School of Chemistry - Research Publications

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Author: Ashokkumar, Muthupandian × Author: Li, Wu × Author: Martin, Gregory ×

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    Turbulence-dependent reversible liquid-gel transition of micellar casein-stabilised emulsions
    Li, W ; Wu, Y ; Martin, GJO ; Ashokkumar, M (ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2022-10)
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    Turbulence-induced formation of emulsion gels
    Li, W ; Martin, GJO ; Ashokkumar, M (ELSEVIER, 2021-12)
    Emulsion gels have a wide range of applications. We report on a facile and versatile method to produce stable emulsion gels with tunable rheological properties. Gel formation is triggered by subjecting a mixture containing aqueous colloidal particle (CP) suspensions and water-immiscible liquids to intense turbulence, generated by low frequency (20 kHz) ultrasound or high-pressure homogenization. Through systematic investigations, requisite gel formation criteria are established with respect to both formulation and processing, including ratio/type of liquid pairs, CP properties, and turbulence conditions. Based on the emulsion microstructure and rheological properties, inter-droplet bridging and CP void-filling are proposed as universal stabilization mechanisms. These mechanisms are further linked to droplet-size scaling and sphere close-packing theory, distinctive from existing gel-conferring models. The study thereby provides the foundation for advancing the production of emulsion gels that can be tailored to a wide range of current and emerging applications in the formulation and processing of food, cosmetics or pharmaceutical gels, and in material science.
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    A study of the effectiveness and energy efficiency of ultrasonic emulsification
    Li, W ; Leong, TSH ; Ashokkumar, M ; Martin, GJO (ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY, 2018-01-07)
    Three essential experimental parameters in the ultrasonic emulsification process, namely sonication time, acoustic amplitude and processing volume, were individually investigated, theoretically and experimentally, and correlated to the emulsion droplet sizes produced. The results showed that with a decrease in droplet size, two kinetic regions can be separately correlated prior to reaching a steady state droplet size: a fast size reduction region and a steady state transition region. In the fast size reduction region, the power input and sonication time could be correlated to the volume-mean diameter by a power-law relationship, with separate power-law indices of −1.4 and −1.1, respectively. A proportional relationship was found between droplet size and processing volume. The effectiveness and energy efficiency of droplet size reduction was compared between ultrasound and high-pressure homogenisation (HPH) based on both the effective power delivered to the emulsion and the total electric power consumed. Sonication could produce emulsions across a broad range of sizes, while high-pressure homogenisation was able to produce emulsions at the smaller end of the range. For ultrasonication, the energy efficiency was higher at increased power inputs due to more effective droplet breakage at high ultrasound intensities. For HPH the consumed energy efficiency was improved by operating at higher pressures for fewer passes. At the laboratory scale, the ultrasound system required less electrical power than HPH to produce an emulsion of comparable droplet size. The energy efficiency of HPH is greatly improved at large scale, which may also be true for larger scale ultrasonic reactors.