These are some questions that intitially come to mind.

• How does using other alkaline materials change the effectiveness of the gel or emulsion?
• What about working at a lower pH range? Shelburne Museum conservators have been working at a pH of about 7.5-8 and only briefly tried working with a gel that had a pH of between 6-7, but found that it wasn't effective with the carousel panels.  The Pemulen technical information sheet from Noveon indicates that Pemulen TR2 can emulsify up to 60-80% of oil by weight at a pH range of 4-5. This might prove interesting when using the gel in some circumstances.
• Could there be any benefit to adding in a chelating acid such as citric acid to the gel mixture?