Abstract: Inulin has been modified by carbamoylation in organic solvents. The reaction of inulin with octadecyl isocyanates resulted in carbamoylated inulins from which the interfacial properties were determined. The carbamoylated inulins showed a very good reduction of the interfacial tension and very high cloud points in electrolyte media. The cloud point measurements show absence of any cloudiness up to 100 ℃ when NaCl concentrations reaching 4 mol/L and MgSO4 reaching 1 mol/L. These high cloud points in electrolyte solutions cannot be reached with polyethylene glycol(PEG). This clearly demonstrates the superiority of carbamoylated inulins when compared with surfactants based on polyethylene glycol(PEG).

Key words: inulin, carbamoylation, octadecyl isocyanates, interfacial properties