Aqueous emulsions of organic peroxides

An aqueous emulsion of an organic peroxide component wherein said organic peroxide component is emulsified in water with the water being the continuous phase, said aqueous emulsion consisting essentially of:

• (A) from 5 to 80% by weight of an organic peroxide component, said organic peroxide component consisting of one or a mixture of two or more organic peroxides selected from the group consisting of peroxydicarbonates, peroxyesters and diacylperoxides, said organic peroxide component having a freezing point of less than 0.degree. C. and having a 10 hour half-life temperature of less than 75.degree. C., wherein the 10 hour half-life temperature is the temperature at which said organic peroxide component decomposes, in a time period of 10 hours, to have an active oxygen content of one-half the active oxygen content that it had at the beginning of said 10 hour time period when said organic peroxide component is diluted with an inactive solvent so as to have a concentration of about 0.1 to 0.2 mole/liter and is maintained at that temperature;
• (B) from 0.02 to 7 parts by weight, per one part by weight of said water, of one or a mixture of two or more water-soluble alcohols having molecular weights of less than 100 and which are capable of being dissolved in water in any proportion;
• (C) from 0.001 to 0.5 part by weight, per one part by weight of said water, of an emulsifier component consisting of a surface active agent and a water-soluble protective colloid, said surface active agent being selected from the group consisting of sorbitan and saccharose mono-, di- and tri-esters of lauric acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and oleic acid, and mixtures of said esters, and
• (D) the balance is essentially said water.