Se ha realizado un estudio de la distribución del tamaño de gotas y de las propiedades viscoelásticas lineales de emulsiones concentradas de aceite en agua, estabilizadas con diferentes proteínas (cangrejo, gluten y soja). Los sistemas estudiados siempre presentan un comportamiento típico de emulsiones altamente concentradas con un alto grado de floculación. Se ha observado que un incremento de la velocidad de agitación empleada durante la preparación o de la concentración de emulsionante dan lugar a un aumento de los módulos viscoelásticos (G' y G") y a una disminución del tamaño de gotas. Por tanto se produce un reforzamiento del entramado formado por asociación de las gotas de fase dispersa y como consecuencia, un aumento en la estabilidad de las emulsiones. | Droplet Size Distribution (DSD) and linear viscoelastic properties of concentrated o/w emulsions stabilized by different proteins (crayfish, gluten and soybean) have been studied. A typical behaviour of highly concentrated emulsions with a high degree of flocculation has been found. An increase in energy input for the emulsification process or in emulsifier concentration leads to an increase in both viscoelastic moduli (G', G") as well as to a decrease in droplet size. Thus, an enhancement of the entanglement network produced by association of protein molecules that are surrounding oil droplets or are present in the continuous phase takes place, leading to a significant improvement of emulsion stability.

In the present investigation, emulsifying potential of galactan exopolysaccharide (EPS) extracted from Weissella confusa KR780676 has been evaluated with various food grade flavours (vanilla, cardamom and pineapple). Concentration of EPS was optimized as 1% with these flavours, in addition to the effect of salinity (NaCl), monovalent ion (KCl) and temperature on emulsion activity (EA), and emulsion stability (ES) was also inspected. Filter paper wetting test exhibited water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) and oil-in-water (o/w) type emulsions. The extent in granule disintegration and the retrogradation process of flavour emulsions were studied with pasting properties. Electron micrography and particle size analysis revealed the morphology and the size of emulsion droplets. Thermal stability of emulsions has found 100% at various temperatures (−20 to 60 °C) for vanilla and pineapple flavour, whereas, it was varying for cardamom as per the temperature disparity. Emulsion stability of vanilla and pineapple flavour was retained as such for various concentrations of NaCl whereas decreased for cardamom in direct proportion. In case of KCl all the three flavours showed greater stability. These emulsifying properties indicate that galactan EPS can be a prospective alternative to commercial biopolymers in food and pharmaceuticals industries.

This paper reports viscosity measurements of oil/water (O/W) monodispersed emulsions of different droplet diameters obtained in a membrane emulsification system. Hydrophilic microporous glass membranes of different pore diameters were used to prepare O/W emulsions. The results showed that the droplet diameter of the emulsions varied with the average pore diameter of the membrane. The average droplet diameter was found to be about five times greater than the average membrane pore diameter. A correlation was found for the relationship between the average droplet diameter and the emulsion viscosity. As the dispersed droplet size became smaller, the total surface area of the droplets increased. Therefore, the emulsion viscosity and the relative viscosity increased. Few studies have reported the viscosity of O/W emulsions with droplet diameter of 5 micrometers or more and an oil phase concentration of 10 vol% or less. In the present study a correlation between the droplet diameter and the emulsion viscosity was statistically established.

Nowadays people demand for healthy, convenient, and wholesome foods. Double emulsions have attracted widespread attention in the food industry owing to their capability of encapsulating the compounds, fabricating polymersomes, and acting as fat replacers or sweetness enhancers in different foods. In this review, properties and their importance in the fabrication of double emulsions along with their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. In the lateral part of the manuscript, the instability mechanism and the effect of different variables on the stability of the double emulsions are reviewed. Finally, this review provides a glimpse of the recent food application of W/O/W double emulsions. Double emulsions have a better profile on the encapsulation of nutrients along with maintenance of the organoleptic quality of the food. The conventional emulsification techniques result in low encapsulation efficiency and poor monodispersity. With recent developments, different novel methods for the fabrication of double-emulsions have been developed such as glass capillary microfluidic devices, membrane emulsification, phase inversion techniques, etc. However, findings thus far indicate that the long-term stability of double emulsions remains a crucial issue that limits their wide application in food formulations. Therefore, further research should focus on finding innovative approaches to improve the stability of double emulsions.

Unheated and heat-aggregated β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) solutions were used to stabilize clove oil-in-water emulsion and limonene-in-water emulsion prepared by microchannel (MC) emulsification. The size of the MC array plate was 15 × 15 mm2 consisting of 100 parallel MCs fabricated on each side of the plate. The channels were 4 μm depth, 71 μm length, and 8.2 μm width, with the terrace length of 29.1 μm. Unheated and heat-aggregated β-lg effectively stabilized clove oil-in-water and limonene-in-water emulsions during production using MC emulsification. The emulsion droplets were steadily produced by the channels. The average diameter of clove oil droplets was around 17 μm, with both unheated and heat-aggregated β-lg, regardless of the concentration of β-lg. The average diameter of the limonene droplets was 18–26 μm depending on the conditions (unheated or heat-aggregated) and the concentration of β-lg. The coefficient of variation for all average droplet diameters was ≤8%, which was an indication of monodisperse droplets. Clove oil-in-water emulsion droplets became polydisperse within 2 h observation, whilst limonene-in-water emulsion droplets remained monodisperse over time. The stability of the oil droplets over time related to the solubility of the oil phases rather than the effects of β-lg as the surfactant. In addition, the droplet sizes at different surfactant concentrations seemed to relate to the viscosity ratio between the dispersed phase and the continuous phase rather than the effects of the surfactant.

The microstructure and stability of oil-in-water emulsions, stabilized with non-protein emulsifiers (sorbitan esters), were analyzed as a function of emulsification time, rotor speed, hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB), and ionic strength. Sauter average dia (D[3,2]) were determined from micrographs. Back-scattered light data were analyzed and a method to determine creaming rates of the systems was proposed. Creaming rates showed that the relationship between emulsion stability and HLB was non-linear. Addition of NaCl raised creaming rates, resulting in decreased stability, while micrographs showed the presence of flocs. Results were discussed taking account of interactions present in the system.

We designed Air-in-Oil-in-Water (A/O/W) emulsions. First, Air-in-Oil foams were fabricated by whipping anhydrous milk fat. The maximum overrun was obtained at 20 °C. The foams contained 30–35 vol% air and were stabilized solely by fat crystals. To refine the bubble size, foams were further sheared in a Couette’s cell. The average bubble size reached a value as small as 6.5 μm at a shear rate of 5250 s−1. The nonaqueous foams were then dispersed in a viscous aqueous phase containing sodium caseinate to obtain A/O/W emulsions. The shear rate was varied from 1000 to 7500 s−1, allowing to obtain Air-in-Oil globules whose average diameter ranged from 15 to 60 μm. To avoid globule creaming, the aqueous phase was gelled by incorporating hydroxyethyl cellulose. Homogeneous emulsions were obtained with fat globules containing around 22 vol% of residual air. The systems were kinetically stable for at least 3 weeks at 4 °C.

In order to utilize rice flour in food systems with high water content, rice flour was dispersed into water to prepare a rice flour suspension and emulsion. Stability of the suspension was significantly increased by heating processes in combination with homogenization processes. The improved stability was probably due to finely dispersed rice flour particles (-10microm) and gelatinized starch granules. Since oil droplets with a size of several micrometers disperse in an aqueous phase of many real food emulsions, rice flour is expected to be utilized as a fat replacer mimicking oil droplets. Emulsions were prepared dispersing soybean oil into a rice flour suspension. The emulsion was relatively stable to oil droplet coalescence for 7 days. Starch and proteins such as 10-16 kDa prolamin adsorbed to oil droplet surfaces to stabilize the emulsion. These results suggest that rice flour is expected to be utilized as a natural emulsifier in the food industry.