Mechanism of temperature induced phase inversion in O/W emulsions stabilised by O/W and W/O emulsifier blends

Abstract

The solubilization of hydrocarbons in aqueous solutions of non-ionic emulsifiers, and of water in non-aqueous solutions of non-ionic emulsifiers, has been actively studied by Shinoda and co-workers (1ߝ6) over many years. They showed that solubilization is very dependent on temperature and that it changes drastically at a certain temperature in any given system. Furthermore, at this temperature there is a drastic change in the stability of emulsions prepared from the same components as those utilized in the solubilization studies. This temperature was named the phase inversion temperature (PIT) because a slight increase for an O/W emulsion or decrease for a W/O emulsion resulted in emulsion inversion.