The emulsifying ability of surfactants is determined by the presence of hydrophobic and hydrophilic functional groups. The properties of the emulsifier affect the dispersed phase average size. Edible refined sunflower oil was used to prepare the emulsions. In the composition of oils, even after refining, small amounts of accompanying components are found after the plant tissues destruction. This allows the vegetable oil to be emulsified without surfactants addition. The article examined emulsions without the addition of surfactants and with sodium lauryl sulfate, as one of the most common components of detergents in the Russian Federation.
The purpose of the research was to study the colloidal chemical characteristics of vegetable oil emulsions in water and the influence of their properties on the efficiency of sorption purification. It has been shown that sodium lauryl sulfate in an amount of 0.05 mg/dm3 in the sunflower oil-water system leads to a decrease in the average diameter of oil droplets, as well as to a change in the ζ – potential of the oil micelle, from a weakly positive one it goes into a weakly negative region with an increase in charge as the emulsifier concentration increases. In the presence of an emulsifier, the efficiency of extraction of vegetable oils from aqueous media using the OSP600 sorp-tion material decreases.