I tried to use surfactant to make candelilla wax emulsion, but when I used tween 80, which was used to make carnuaba wax emulsion, a stable emulsion was not made. What is the required HLB value of candelilla wax? And why does matching HLB with a combination of surfactants make a more stable emulsion than using one surfactant?
Jihun Kim
HLB is an abbreviation for hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of surfactants. This is a number that characterizes the use of surfactants for various purposes: preparation of emulsions, detergent action, wetting of materials ... Read what HLB is. You cannot talk about a combination of number (HLB) and substance (surfactant), as you write.
Yuri Mirgorod
Thank you for kindly answer.
While looking for a surfactant with an appropriate HLB value to emulsify the wax, I found out that each wax has a required HLB value. Required HLB table attached(THE HLB SYSTEM, ICI Americas Inc.). The table shows that the required HLB value of carnauba wax is 15, so Tween 80 with an HLB value of 15 was used for the experiment. When using Tween 80 with an HLB 15 value of 15, a more stable emulsion was created when using a surfactant with a different HLB value. For this reason, I am looking for the required HLB value of Candelilla Wax to emulsify it.
And for example, if there is a wax with a required HLB of 10, I read a literature that combining surfactants with different HLB values to make the HLB value 10 can create a more stable emulsion than using only one surfactant with an HLB value of 10. So, I am also trying to make a candelilla wax emulsion with various combinations of surfactants, but before experimenting, I wonder why this method can make a more stable emulsion.
Jihun Kim
Wax in water emulsion is a dispersed system of droplets (particles) of wax in water in the presence of a surfactant with a certain HLB to obtain an emulsion. Wax does not exist with the required HLB value of 10, but it is necessary to select a surfactant with an HLB value of 10 in order to obtain the required wax-in-water emulsion.
Such a surfactant reduces the surface Gibbs energy by reducing the wax/water interfacial tension and by increasing the specific surface area of the dispersed system.
Dear, I have a tabulated value for the HLB of candelilla wax of 14.74; I don’t have experience with this material, as I’ve never prepared an emulsion with it, but I hope the value can help you. Best regards