HYDROPHILE-LIPOPHILE BALANCE AND MICELLE FORMATION OF NONIONIC SURFACTANTS

Comparison of the hydrophile‐lipophile balance (HLB) values according to the two prevailing systems was made for two classes of nonionic surfactants, namely, ethylene oxide adducts of n‐dodecanol and of branched nonylphenol with increasing degrees of polyoxyethylation. The two systems were shown to differ fundamentally because only one treats the HLB values as constitutive and additive. For both HLB systems, simple relationships were found between the HLB values of each class of surfactants and their critical micelle concentrations. These relationships had different forms for the two systems and, within the same system, different numerical values for the two classes of surfactants. Copyright © 1969 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company