Ostwald Ripening of Alkane Emulsions Stabilized by Polyethylene Glycol Monolaurate

Abstract

The Ostwald ripening of alkane in water emulsions stabilized by the surfactant poly(ethylene glycol) monolaurate (PEM) was investigated. Surprisingly the measured ripening rates were significantly below the rate which can be predicted by the Lifshitz−Slyozov−Wagner (LSW) theory and decreased in the presence of surfactant micelles. A possible explanation of the effect of these micelles is that they withdraw oil from the continuous phase and hence slow the transport of oil from smaller to larger droplets.