A novel method for preparing oil-in-water-in-oil type multiple emulsions using organophilic montmorillonite clay mineral

A stable formula using oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) type multiple emulsions was investigated. The components consisted of hydrophilic nonionic surfactant (HCO-60), organophilic montmorillonite, and lipophilic nonionic surfactant (DIS-14). O/W/O emulsions were prepared by a double-step procedure in which an O/W emulsion was prepared in the first step, and then the O/W emulsion was "re-emulsified" in an oil phase with organophilic montmorillonite. The diameter of the innermost oil droplets decreased with increasing HCO-60 content (0.1-3%), while the viscosity showed a maximum at 1% of HCO-60, indicating that the yield of re-emulsification is highest at this condition. Viscosity of the O/W/O emulsion increased with increasing organophilic montmorillonite and DIS-14. According to the results of a phase ratio study, viscosity and stability of the O/W/O emulsion decreased at high weight traction of inner oil phase (0.4-0.5), indicating that the excess amount of inner oil phase is absorbed by the outer oil phase. These results revealed that the weight fraction of inner oil phase should be kept below 0.3 for a stable O/W/O emulsion. A similar study on the weight fraction of O/W phase [phi(O/W)/O] suggested that the O/W/O emulsion is stable at phi(O/W)/O = 0.65-0.70.