Phase‐volume relationship at the point of phase inversion in liquid dispersions

The point of inversion of a water‐in‐oil type of dispersion to an oil‐in‐water type is investigated for several water‐oil systems by studying the volume ratios of the phases in relation to their physical properties. The point of inversion for each system of an immiscible organic liquid and water and organic liquid mixture and water is obtained by varying the phase‐volume ratios and determining the type of dispersion after complete mixing. The effects of temprature, interfacial tension, and density are found to have no correlation generally applicable to the systems studied. A volume‐viscosity relationship is found to exist within limits. This correlation is that the phase‐volume ratio at the point of inversion is equal to the square root of the ratio of teh viscosities of the respective phases at the interface. The theoretical aspects of this relationship are studied along with its limitations.