OIL-IN-WATER EMULSIONS

The invention relates to an oil-in-water emulsion comprising an oil phase and an aqueous phase, and a primary surfactant, wherein the oil phase is dispersed in the aqueous phase, and wherein the oil-in-water emulsion has: an average droplet size distribution (D[4,3]) in the range of from 3 to 15 μm and less than 3 wt % of the droplets have a particle size of greater than 125 μm; a viscosity of greater than 100 and up to 700 mPas at 50° C.±10% and 20 s−1±10%; and a static stability of less than 5% residue after centrifugation at 50° C.±10% and 2000 g=10% for 30 minutes±10%. A process for preparing such an oil-in-water emulsion comprises preparing an aqueous phase comprising a primary surfactant, heating a hydrocarbon-containing oil-phase, and blending the hydrocarbon-containing oil and the aqueous phase under conditions sufficient to form an oil-in-water emulsion. The invention also relates to methods for determining the static and dynamic stability of oil-in-water emulsions. Static stability can be determined by a method comprising the steps of: providing an oil-in-water emulsion; centrifuging the oil-in-water emulsion under predetermined conditions for a predetermined period of time; determining the amount of residue deposited from the oil-in-water emulsion after the predetermined period of time; and determining the oil-in-water emulsion's static stability. A method for determining the dynamic stability of an oil-in-water emulsion comprises the steps of: providing an oil-in-water emulsion; analysing the oil-in-water emulsion at a first time; recirculating the oil-in-water emulsion in a recirculation loop; and analysing the oil-in-water emulsion at second time after recirculation has started; in which the oil-in-water emulsion's dynamic stability is determined based on the analysis at the first and second times.