Formation and Stability of Water-in-Diesel Fuel Nanoemulsions Prepared by High-Energy Method

Abstract

In this work, water-in-diesel fuel nanoemulsions were prepared with mixed nonionic surfactants. Five emulsions with different water contents: 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9% (wt/wt) were prepared using high-energy method. Several mixtures of sorbitan monooleate, and polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate, results in different hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values (9.6, 9.8, 10, 10.2, and 10.4) were prepared to achieve the optimal HLB value used in the preparation of nanoemulsions. The effect of water, mixed surfactant concentration and HLB value on the droplet size has been studied. Droplet size of the prepared nanoemulsions was determined by dynamic light scattering, and the nanoemulsion stability assessed, measuring the variation of the droplet size as a function of time. From the obtained results, it was found that the mean droplet sizes formed between 49.55 and 190.1 nm depend on the water content, the concentration of the emulsifiers blend and HLB value.

Keywords:

• Emulsification
• mixed surfactant
• nanoemulsion
• Ostwald ripening
• water-in-diesel fuel emulsions