Investigating Factors Affecting Water-In-Diesel Fuel Nanoemulsions

In this work, water-in-diesel fuel nanoemulsions were prepared with mixed nonionic surfactants. Several mixtures of sorbitan monooleate and polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate, with different Hydrophilic–Lipophilic Balance (HLB) values (9.6, 9.8, 10, 10.2 and 10.4) were prepared to achieve the optimal HLB value. Three mixed surfactant concentrations were prepared at 6, 8 and 10 wt% to identify the optimum concentration. Five emulsions with different water contents: 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 % (wt/wt) were prepared using a high energy method under the optimum conditions (HLB = 10 and mixed surfactant concentration = 10 %). The effect of the HLB value, mixed surfactant concentration and water content on the droplet size has been studied. The interfacial tension and thermodynamic properties of the individual and the blended emulsifiers were investigated. Droplet size of the prepared nanoemulsions was determined by dynamic light scattering and the nanoemulsion stability was assessed by measuring the variation of the droplet size as a function of time. From the results obtained, it was found that the mean droplet size was formed between 49.5 and 190 nm depending on the HLB value, surfactant concentration and water content of the blended emulsifiers.