EFFECT OF LONG-CHAIN ALKANES ON THE STABILITY OF OIL-IN-WATER EMULSIONS - SIGNIFICANCE OF OSTWALD RIPENING

A number of investigations have shown that o/w emulsions made from or containing small quantities of long-chain alkanes are more stable than those made from short-chain alkanes or other simple oils. Two principle explanations for this behaviour have been suggested, one stating that the long-chain component inhibits Ostwald ripening, the other that it inhibits droplet coalescence. With the aid of adsorption, centrifuge and kinetic experiments it is shown that the effect probably arises from a slower rate of Ostwald ripening in emulsions containing long-chain alkanes. The effect of the nature of the oil phase on the van der Waals interaction between emulsion droplets is also considered. © 1979 Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag.