What does ethoxylated means?

[planta]

I hope I am posting this request to the right group, if not please
excuse me. I am a Dutchman living partly in Rumania, partly in Greece.

I have to give a lecture soon and I am badly in need of information
whereby in very simple terms, I need to explain how an emulsifier
works. That it binds water and oil to form an emulsion is known, but
why and or how this is possible I have to explain.

My second questions is; what does ethoxylated means in general and
exthoxylated castor oil specifically (Peg-20) . The people I have to
explain this to have no chemical knowledge? Can anyone help me out?

Thanking you in anticipation,

John Kercher
Veria-Greece

plant...@vernet.gr

[Juergen Huff]

planta <plant...@vernet.gr> wrote:
> I have to give a lecture soon and I am badly in need of information
> whereby in very simple terms, I need to explain how an emulsifier
> works. That it binds water and oil to form an emulsion is known, but
> why and or how this is possible I have to explain.

Emulsifiers contain groups both affinic to water (hydrophilic groups)
and oil (hydrophobic groups). Some emulsifiers stabilize water droplets
in oil, some oil droplets in water.

> My second questions is; what does ethoxylated means in general and
> exthoxylated castor oil specifically (Peg-20) . The people I have to
> explain this to have no chemical knowledge? Can anyone help me out?

Ethoxylated compounds are molecules which are reacted with ethylene
oxide. This is a common process to convert hydrophobic molecules such as
castor oil into emulsifiers (the castor oil part is hydrophobic, the
ethoxylation introduces the hydrophilic part).

HTH,
JH