SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 November 2022
STP164120210064

New Foam Control Additives for Agrochemicals

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Crop science specialists and manufacturers are constantly innovating to produce better and safer agrochemicals to meet the agricultural challenge of feeding the world's growing population. Foam control additives are incorporated into agricultural pesticides and nutrient formulations that use surfactants and other formulants to help deliver pesticide ingredients and nutrients to domesticated plants. These pesticide and nutrient formulas are, in general, very concentrated to minimize shipping costs, and many are dissolved or dispersed in water either during production or when diluted before field application. Foam control additives are added to these formulations to prevent foam during the mixing and packaging process at production, as well as when materials are diluted and applied on growing plants in the field. A foam control additive is a high-performance, low-use-level constituent of many agricultural pesticide and nutrient formulations. Foam control additives in many cases are an afterthought to many formulators; however, there are many differing foam control technologies, including differing silicone technologies. Differentiating foam control performance and use levels requires assessment of foam control additives in various media. It also requires using various techniques, like basic CIPAC manual foam testing, automated shake testing, or high-tech computerized foam analysis. These various foaming tests are used to assess many different foam control technologies. Using the foam assessment tools described, this study shows the performance of various foam control technologies. It also shows the many performance benefits of newly developed silicone foam control technologies for applications in challenging agriculture formulations.

Author Information

Garris, John
Research & Innovation Dept., Elkem Silicones, York, SC, US
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Details
Pages: 94–109
DOI: 10.1520/STP164120210064
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-7730-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-7729-1