MASS TRANSPORT EFFECTS ON THE STABILITY OF EMULSION: EMULSION FILMS WITH ACETIC ACID AND ACETONE DIFFUSING ACROSS THE INTERFACE

The stability of emulsions is studied using, as a model of two interacting drops, an aqueous film of a surfactant immersed in an oil phase. It is shown that the mass transfer of a solute across the film changes its life-time. This change depends on several parameters as the nature and concentration of the solute. the direction of mass transfer, the time elapsed after the formation of the film. The destabilizing effect, of the transfer is found to be much less pronounced when the solute is in the continuous water phase. The instability is ascribed to the Marangoni effect and/or to liquid flow from the film drawn by diffusion of the solute.