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Formulation of oil-in-water emulsions for pesticide applications: impact of surfactant type and concentration on physical stability

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Abstract

Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions can be utilized as effective pesticide delivery systems in the agricultural industry. In this study, the effects of hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB), concentration, and location of surfactants on the formation and physical stability of O/W emulsions suitable for pesticide applications was investigated using dynamic light scattering and vertical laser profiling. A non-polar pesticide (lambda-cyhalothrin) was used as a model. The pesticide emulsion with the highest stability was obtained using a commercial non-ionic surfactant (polyoxyethylene castor oil ether, EL-20) with a required HLB value of 10.5. Emulsion stability increased as the surfactant concentration was increased from 2 to 6%, which was attributed to the formation of smaller oil droplets during emulsification. Emulsions prepared with the surfactant initially in the oil phase were more stable than those prepared with it initially in the aqueous phase. The optimum formulation of the pesticide emulsion was determined as follows: 5% lambda-cyhalothrin (active ingredient) and 6% EL-20 (surfactant) dissolved in 5% S-200 (aromatic hydrocarbon, as oil phase), then deionized water up to 100%, which met the quality indicators set by the FAO standards. The present study is expected to provide useful information to improve the stability of pesticide emulsions for commercial applications.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for financial support from Basic Research Project (Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars) of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. BK20170489); Basic Research Project (Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists) of Yangzhou, China (Grant No. YZ2016104); and Program of Practice and Inovation Trainng Projectsfor College Students in Jiangsu Province (Grant No. 201711117053Y).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Jianguo Feng & Qicheng Chen

  2. College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    Xuemin Wu

  3. Department of Food Materials and Process Design Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

    Seid Mahdi Jafari

  4. Department of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01004, USA

    David Julian McClements

Authors
  1. Jianguo Feng
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  2. Qicheng Chen
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  3. Xuemin Wu
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  4. Seid Mahdi Jafari
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  5. David Julian McClements
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Correspondence to Xuemin Wu or Seid Mahdi Jafari.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Feng, J., Chen, Q., Wu, X. et al. Formulation of oil-in-water emulsions for pesticide applications: impact of surfactant type and concentration on physical stability. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 21742–21751 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2183-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2183-z

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