Triolein solubilization using highly biodegradable non-ionic surfactants

Ternary, pseudo-ternary and binary water:triolein:non-ionic surfactant systems have been studied in order to establish the respective phase diagrams. Two non-ionic surfactants (an alkylpolyglucoside and an ethoxylated fatty alcohol) and a mixture of the two have been used. Microemulsions have been discovered in the ternary phase diagrams. A significant amount of triolein has been solubilized with long-term stability at slightly over the room temperature, using highly biodegradable surfactants without a co-surfactant. The conditions under which the microemulsion region has been found (low temperature, low oil concentration and low surfactant concentration) could be highly useful in detergency. Temperature-insensitive or temperature-sensitive O/W microemulsion formulations have been discovered by using alkylpolyglucoside or ethoxylated fatty-alcohol emulsions.