Abstract
A study has been made of the emulsification of paraffin in water with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the emulsifier. Attention was paid to the influence of the composition of the mixture and the molecular weight and acetate group content of the polymer on the properties of the emulsions formed. For each emulsion, the specific area and the amount of PVA adsorbed were determined. The most remarkable result is that for relatively hydrophobic PVA samples (acetate content > 10%) the specific area of the emulsion does not increase indefinitely with increasing polymer concentration c p but passes through a maximum. The polymer concentration where this maximum is reached increases with decreasing molecular weight. No such irregularity was observed with relatively hydrophilic PVA samples (acetate content <10%). An explanation is presented in terms of the various phenomena occurring during the emulsification process. Important quantities are interfacial tension gradients, the rate of adsorption of polymers by diffusion and reconformation, and the rate of coalescence, all during emulsification. The obtained emulsions are generally very stable. At high c p the adsorbed molecules are subjected to considerable lateral constriction, the more so the more hydrophobic the molecule.
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