Emulsion stability and rheology

Emulsions cover a broad range of industrial applications, thereby resulting in a large variety of research topics in the field of emulsions. Developing and producing good quality emulsions however comes down to a thorough knowledge of preparation procedures, stability mechanisms and rheological behaviour. In this thesis, we describe our research insights in these aspects for high quality emulsions.
This thesis is divided in three parts: emulsion stability, emulsion rheology and Pickering emulsions. In Part I, emulsion stability is investigated. We examine the limits of emulsion stability, thereby inducing destabilisation. In particular, we look at highly concentrated surfactant-stabilised oil-in-water emulsions. Part II focuses on the rheology of highly concentrated emulsions. This type of emulsion exhibits very characteristic flow properties, with a yield stress and shear thinning behaviour. Predicting how the flow properties of an emulsion depend on the oil/water ratio, mixing speed and concentrations of additives, is a key step in emulsion formulation for industrial applications. In Part III, we investigate Pickering emulsions, with ethyl cellulose nanoparticles as stabilisers. The potential of these particles in Pickering emulsions has been reported before, but questions about the stability mechanism remain.