Starch Fatty Esters for Potential Use in Petroleum Industry
The aim of this study was to obtain and characterize starch fatty esters with variations in the hydrophilic/lipophilic balance and to assess whether these samples have potential application in oil-based drilling fluids. The variation in the hydrophobicity of the samples was verified by means of viscosity tests, which suggested that the products had varied solubility parameters, near the value of the solvent n-paraffin.