Influence of pH on the stability of oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by a splittable surfactant

A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effect of pH on the stability of oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by a commercial splittable surfactant Triton SP-190 by comparison with the results obtained by a common surfactant Triton X-100. The emulsion stability was explored by measuring the volume of oil phase separated and the size of the dispersed droplets. It was found that the addition of inorganic acids did not significantly affect the stability of emulsions stabilized by Triton X-100, but had a profound influence on the stability of emulsions stabilized by Triton SP-190. Moreover, the droplet size of a Triton X-100-stabilized emulsion and its dynamic interfacial activity were insensitive to acids. However, at lower pH the droplet size of the emulsions stabilized by Triton SP-190 was considerably increased. From the dynamic interfacial tension measurements the dynamic interfacial activity of Triton SP-190 at the oil/water interface was found to be strongly inhibited by the addition of acids, resulting in a slower decreasing rate of dynamic interfacial tension. The results demonstrate that the dramatic destabilization of Triton SP-190-stabilized emulsions could be realized by the use of acids, which evidently changed the interfacial properties of the surfactant and resulted in a higher coalescence rate of oil droplets.