text: Surfactant behavior is highly dependent on the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) value. The HLB is a coding scale from 0 to 20 for non-ionic surfactants, and takes into account the chemical structure of the surfactant molecule. A zero value corresponds to the most lipophilic and a value of 20 is the most hydrophilic for a non-ionic surfactant. In general, compounds with an HLB between one and four will not mix with water. Compounds with an HLB value above 13 will form a clear solution in water. Oil dispersants usually have HLB values from 8–18.