Aeration and Foam: Good for Beer, Bad for Oil

CONTAMINATION CONTROL & LUBRICANT RECONDITIONING

- Paul Farless

Factor: C2P

In the industrial maintenance and reliability field, it's safe to assume that we're the type of people that enjoy a cold one on Friday after a hard work week. Early on, I didn't like a lot of foam on my beer, and many others think the same way. After further research, I learned that you actually do want a little foam on top of your beer; it enhances the flavor of the beer by producing different aromas and taste profiles that wouldn't exist in a flat, airless beer. It also provides a level of insulation to keep the drink cooler longer. In an industrial oil, some air in the oil is quite common. Foam, however, is typically a problem and should not show up in your industrial oil. Foam can lead to a vast array of different problems and, unlike beer, has no enhancing properties for the oil.