The surfactant concentration in miniemulsion polymerization is a very important parameter. At surfactant concentrations lower than a critical value, coalescence of monomer droplets changes their size, whereas concentrations too high lead to the formation of micelles and micellar nucleation in the polymerization step. Inorganic particles dispersed in the monomer phase, with the goal to produce hybrid particles, infl uence the surfactant concentration needed as shown in this contribution. Values for the ideal surfactant concentration have been determined for different combinations of particles and surfactant. Underlying mechanisms for the required adjustment of surfactant concentration are discussed.

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The purification of glycerol from water by melt layer crystallization with an additional solvent to influence the crystallization kinetics is investigated. Static cold finger experiments including a sweating‐like post‐treatment were carried out. A simple seeding technique is introduced to facilitate layer crystallization without primary nucleation or agitation. It is shown that the glycerol crystal layers tend to burst in a traditional sweating procedure, but a modified temperature profile allows a post‐treatment with a similar effect. The solvent improved the separation efficiency of the growth step and also the one of the sweating step. Therefore, its effect does not only result from its influence on forced convection but also that on natural convection and diffusion.