity is 90–110 KU Stormer after 24 h, with high-shear ICI viscosity of 1.0–2.0 P; microfoam lowers apparent high-shear viscosity and produces roller or blade pattern instability. Under EU Directive 2004/42/EC Annex II Phase II, waterborne interior matt wall and ceiling coatings are limited to 30 g/L VOC, and EN 13300 wet scrub resistance classification applies to the cured film. Terminal product types include flat wall paint, ceiling emulsion, and contract matt for drywall and plasterboard. In production batches, overdosing above 0.8 wt% has been associated with suppressed roller pinholes but also with hydrophobic oil separation at the can surface after storage; for high-PVC matt grades this is less critical than in sheen products, but the upper limit remains 1.0 wt% per BYK-037 technical guidance.
Low-VOC contract bases formulated below 30 g/L often replace coalescent-dependent film formation with hydrophilic binders and HEC or HASE thickeners, which changes foam stability because the thickener network retards bubble rise. BYK-037 dosage in these systems is kept at 0.1–0.3 wt% of total formulation; the lower end is preferred when HASE polymers are present because mineral oil hydrophobic particles can interact with associative thickener hydrophobes and produce a measurable Stormer viscosity drop after 24 h equilibration, requiring re-thickening. Addition is made primarily in the letdown phase after pigment grind, with only a small pre-grind portion if macrofoam appears during dispersion. The production process uses a high-speed disperser for the slurry phase, followed by slow mixing at 200–400 rpm during thickener addition; the defoamer is added after the HEC solution is fully hydrated to avoid localized oil entrapment. Compliance relevant to this segment includes EU Ecolabel criteria for indoor paints under Commission Decision 2014/312/EU and EN 13300 classification; low-VOC formulations also reference EU Directive 2004/42/EC. Terminal products include low-VOC contract emulsions, nursery and school interior paints, and institutional wall coatings where indoor air quality specifications require minimal VOC. Published data for the specific interaction between BYK-037 and HASE thickeners is limited; therefore, plant trials should include a post-thickening Stormer viscosity check before packaging.
Machine tinting of base paint with 0–100 mL/L universal colorant introduces glycols, surfactants, and dispersants that destabilize air bubbles and can regenerate foam after the base formulation has already been defoamed. BYK-037 is incorporated at 0.15–0.4 wt% of total base paint, with 50–60% of the dose added during letdown and the balance retained for post-thickening addition; this split preserves air-release capacity when the tinting machine shaker introduces mechanical energy at 2800–3200 rpm for 3–5 min. Process compatibility is evaluated by tinted drawdowns over white opacity charts and by color acceptance tests following ASTM D5326-94a, with color difference measured per ASTM D2244 using CIEDE2000. In point-of-sale operations, the base paint is manufactured in a high-speed disperser, filtered through 100–150 µm mesh, and then packed into tinting bases; air content at the time of filling must be low because the final tinting operation is not vacuum-deaerated. Regulatory compliance for tinted interior and exterior latex paints remains aligned with EU Directive 2004/42/EC limits for the relevant gloss category. Terminal product types include tinted interior wall paints, tinted exterior masonry paints, and deep-base formulations for accent colors. An operational boundary is that mineral oil defoamer can reduce colorant acceptance in deep bases if overdosed; the total dose should not exceed 0.4 wt% in bases designed for high colorant loading, because the hydrophobic load may interact with colorant surfactants and shift rub-up color development.
On exterior mineral substrates, wind-driven rain penetration resistance requires a coherent film without capillary pinholes at 35–45% PVC and dry film thickness of 100–200 µm across two coats. BYK-037 is added at 0.2–0.6 wt% of total formulation, with the higher half of that range reserved for silicone-enhanced styrene-acrylic façade paints that generate persistent surfactant foam during high-shear dispersion. The production process uses a Cowles disperser at 15–20 m/s tip speed for the grind, followed by letdown with coalescent, silicone water repellent, and fungicide/algaecide; defoamer is split between grind and final letdown to avoid hydrophobic incompatibility with alkoxysilane water repellents. Application through airless spray equipment with tip orifice 0.017–0.021 in at 180–220 bar imposes shear that can re-entrain air in the coating line; the defoamer must persist through this shear without forming visible craters. EN 1062-1 provides the framework for water permeability and water vapour transmission classification, while ISO 4628-2 is used for blistering evaluation after exterior exposure. Binder monomers, coalescents, and biocides are handled under REACH registration, and biocidal active substances under EU 528/2012. Terminal product types include exterior masonry emulsion paint, façade coating for mineral render, and silicone-enhanced exterior wall paint. In high-silicone formulations, addition above 0.6 wt% is not recommended because surfactant-rich silicone emulsions can synergize with mineral oil to form surface defects that resemble craters; field batches require visual inspection of 200 µm wet film drawdowns before tinting and packaging.
Elastomeric roof emulsions typically carry 40–55% acrylic binder solids and high concentrations of pigment and thickener, producing yield-stress rheology with low-shear yield stress above 5–15 Pa that traps air for hours unless a mineral oil defoamer is distributed before the viscosity peak develops. BYK-037 is added at 0.3–0.7 wt% of total formulation, with the upper end for low-shear planetary mixing and the lower end for vacuum-deaerated batches. The production process uses a low-speed planetary or anchor mixer at 30–80 rpm; because high-speed dispersion alone is often not sufficient for air release in high-viscosity media, the defoamer is added incrementally during the resin and filler incorporation phase, and vacuum deaeration at −0.08 to −0.09 MPa may follow for pinhole-critical roof membranes. Compliance for liquid-applied acrylic roof coatings is anchored to ASTM D6083, which specifies physical property requirements including elongation and tensile strength after water immersion; adhesion testing follows ASTM D903 or similar peel standards where project specifications require sealant compatibility. Terminal product types include liquid-applied acrylic roof coatings, balcony waterproofing membranes, and high-build recreational surface coatings. An explicit operational boundary is that mineral oil defoamer at the upper dose can reduce intercoat adhesion to polyurethane sealants and butyl flashing; therefore, adhesion test panels with the specified sealant should be prepared before full-scale application when the addition exceeds 0.5 wt%.
At the other end of the PVC spectrum, waterborne trim and door satin/semi-gloss paints formulated at 15–25% PVC present a different conflict: the same mineral oil carrier that suppresses foam can also depress specular gloss if added beyond the minimum effective dose. BYK-037 is therefore limited to 0.1–0.3 wt% of total formulation in styrene-acrylic trim enamels, with addition staged in the letdown after final viscosity adjustment to avoid over-shearing the oil droplets. The production process uses a high-speed disperser for the short pigment grind and a low-shear thin-down step; filtration through 50–80 µm mesh after defoamer addition removes large oil droplets that might otherwise appear as craters. EU Directive 2004/42/EC Annex II Phase II sets the VOC limit for waterborne trim and cladding coatings at 130 g/L, and specular gloss is measured by ASTM D523-14 at 60°. Terminal product types include waterborne satinwood, semi-gloss door enamel, and low-VOC trim paint for architectural millwork. A technical limitation is that BYK-037 is not recommended for clear or unstabilized high-gloss systems where even low mineral oil loading can produce haze; for pigmented satin grades, dose increments of 0.05 wt% during batch adjustment are preferable to single-shot additions because the formulation window between foam suppression and gloss loss is narrow.
Emulsion plasters and skim coats operate at total solids above 75 wt% and are processed in planetary mixers where continuous low-shear mixing incorporates air that cannot escape rapidly through the high-viscosity paste. BYK-037 is added at 0.1–0.5 wt% of total formulation, inserted during the pigment and filler wetting stage before the final high-solids letdown; addition after the mixture reaches its final viscosity is less effective because the defoamer cannot distribute uniformly. Production equipment includes planetary mixers with wall scrapers and vacuum hoods; vacuum deaeration at −0.08 MPa is common, but residual foam control is still required for trowel and spray application. Compliance references EN 998-1:2016 for rendering and plastering mortar and EN 15824 for external renderings with organic binders; for interior decorative plasters, EN 13300 is sometimes applied to the final coating system. Terminal product types include ready-mixed emulsion plaster, skim coat for fair-faced concrete, and decorative textured finishes. The limitation in this segment is primarily mechanical: gravimetric air content measurement by EN 1015-7 should be performed on the production batch, because mineral oil defoamer efficiency declines if the paste is stored above 35°C or subjected to freeze-thaw cycling before use.
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Product designation BYK-037 is supplied as a silicone-free mineral oil defoamer for aqueous latex paints, emulsion plasters, and related waterborne architectural products. The liquid consists of hydrophobic defoaming solids dispersed in a mineral oil carrier; no intentionally added silicone or siloxane chemistry is present. Supplier technical documentation lists a density of 0.87 g/cm³ at 20°C, a flash point above 100°C, and a nonvolatile matter content greater than 95 wt%. The recommended addition range is 0.1–0.5 wt% based on total formulation mass. The product is typically introduced during the pigment dispersion phase, with the remaining portion added after letdown. This split dosage practice controls macrofoam generated under high shear and microfoam that develops during thickening and storage. Unlike silicone defoamers, the mineral oil class does not reduce equilibrium surface tension to the very low values needed for rapid knockdown in highly stabilized foams; its performance depends more on controlled incompatibility and proper shear history.
The defoaming mechanism in a latex paint is not a simple bulk surface tension reduction. A defoamer droplet must enter the foam lamella, bridge the air–liquid interface, and destabilize the surfactant film. The mineral oil carrier of BYK-037 lowers local lamella elasticity when a droplet bridges the air–liquid interface, causing rupture rather than persistent stabilization. Because the product is silicone-free, it does not generate the very low equilibrium surface tensions associated with polyether siloxane chemistries. Instead, activity is governed by droplet size distribution, surface concentration, and shear history. High-shear dissolvers with a tip speed of 15–20 m/s redisperse the defoamer droplets after storage separation; a low-shear paddle mixer alone may not provide adequate dispersion after prolonged standing. Over-dispersion under extended high shear can reduce droplet size below the range necessary for bridging a foam lamella, lowering effectiveness. This is one reason split addition is preferred when the grind cycle exceeds 45–60 min; a reserved portion preserves droplet integrity in the letdown phase.
The reported density of 0.87 g/cm³ at 20°C places the product below the density of water, which means phase separation under static storage appears as surface creaming rather than sedimentation. The flash point above 100°C permits use in ambient processing without classified solvent handling, but the product is not volatile and should not be considered a VOC-neutral diluent. Storage at 5–35°C is standard; below 5°C, viscosity increases and the product may need tempering before transfer. Supplier documentation does not assign a narrow Brookfield viscosity specification for this product; batch acceptance is typically based on density, flash point, and nonvolatile content. The absence of water in the formulation avoids in-can preservative demand and eliminates a carrier for microbial growth.
The hydrophobic solids content also influences premix stability. When stored for more than several weeks, the defoamer may separate; this is reversible by moderate stirring. A top-entry agitator with a low-shear impeller operating at 50–100 rpm can restore homogeneity in a tote or day tank, but high-shear recirculation is not required and can generate unwanted foam if air is entrained. In concentrated form, the product should not be diluted with water or solvent before addition. Dilution can destabilize the dispersed defoamer solids and produce localized coagulated particles in the paint. In plants where automatic dosing lines are used, the transfer pump should be selected for a viscosity that may increase during cold storage; published data for this specific configuration is limited, so plant trials should confirm feed rate at the lowest expected storage temperature.
In latex paint manufacturing, macrofoam is generated at the high-shear pigment dispersion stage when air is incorporated into the mill base under a Cowles disperser. A defoamer added only at letdown must first displace surfactant-stabilized foam that has already been rheologically stabilized by thickener; this is generally less efficient. Conversely, adding the entire dose to the grind can produce air release during pigment wetting but may leave insufficient defoamer in the final letdown for storage microfoam control. The standard process guidance for mineral oil defoamers of this class therefore uses split addition: approximately two-thirds of the total dose is added to the grind before pigment addition, and the remaining one-third is added during letdown after the thickener has been incorporated under moderate agitation. This is not a universal formulation rule; binder type, pigment volume concentration, and thickener chemistry shift the optimum split.
In a 2000-L high-speed disperser with a disc-to-tank diameter ratio of 0.35, a tip speed of 15–18 m/s is typical to develop the shear needed for pigment wetting. At this energy input, a 0.2 wt% total dose of BYK-037 often controls visible foam during a 30–45 min grind, but persistent microfoam can remain if the grind temperature rises above 45°C. When microfoam is detected after letdown, the corrective approach is not a large addition of the same defoamer but a smaller 0.05–0.1 wt% post-thickening addition followed by low-shear mixing for 10–20 min. Excessive post-thickening addition increases the risk of surface defects with minimal improvement in foam control. Field batch records from architectural coatings lines show that split addition improves batch-to-batch consistency of Stormer viscosity when measured according to ASTM D562 by reducing entrained air that would otherwise register as false viscosity in the wet coating.
In low-VOC flat interior paints formulated with associative polyurethane thickeners, the defoamer–thickener interaction can produce a slow viscosity drift if the defoamer is added before the thickener is fully solvated. The mineral oil droplet can associate with hydrophobic rheology modifiers and reduce their effective concentration in the aqueous phase. To avoid this effect, the defoamer should be added in the grind or in a pigment-laden phase before the associative thickener is introduced. Hydroxyethylcellulose-thickened systems are less sensitive to this effect but can still retain microfoam in the final gel phase because of the higher low-shear viscosity. In such systems, the post-thickening addition should be limited to the lower end of the 0.05–0.1 wt% range and mixed under conditions that do not vortex the surface.
The primary difference between BYK-037 and silicone-containing defoamers is the absence of surface tension reduction to the 20–25 mN/m range typical of polyether-modified siloxanes. Silicone defoamers can knock down foam faster and at lower dosages, sometimes below 0.05 wt% in difficult latex systems, but they have a narrower compatibility window. Even small overdoses can create cratering, crawling, and intercoat adhesion loss because the silicone droplet remains at the surface after film coalescence. The mineral oil type is deliberately less surface-active; it is less efficient by weight than silicone in high-foam acrylic and styrene-acrylic binders but is generally less likely to generate surface defects in pigmented architectural coatings. This makes BYK-037 a preferred class for flat and eggshell interior paints where foam persists but gloss and smoothness defects are immediately visible.
| Defoamer chemistry | Typical use level | Knockdown efficiency in ASTM E2407 | Surface defect tendency | Recoat adhesion risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral oil with hydrophobic solids | 0.1–0.5 wt% | Moderate; slower than silicone | Low to moderate | Low |
| Polyether-modified siloxane | 0.02–0.2 wt% | High; rapid knockdown | Moderate to high at overdose | Moderate |
| Hydrophobic wax dispersion | 0.2–1.0 wt% | Moderate; good persistence | High at elevated dose | Low to moderate |
| Polyglycol ester or ester defoamer | 0.1–0.5 wt% | Low to moderate | Low | Low |
The classifications in the table are relative performance descriptors based on supplier application literature and are not universally transferable across binder systems. The response of a given defoamer depends on surfactant HLB, thickener chemistry, and the presence of coalescing solvents at least as much as on the generic defoamer class. Formulators should run ASTM E2407 in the specific latex resin; a single comparative test in one base paint is not sufficient to rank defoamer packages across a product line. When a silicone defoamer is replaced with BYK-037, the initial observation is usually a slight increase in wet foam but a lower crater count after drawdown on a sealed Leneta chart.
Addition above 0.5 wt% does not produce a proportional improvement in foam control in most latex paint formulations. Instead, excess mineral oil defoamer can depress 20° and 60° specular gloss, increase surface haze, and create oil separation at the air–coating interface. Because the product does not participate in film formation, residual defoamer at the surface can reduce recoat adhesion if subsequent coats are applied without sanding or thorough cleaning. The risk is lower than with silicone-containing alternatives but remains measurable. The relevant laboratory methods for monitoring these effects include ASTM D523 for specular gloss, ASTM D3359 for coating adhesion, and ASTM D4060 for abrasion resistance where floor or trim coatings are involved. Foam-control acceptance is often measured by a blender or shaker test according to ASTM D3519 or DIN 53902, followed by drawdown on a sealed Leneta chart to detect pinholes and cratering.
Compatibility boundaries depend on binder type. Acrylic and styrene-acrylic latices tolerate the mineral oil defoamer at the top of the use range more readily than vinyl acetate-ethylene binders, where oil migration can alter low-film-formation boundaries and reduce wet adhesion at high dosing. In airless spray application, BYK-037 at 0.2–0.5 wt% has been reported in field trials to reduce pinholes in high-build coatings by releasing entrained air before flash-off. When the same paint is sprayed at low pressure with a small orifice, excessive defoamer may produce surface oiliness because lower atomization shear does not redisperse the defoamer uniformly. If surface defects appear, the recommended laboratory probe is a ladder series at 0.05 wt% intervals across the range, evaluated after 24 h and 7 days of ambient drying.
The following standard method matrix is applied in defoamer qualification for latex paints. The matrix is not a regulatory approval list but a practical testing route for detecting the common failure modes associated with mineral oil defoamers.
| Property | Standard or method | Condition or endpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Foam knockdown and persistence | ASTM E2407 / DIN 53902 | Ladder series from 0.05–0.5 wt% |
| Wet coating viscosity | ASTM D562 | Stormer Krebs units after 24 h |
| Specular gloss | ASTM D523 | 20° and 60° geometry |
| Adhesion | ASTM D3359 | Cross-hatch over aged primer |
| Dispersion fineness | ASTM D1210 | Hegman gauge after letdown |
| VOC content of finished paint | ASTM D3960 | Method 24 or national equivalent |
BYK-037 is not intended for direct food-contact use; regulatory review for architectural coatings relies on the base paint formulation and the applicable national VOC regulation, such as European Directive 2004/42/EC or the appropriate ASTM D3960 VOC determination for the finished coating. The product is also not a substitute for a wetting agent in low-energy substrates; foam control and substrate wetting are separate formulation variables. In matte or high-PVC paints, the defoamer may increase color acceptance sensitivity if overdosed because surface oil can depress tinting pigment transfer in machine dispensers. The observed operational boundary is therefore conservative: use the lowest addition level that passes the specified foam-control test, and confirm gloss, adhesion, and color acceptance together rather than treating foam control as an isolated parameter.
