DSC AS A TOOL TO PREDICT EMULSION STABILITY

Abstract
The crystallization of n-Hexadecane dispersed within a suitable aqueous medium has been studied by the mean of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSCI. The dispersion of the oil is found to be dependent on the mixing conditions: calorimetric curves exhibit one or two exothermic signals which represent different undercoolings. n-Hexadecane can be dispersed in microscopic droplets or in both microscopic and macroscopic phases. Furthermore, during an isothermal stabilization (in a particular temperature range) one can observe an oil transfer from the microscopic droplets to the macroscopic organic phase. The same phenomenon can also be induced by thermal cycling. The effect of aging was found to be in perfect agreement with the predictions that can be drawn from the calorimetric analysis of freshly made samples.