Lignin acrylic acid polymer as an emulsifier for oil-water emulsions

Abstract

Oil-water emulsions are applied in various fields such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and agricultural products. Currently, synthetic-based emulsifiers are extensively used in oil-water emulsions, but the use of synthetic emulsifiers is discouraged due to the adverse environmental impacts related to their production and use. Alternatively, biobased emulsifiers can serve such a purpose. In this regard, lignin, which is the main component of lignocelluloses materials, can be converted to emulsifiers for oil-water emulsions. In this regard, the production of lignin-based emulsifiers has not been explored comprehensively. In this thesis, lignin-derived emulsifiers were experimentally produced via polymerizing lignin and acrylic acid (AA), and its impacts on emulsions produced by mixing water and three industrially used oil of xylene, cyclohexane, and decane was studied comprehensively using a tensiometer, and Quartz crystal microbalance. [...]