09.12.2012 Views

Food Lipids: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Biotechnology

Food Lipids: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Biotechnology

Food Lipids: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Biotechnology

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Figure 12 Mechanisms of emulsion instability.<br />

minimizing the density difference (� 2 � � 1) between the droplets <strong>and</strong> the surrounding<br />

liquid, reducing the droplet size, or increasing the viscosity of the continuous<br />

phase. The Stokes equation is strictly applicable only to isolated rigid spheres suspended<br />

in an infinite viscous liquid. Since these assumptions are not valid for food<br />

emulsions, the equation must be modified to take into account hydrodynamic interactions,<br />

droplet fluidity, droplet aggregation, non-Newtonian aqueous phases, droplet<br />

crystallization, the adsorbed layer, <strong>and</strong> Brownian motion [1a,2].<br />

2. Flocculation <strong>and</strong> Coalescence<br />

The droplets in emulsions are in continual motion because of their thermal energy,<br />

gravitational forces, or applied mechanical forces, <strong>and</strong> as they move about they<br />

collide with their neighbors. After a collision, emulsion droplets may either move<br />

apart or remain aggregated, depending on the relative magnitude of the attractive<br />

<strong>and</strong> repulsive forces between them. If the net force acting between the droplets is<br />

strongly attractive, they will aggregate, but if it is strongly repulsive they will remain<br />

unaggregated. Two types of aggregation are commonly observed in emulsions: flocculation<br />

<strong>and</strong> coalescence. In flocculations (Fig. 12), two or more droplets come<br />

together to form an aggregate in which the emulsion droplets retain their individual<br />

integrity. Coalescence is the process whereby two or more droplets merge together<br />

to form a single larger droplet (Fig. 12). Improvements in the quality of emulsionbased<br />

food products largely depend on an underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the factors that cause<br />

droplets to aggregate. The rate at which droplet aggregation occurs in an emulsion<br />

depends on two factors: collision frequency <strong>and</strong> collision efficiency [1a,1b].<br />

The collision frequency is the number of encounters between droplets per unit<br />

time per unit volume. Any factor that increases the collision frequency is likely to<br />

increase the aggregation rate. The frequency of collisions between droplets depends<br />

on whether the emulsion is subjected to mechanical agitation. For dilute emulsions<br />

containing identical spherical particles, the collision frequency N has been calculated<br />

for both quiescent <strong>and</strong> stirred systems [3]:<br />

Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!