Three-phase surfactant-less emulsions

Two emulsions were prepared of water, silicone oil (SO) and vegetable oil (VO) with 1:3 ratio of SO and VO, and different amount of water, and investigated for destabilization mechanisms. The emulsions were highly unstable with no mutual solubility between the three liquids and with the absence of surfactant and the investigation focused on a combination of coalescence and sedimentation/creaming processes.With no water present, the system was only of the type VO/SO single emulsion, while with water present two types of emulsions were formed.