PREPARATION AND STABILITY OF OIL-IN-WATER EMULSIONS OF OLEOPHILIC TETRAHYDROXYETHYLATED ISONONYLPHENOL

The immobilization of oleophylic tetrahydroxyethylated isononylphenol (Neonol AF9-4) in water and aqueous solutions of electrolytes (Na2CO3 and K2CO3) by ultrasonic dispersion in the presence of water-soluble nonionic surfactants [dodecahydroxyethylated isononylphenol (Neonol AF9-12) and ethylene oxide-propylene oxide block copolymer (Proxanol 268)] was studied. Using a flow-through ultramicroscope with a laser light source, polarization analyzer, and automated counting of the number of particles, dispersion analysis of the prepared oil-in-water emulsions was performed as a function of their ''age'' (tau). For Proxanol 268 and Neonol AF9-12 as emulsifiers, the effect of spontaneous dispersion was discovered in less than 4 and 9 days, respectively. A mechanism accounting for the spontaneous dispersion of these emulsions was suggested. The conditions enabling the preparation of stable fine emulsions (r approximately 65 nm) of Neonol AF9-4, which may be used as effective technical detergents, were identified.