I am trying to make the Oil in Water emulsion. If I dissolve 1% my material in oil then it forms O/W emulsions. But when I use concentration of my material Above 5 % then it forms W/O emulsion.
Any Suggestion. What is the reason?
You need to specify the composition of your material. According to your question it is difficult to give a definite answer.
This could be caused by different components of the emulsifier partitioning differently between the oil and water phases.
According to Bancroft’s rule the emulsion should be O/W if the emulsifier is water-soluble and W/O if it is oil-soluble. A refinement of this very simple idea is to consider emulsifier partitioning. Most of the emulsifier is at the oil-water interface, but some will dissolve in the water or the oil. The nature of the emulsifier at the interface is what determines whether O/W or W/O is favoured. In practice emulsifiers are mixtures; the components will partition in different ways between oil phase, water phase and interface. A consequence is that the composition at the interface depends on the proportions of oil, water and emulsifier.
The phase ratio also affects the type of emulsion. If the emulsifier favors a W/O emulsion, this is what will happen provided there is sufficient oil in the system. If there is very little oil, geometrical considerations make an oil-continuous system unfavorable and an O/W system will form.
This is a rather general answer. For a more detailed explanation, one would need to know more about your system.
There is a considerable literature on which type of emulsion (W/O or O/W) forms - e.g. several articles by J.L. Salager, also Brooks and Richmond, Coll&Surf 58, 131 (1991).
Dear Nile Jadhav,
1. You need to indicate the material name and its solubility in oil for right answer.
2. Let me know the following process parameters for providing proper reason.
· How you confirmed emulsion change.
· Order of addition,
· Rate of mixing,
· Rate of heat,
· Percentage of oil and aqueous phase
To my understanding, this could be due to higher percentage of oil phase with lower percentage aqueous phase used in your product or emulsion.
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