Wax adsorption at paraffin oil–water interface stabilized by Span80

Abstract

In this work, wax adsorption at the water–oil interface was studied. Through a polarizing microscope, interfacial adsorption of wax crystals was observed. The cause of the adsorption was proposed to be the synergistic effect between surfactant and wax. An additional experiment, an interfacial rheology test, validated the synergistic effect, showing that wax adsorption enhances the interfacial storage modulus and changes interfacial viscosity. The interfacial storage modulus increased with the decrease in temperature, which implies that the amount of wax adsorption increased at the interface, in agreement with the findings observed with the microscope. Temperature and wax content are two factors that affect interfacial rheology.