Liquid-liquid two phase-system stabilized by tween 40 and 80 surfactants: multiparametric study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of process parameters such as interfacial tension, type of surfactants, and their concentration on simple oil-in-water dispersion. Explored systems were prepared with 5% liquid paraffin oil and aqueous phase with emulsifiers Tween 40 of concentrations from 0.008325 mM to 0.025 mM and Tween 80 with concentrations ranging from 0.00375 mM to 0.011 mM. All systems were characterized in terms of their density and interfacial tension. In the next step analysis of droplet size distributions and mean droplet diameter was performed. The results showed that the size of paraffin droplets decreased as the concentration of surfactants grew. This trend is accompanied by decrease in the interfacial tension between phases. The correlation between mean drop size and the energy input and physical properties of both liquids was developed. The last step provides scientific evidence for the formulation of stable droplets of liquid paraffin.