Effect of fatty acid-based anionic surfactants on the emulsion properties of self-emulsifying poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) waxes

Self-emulsifying polyethylene waxes (SE-PEA) were prepared by saponification of KOH with poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (PEA) wax in the presence of surfactants. The viscosity, softening point and penetration of SE-PEA were compared according to the structure of surfactants. After simple preparation of the emulsions, the storage stability, particle size and accelerated stability were evaluated. Using the mixture of nonionic and unsaturated fatty acid emulsifiers, excellent emulsion stabilities and drop emulsion size of <3 μm were achieved. The emulsion of SE-PEA prepared using a fatty acid surfactant having unsaturated groups showed stable emulsion characteristics because of the double bond on hydrophobic chain.