(615d) Suppression of Spontaneous Emulsification with Organic Salts

Generation of emulsion droplets typical requires agitation or shear of two immiscible fluids. Under special conditions, however, spontaneous emulsification (SE) can occur. This phenomena is not restricted to systems with ultralow interfacial tension, but can also occur for systems with moderate interfacial tension, such as water-in-oil emulsions stabilized with Span 80. The presence of inorganic salts has been shown to inhibit SE in this mixture. We investigate the influence of antagonistic salts -- short chain alkyl ammoniums on the SE process. We found that presence of organic salts can suppress SE at moderate concentrations, and the hydrophobicity of the ion appear to have little effect on whether SE is observed.