Emulsification Essay

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Size reduction is a process in which the sizes of solid or liquid particles are comminuted. Basically, there are two types of size reductions which are reductions of solid particles and liquid particles. In terms of solids particles, the size reduction process involves the “comminution” of solid pieces of food by the application of forces, such as grinding and compression. However, emulsification or homogenizing in food processing refers to the size reduction in liquid globules. (Fellows, 2009)Nowadays, a wide range of food products like butter, margarine, ice-cream, milk, mayonnaise, sauces and salad dressings are produced via the theory of emulsification. Therefore, we would like to investigate the background of emulsification in this assignment. …show more content…

It adsorb at the liquid-liquid interface hence lowering the interfacial tension. Smaller interfacial tension helps in the dispersion of one phase in the form of fine droplets by lowering the energy input. It also helps in the extension of shelf life by providing rheological properties to the liquid-liquid interface.(Dr. Gerard L. Hasenhuettl, 2008)There are natural and synthetic emulsifiers. The natural ones are just a few while the synthetic ones are made of natural emulsifiers by treating them with chemicals.The examples of emulsifiers are lecithin, monoglycerides, polysorbates and sucrose esters. Egg yolk is the best common food naturally containing emulsifying agents. Lecithin is the primary emulsifying agent that found in egg yolk. (Serpil Sahin, …show more content…

The diameter of the droplets is supposed to be constant and therefore physically stable. Usually emulsions are polydisperse systems, which mean that the diameter of the droplets varies from droplet to droplet. However, monodisperse emulsions may also be produced. Both of the monodisperse and polydisperse emulsions are illustrated in Figure 1.1. The effect of both droplet size and droplet size distributions on the rheology of an emulsion depends on the volume fraction and the nature of colloidal interaction. At the same volume fraction, a polydispersed emulsion has a lower viscosity than monodispersed emulsions. Stokes’s law indicates that the velocity at which a droplets moves is proportional to the square of its radius. Thus shows that the emulsion stability can be enhanced by reducing the droplet size.
The droplets greatly influenced the emulsions because of complex interactions between the ingredients and the droplets. Those droplet-interactions are responsible for the rheology, stability, appearanceand many other characteristics of the emulsion. If the temperature, the pH, the concentration of emulsifier changes or if some salt is added, the properties of the emulsion can change immensely due to the kinetic

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