Factors affecting oil/water interfacial tension in detergent systems: Nonionic surfactants and nonpolar oils

Abstract

AbstractBecause earlier model detergency studies have shown that oil/water interfacial tension is critically important in oil removal processes, factors affecting the interfacial tension between detergent‐range nonionic surfactant solutions and paraffin oil have been examined. For a given hydrophobe, equilibrium interfacial tension values increase with the length of the ethylene oxide chain in the hydrophile, because of the attendant decrease in overall surface activity. For a given degree of ethoxylation, commercial nonlphenol ethoxylates reduce interfacial tension more effectively than their secondary alcohol‐based counterparts, and these in turn are more effective than commercial primary alcohol ethoxylates. Furthermore, monodisperse primary alcohol ethoxylates reduce interfacial tension more effectively than broad‐range ethoxylates with similar cloud points. This observed order of effectiveness is attributed in part to variations in the extent of fractionation that occur as nonionic surfactants divide between the oil and water phases. Equilibrium interfacial tension values produced by commercial nonionic surfactants are significantly more dependent on concentration and temperature than those obtained with monodisperse ethoxylates. However, the time‐course for lowering interfacial tension exhibited by monodisperse ethoxylates varies with concentration and temperature to a greater extent than that displayed by commercial products. These findings are accounted for by the combined effects of the changes in relative surface activity and partitioning that occur as the concentration and temperature are varied. An imidazoline‐based quaternary fabric softener markedly increases the interfacial tension immediately following phase contact, whereas equilibrium values are only slightly higher in the presence of the softener. Appatently, preferential adsorption of the softener occurs at the interface, followed by adsorption of the nonionic surfactant at the new softener/water interface. Builders and electrolytes have no significant effect on the interfacial tension between aqueous nonionic surfactant solutions and paraffin oil. Terg‐O‐Tometer results demonstrate the correlation between oil/water interfacial tension and detergency.