Calorimetric determination of the hydrophile-lipophile balance of surface-active substances

Abstract

The hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) of liquid nonionic surface-active agents is linearly related to the measured heat of hydration by the relation $\text{HLB}\text{= 0.42Q + 7.5,}$ where Q = the heat of hydration in g.-cal./g. In the case of mixtures, this relationship represents a positive deviation from strictly additive behavior. A simple calorimetric arrangement for the determination of the heat of hydration is described.