the present invention relates to a composition and method of adding sulfonate or phosphonate compounds to a hydrocarbon fluid to prevent foaming . this foaming often occurs at high temperatures during the distillation of crude oils and the coking of crude oil residues . surprisingly , the addition of sulfonate or phosphonate compounds to these systems breaks up the foam . particularly effective in controlling foaming are petroleum sodium sulfonate , petroleum calcium sulfonate , dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid , dinonyl naphthalene calcium sulfonate ( acid form ), dinonyl naphthalene calcium sulfonate ( salt form ), dodecyldiphenyl oxide disodium sulfonate , decyldiphenyl oxide di - sodium sulfonate , dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate . representative phosphonates include nonylphenate sulfide calcium phosphonate . all these compounds are commercially available . these compounds are less expensive than silicone - based defoamers and do notcontain the fouling silicon . these compounds can be administered as solutions which have concentrations from 0 . 1 % to 100 % active with 1 to 2 % active as a convenient range . this converts into a preferred usage rate of 1 to 100 ppm active for coker feeds and 10 - 1000 ppm active for crude towers . it is to be understood thatthe present invention is not limited by the dosage of the antifoam species . the present inventor has discovered that a composition of finely divided carbon and organic sulfonate , particularly petroleum sodium sulfonate , will act effectively as an antifoamer . this composition works well with about 99 percent by weight ground coke added to the sulfonate . however , itis anticipated by the present inventor that this method will also be effective as a combination of organic sulfonates or phosphonates with other finely divided carbons such as graphite or carbon black , and at other ratios . the following high temperature defoamer test is given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation . a 500 ml borosilicate glass cylinder is charged with 250 ml coker feed as asample . this sample is then sparged slowly ( 100 - 200 ml / min ) with nitrogen using a submerged borosilicate tube with a fine pore fritted glass diffuser . the sample is then heated with an electrical mantle to the temperature of the refinery unit . this usually ranges from 700 ° to 900 ° f . for a coker and 500 ° to 700 ° f . for a crude tower . as the sample approaches within 50 degrees of the testing temperature , the nitrogen flow is increased ( 200 to 1000 ml / min ) to bring the foam height above the 500 ml mark . the defoamer is then added as a dilute solution ( about 1 % active ) from a syringe of a known and measured weight at a rate which maintains the foam height at the 500 ml mark . the time of the first injection is recorded as the starting time . after timing from 2 to 60 minutes , the syringe is reweighed and the usage amount is recorded . more accurate results can be obtained if longer testing times are employed . commercially available silicone ( union carbide l - 45 dmps 1000 st and l - 45 dmps 600 st ) is employed as the control agent . commercially available aromatic solvent is employed as the blank . the following results were obtained using a coker feed from a midwestern refinery at a temperature of 800 ° f . and at a nitrogen flow rate of900 ml / min . ______________________________________ usage ( in mg active / min ) defoaming agent mean * sd * number of tests______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 0 . 57 . 46 1 for 2 min . 1 for 6 min . petroleum calcium sulfonate 0 . 62 . 27 1 for 5 min . 1 for 30 min . dodecyl benzene sulfonic 0 . 70 1 for 2 min . aciddinonyl napthalene calcium 0 . 99 . 23 1 for 2 min . sulfonate ( acid form ) 1 for 6 min . dinonyl naphthalene calcium 0 . 52 . 11 1 for 2 min . sulfonate ( salt form ) 1 for 6 min . dodecyldiphenyl oxide 1 . 12 1 for 2 min . disodium sulfonatedecyldiphenyloxide 0 . 81 1 for 2 min . disodium sulfonatedioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate 2 . 29 . 22 2 for 6 min . nonylphenate sulfide 0 . 61 1 for 6 min . calcium phosphonatesilicone ( control ) 0 . 12 . 05 3 for 2 min . 1 for 6 min . 1 for 30 min . aromatic solvent foam cannot be controlled______________________________________ * weighted by test duration the following results were obtained using another coker feed from the same refinery at the same conditions . test duration was 30 minutes . ______________________________________ usagedefoaming agent ( in mg active / min ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 0 . 59l - 45 dmps 1000 st 0 . 51______________________________________ the following results were obtained using a coker feed from a southern refinery at a temperature of 800 ° f . and at a nitrogen flow rate of540 ml / min . ______________________________________ usage ( in mg active / min ) defoaming agent mean sd number of tests______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 0 . 42 1 for 6 min . dinonyl naphthalene 1 . 76 1 for 6 min . calcium sulfonatesilicone ( control ) 0 . 21 . 10 25 for 6 min . aromatic solvent ( blank ) foam cannot be controlled______________________________________ the following results were obtained using a different coker feed from the same refinery with the same conditions . test duration was 30 minutes . ______________________________________ usagedefoaming agent ( in mg active / min ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 0 . 52l - 45 dmps 1000 st 0 . 37______________________________________ the following results were obtained using a third coker feed from the same refinery at the same temperature but a higher nitrogen flow rate of 900 ml / min . the foam head control level wad kept at 400 ml instead of the standard 500 ml for 30 minutes . ______________________________________ usagedefoaming agent ( in mg active / minute ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 0 . 33l - 45 dmps 600 st 0 . 06______________________________________ the following results were obtained using a coker feed from a second southern refinery at a temperature of 800 ° f . and at a nitrogen flow rate of 900 ml / min . ______________________________________ usage ( in mg active / min ) defoaming agent mean sd number of tests______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 0 . 79 0 . 01 2 for 10 min . l - 45 dmps 1000 st 0 . 31 . 12 2 for 10 min . ______________________________________ the following results were obtained using the same coker feed at a higher temperature range of 780 °- 890 ° f . and the same nitrogen flowrate for 20 minutes . ______________________________________ usagedefoaming agent ( in mg active / min ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 0 . 75l - 45 dmps 600 st 0 . 48______________________________________ the following results were obtained using the same coker feed but with 4 % ground coke added . a temperature of 800 ° to 850 ° f . and the same nitrogen flow was used . with the 4 % ground coke added to the feed , the foam head would not even rise to the standard 500 ml mark . instead , the foam head control level was kept at 400 ml for 3 to 5 minutes . in addition to suppressing the foam , the finely divided carbon increased the efficacy of the other non - silicone defoamer relative to the silicone , as shown below : ______________________________________ with without coke added coke added ( 400 ml control ( 500 ml control level ) level ) additional usage usagedefoamer agent ( in mg active / min ) ( in mg active / min ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium 0 . 40 0 . 79sulfonatel - 45 dmps 600 st 0 . 30 0 . 31______________________________________ these results indicate the synergistic effects of a composition of an organic sulfonate and finely divided carbon . the following results were obtained using a coker feed from a third southern refinery at a temperature of from 650 °- 880 ° f . and at a nitrogen flow rate of 100 ml / min . test duration was 45 to 50 minutes . the fluid boiled wildly and had boiled dry by the time 880 ° f . was reached . it is thought that the liquid was more similar to crude tower feed than coker feed . ______________________________________ usagedefoaming agent ( in mg active / minute ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate & gt ; 7 . 0l - 45 dmps 600 st 0 . 41l - 45 dmps 1000 st 0 . 34______________________________________ the following results were obtained using atmospheric crude tower feed froma western refinery at a temperature of 600 ° f . and a nitrogen flow rate of 600 ml / min . the test duration was 30 minutes . ______________________________________ usagedefoaming agent ( in mg active / minute ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate & gt ; 7 . 0l - 45 dmps 600 st 0 . 72l - 45 dmps 1000 st 0 . 35______________________________________ this fluid boiled rapidly above 600 ° f . between 600 ° f . and 700 ° f ., the demand for dmps 1000 st rose from 0 . 25 to 45 . 3 mg active / minute before settling down to 3 . 35 mg at 750 ° f . the following results were obtained using an atmospheric crude tower feed from a southern refinery at a temperature of 580 ° f . and at a nitrogen flow rate of 630 ml / min . test duration was 60 minutes . ______________________________________ usagedefoaming agent ( in mg active / minute ) ______________________________________petroleum sodium sulfonate 1 . 13l - 45 dmps 600 st 0 . 06l - 45 dmps 1000 st 0 . 04______________________________________ these examples show that the sulfonate or phosphonate compounds are as effective as the silicone control agent . while this invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof , it is apparent that numerous other forms and modifications of this invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art .