1. Oil/Water Mixtures Stabilized by Bio-Derived Surfactants
JinYing Lin, jinying.lin@stonybrook.edu, 2015 REU Intern.; ZhiYu Zhou, Exchange student at University of Houston Spring 2015; Dr. Megan Robertson, Mentor, Assistant Professor in Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
NSF REU Program, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, TX 77204
Oil/Water/Surfactant Phase Diagrams [3] Conclusions:
•With 15 wt% total surfactant, one-phase mixtures containing dodecane were
observed when the APG/total surfactant ratio was 0.598-0.709; one-phase
mixtures containing octane were observed in the range 0.644-0.730.
•One-phase mixtures were not observed when the total surfactant concentration
was 10 wt%, except one octane sample with APG/tot. surf. ratio = 0.659.
•One-phase mixtures showed a variety of characteristics under optical
microscopy, ranging from samples which were transparent and featureless to
samples which were opaque and contained droplet phases.
Further Works and Recommendations:
• Investigate the effect of the length of hydrocarbon chain.
• Investigate the effect of the total surfactant concentration.
References: .
1. Rybinski, W. V.; Guckenbiehl, B.; Tesmann, H.. “Influence of co-surfactants on
microemulsions with alkyl polyglycosides.” Colloid and Surfactant, Volume 142 (1998): Pg.
333-342, Paper
2. Iglauer, S.; Wu, Y.; Shuler, P.; Tang, Y.; William, A. G.. “Alkyl polyglycosides surfactant-alcohol
cosolvent formulation for improved oil recovery.” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem.
Eng. Aspects, Volume 339 (2009): Pg. 48-59, Paper
3. Strey, R. “Microemulsion Microstructure and Interfacial Curvature.” Colloid Polymer
Science, Volume 272 (1994) : Pg. 1005-1019, Paper.
4. R. Strey, and et. al. “Bicontinuous microemulsions revisited: A new approach to freeze
fracture electron microscopy (FFEM).” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and
Engineering Aspects, Volume 228, Issue 1-3 (2003): Pg. 159-170, Paper
Mixtures were prepared with either octane or dodecane as the oil phase, and containing 10 or 15 wt% total surfactant.
Abstract: To meet sustainable development, environmentally friendly renewable bio-derived surfactants are developed to replace traditional petroleum-derived surfactants. In this project, two bio-derived
surfactants are used to stabilized oil/water mixtures, containing dodecane and octane as the oil phase. The phase behaviors of the mixtures are examined with visual inspection and optical microscopy.
Surfactants are chemicals that can reduce the surface tension
between two immiscible liquids (oil and water) to form a
thermodynamically stable mixture, called microemulsion. Bio-
derived surfactants are promising substitutes for petroleum-
derived surfactants used in oil recovery, as they are derived from
an annually renewable resource and are often biodegradable.
Based on previous studies [1], [2], two bio-derived surfactants,
alkyl polyglycoside (APG) and glyceryl monooleate (GMO), can be
used in water/oil mixtures to form microemulsions. The goal of
this project is to investigate the phase behavior of the
oil/water/APG/GMO system and determine the range of APG/total
surfactant ratios for microemulsion formation.
Material System:
1. Water
2. Oil:
3. Surfactant:
Octane
Dodecane
APG
GMO
Acknowledgements:
We thank the National Science Foundation and 2015 UH REU program for
support as well as Brian Rohde for assistance with optical microscopy.
Phase Diagrams of the Oil/Water/APG/GMO System
One-phase mixtures were observed when the
APG/total surfactant ratio was 0.598-0.709.
One-phase mixtures were observed when the
APG/total surfactant ratio was 0.644-0.730.
Introduction:
Optical Micrographs of One Phase Mixture
Bicontinuous Microemulsion
(Scale bar is 0.2 μm) [4]
Spherical Microemulsion
(Scale bar is 0. 1μm) [3]
Sample 10X 20X
0.669
0.668
0.599
0.600
0.611
Scale bars indicate 40 μm.
0.499 0.598 0.649 0.693 0.709 0.710 0.724
0.598 0.647 0.722
0.000 0.400 0.638 0.644 0.670 0.709 0.730 0.805 1.000
0.000 0.397 0.494 0.659 0.774 0.774
Dodecane System Octane System