The Ostwald ripening and the solubilization of alkane in water emulsions stabilized by the nonionic surfactant hexaethylene glycol n-dodecyl ether (C12E6) were investigated. For emulsions prepared under high-shear conditions in a microfluidizer, the presence of micelles swollen by alkane hardly affects the ripening rate. For already formed emulsions to which extra surfactant solutions were added, the ripening rates increased slightly with increasing added surfactant concentration. The ratio of the highest to the lowest observed ripening rate is no more than a factor of 3. The main aging mechanism is the transport of alkane by molecular diffusion through the continuous phase. This mechanism is confirmed by the temperature dependence of the ripening rate. The solubilities and the solubilization rates of different alkanes in several surfactants were determined. The solubilization rates of different alkanes are approximately proportional to their solubilities in micellar surfactant solution and are dependent on the ratio of the number of oil molecules to that of surfactant molecules. An inverse relationship between the solubilization rate and the enhancement of the Ostwald ripening rate by the addition of extra surfactant is observed.