By : Mala Pidiyanti.R&I Dept., CV LIDAH BUAYA

Januari 2014

FORMULATING WITH HLB VALUE CALCULATION

Hydrophile Lipophile Balance

• The relationship ( or balance ) between the hydrophilic portion of the nonionic surfactant to the lipophilic portion

• It was invented in 1954 by William C. Griffin of the Atlas Powder Company ( bought by ICI in 1971 )

• As a guidance to good emulsification performance

• HLB values are calculated for nonionic surfactants only

• The HLB value is an indication of the solubility of the surfactant

The chemistry of a nonionic surfactant ?• Each surfactant has a hydrophilic group and a lipophilic group• The hydrophilic group is usually a polyhydric alcohol or

ethylene oxide• The lipophilic group is usually a fatty acid or a fatty alcohol

• The lower the HLB value the more lipophilic or oil soluble the surfactant is

• The higher the HLB value the more water soluble or hydrophilic the surfactant is

• HLB Value range is between 1 - 20

SURFACTAN PROPERTIES BASED ON HLB VALUE

The HLB value can be used to predict the surfactant properties of a molecule :

A value from 4 - 8 indicates an anti-foaming agent A value from 7 - 11 indicates a W/O (water in oil) emulsifier A value from 12 - 16 indicates O/W (oil in water) emulsifier A value from 11 - 14 indicates a wetting agent A value from 12 - 15 indicates a detergent A value of 16 - 20 indicates a solubiliser or hydrotrope

HLB/WATER DIPERSIBILITY RELATIONSHIP

Calculating “HLB VALUE” with Grifin’s Methods

Another Methods of Calculating HLB Value

• Calculate the hydrophilic groups of the surfactant on a molecular weight basis and then divide that number by 5

Example : oleth-20 is a 20 mole ethoxylate of oleyl alcoholthe molecular weight of the 20 moles of ethylene oxide ( one

mole ETO =44 )20 x 44 = 880

add this number to the molecular weight of the oleyl alcohol 880+ 270 (oleyl alcohol) = 1150 ( the mol. wt)

• Percentage of 20 mole ethoxylate from 20-oleth? 880/1150 = 76.5%

• 76.5% divided by 5 = 15.315.3 is the HLB value of oleth-20

HLB SYSTEM : HLB VALUE MEET HLB REQUIRED

√ HLB Value : The balance between the hydrophilic portion to the lipophilic portion of the nonionic surfactant

√ HLB Required : the value of HLB that required by every Lipophilic ingredient in the O/W emulsions.

√ HLB System is matching the HLB value of your surfactant with the Lipohilic ingredient in the emulsion system.

Some general “HLB required” for O/W emulsions

OIL (LIPOPHILIC) CLASS REQUIRED HLB

Vegetable Oil Family 6-8

Silicones Oil 8-12

Petroleum Oil and wax 10 -12

Typical Ester Emmolient 12-14

Fatty Acid and Fatty alcohol 14-16

Formulating with HLB value• mixing unlike oils together

– use surfactants with HLB’s of 1 to 3• making water-in-oil emulsions

– use surfactants with HLB’s of 4 to 6• wetting powders into oils

– use surfactants with HLB’s of 7 to 9• making self emulsifying oils

– use surfactants with HLB’s of 7 to 10• making oil-in-water emulsions

– use surfactant blends with HLB’s of 8 to16• making detergent solutions

– use surfactants with HLB’s of 13 to 15• for solubilizing oils ( micro-emulsifying ) into water

– use surfactant blends with HLB’s of 13 to 18

CALCULATING HLB VALUE IN EMULSION SYSTEM

Example :A simple O/W lotion formula

– mineral oil 8 %– caprylic/capric triglyceride 2 %– isopropyl isostearate 2 %– cetyl alcohol 4 %– emulsifiers 4 %– polyols 5 %– water soluble active 1 %– water 74 %– perfume q.s.– preservative q.s.

Calculations:add up the oil phase ingredients

– mineral oil 8 %– caprylic/capric triglyceride 2 %– isopropyl isostearate 2 %– cetyl alcohol 4 %

» 16– emulsifiers 4 %– polyols 5 %– water soluble active 1 %– water 74 %– perfume q.s.– preservative q.s.

Calculations:divide each by the total to get the contribution to the oil phase

• Mineral oil 8 / 16 = 50%

• caprylic/cap. trig. 2 / 16 = 12.5%

• isopropyl isostearate 2 / 16 = 12.5%

• cetyl alcohol 4 / 16 = 25%

CONCLUSIONS :

• One you know the required HLB of individual oils it is easy to mathematically calculate the required HLB of a mixture of oils

• knowing the required HLB of an oil or an oil mixture means that you can use the least amount of surfactant to achieve emulsification

• Surfactant choice considerations: 1. Chemical type

– ester VS ether– lipophilic group, e.g. lauryl VS stearyl

2. Physical form– liquid VS solid VS beads

3. FDA “status” ( if any )– is there an N. F. monograph

4. Price VS function 5. Blend VS single surfactant 6. Efficiency of the surfactant

Surfactant choice considerations:

1. Philip Haw, 2005, “THE HLB SYSTEM, A TIME SAVING GUIDE TO SURFACTANT SELECTION’, UNIQEMA

2. Bonnie Pyzowski, Mani Dhamdhere, “Rapid HLB-Based Method for Formulating and Improving Emulsion Stability”, www.angus.com