From "high carbon" to "green": How does the defoamer industry respond to the dual carbon strategy?

Guided by the goals of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality", traditional chemical industries with high energy consumption and high emissions are facing profound transformation. As an essential auxiliary agent in industries such as paper making, textiles, and coatings, the issue of defoamers relying on petrochemical raw materials and high-energy consumption processes in their production process has become increasingly prominent. How to achieve green transformation through technological innovation and industrial chain collaboration has become the key to breaking the deadlock in the industry.

Currently, the "high-carbon" dilemma faced by the defoamer industry is primarily due to the fact that traditional defoamers primarily consist of mineral oil, polyether, silicone oil, and other components, which are highly dependent on petroleum derivatives. Each ton of product can generate an implicit carbon emission of up to 2-3 tons. In fields such as paper manufacturing and wastewater treatment, inefficient defoamers may lead to increased energy consumption, resulting in an "amplification effect" of the carbon footprint throughout the entire life cycle.

Therefore, the primary task for the green transformation of the defoamer industry is the substitution of bio-based raw materials. By replacing petrochemical raw materials with plant oils (such as castor oil and palm oil derivatives) or fermentation products of carbohydrates, the potential for carbon emission reduction can reach up to 30%-50%. Secondly, the process should be transformed towards low-carbonization, promoting the use of low-temperature catalytic polymerization technology, which can reduce energy consumption by about 40%. Furthermore, through product function upgrades, high-concentration, low-addition nano-defoamers and degradable defoamers (such as polylactic acid modified products) can be developed to address environmental residue issues. At the same time, a life cycle assessment database should be jointly established with manufacturing industries such as paper and textile, to quantify the emission reduction benefits in different scenarios, thereby facilitating the functional upgrades of different defoamer products.

The green transformation of the defoamer industry is not only an inevitable choice to meet the dual carbon goals, but also an opportunity to seize the commanding heights of competition in new quality productivity. Through the reshaping of the entire chain, including raw material substitution, process innovation, and application innovation, this green and environmentally friendly defoaming field is expected to become a model for low-carbon development in the chemical industry. In the future, with the deepening of environmental laws and regulations, enterprises that plan ahead for green technologies will gain advantages in accessing the global market.