The catastrophic emulsion inversion from abnormal to normal morphology is produced in different conditions, as far as the experimental protocol is concerned. Far from optimum formulation, the inversion is found to take place when the fraction of the dispersed phase, which may be a single phase or an inner emulsion of a multiple emulsion, reaches a critical packing value. Near optimum formulation, a so-called low-tension streaming-bicontinuity regime is found to happen instead of an emulsion morphology. The phenomenology is used to interpret the emulsification of viscous oil phases in industrial processes.
Emulsion drop size depends on the both fo rmulation and compos ition of the surfactant-oil-water system. as well as on the stirring conditions prevailing during emulsification. General trends versus f ormulation or compos ition changes are presented. Howevel; it is shown that the effects are not independent and that a prop er combination of these param eters allows the attainm ent of vel)' small drop size. even at low stirring energy. An overall phenomenology is presented on a twodimensional fo rmulation-comp osition map fro m which it is easy to select the best emulsification conditions.
Emulsion inversion produced by a change in temperature usually takes place reversibly, ie at the same temperature whatever the direction of change. The present study indicates previously unreported hysteresis in a transitional inversion driven by a temperature variation in a non-ionic system containing Tween surfactant mixtures. In both directions of the temperature variation, a delay is exhibited with respect to the standard phase inversion temperature of the equilibrated system. The width of the hysteresis region depends on the rate of temperature change. This behaviour, which does not happen in the presence of alcohol, is attributed to the presence of liquid crystals.
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