Creaming and Flocculation of Oil-in-Water Emulsions Containing Sodium Caseinate

The influence of protein content on the stability of concentrated oil-in-water emulsions (35 or 45 vol% oil, droplet diameter approximately 0.5 &mgr;m, pH 6.8) containing sodium caseinate as the sole emulsifying agent has been investigated. Time-dependent creaming profiles were determined at 30°C using an ultrasound velocity scanning technique with data analysis based on a Urick equation renormalization technique. The results indicate that creaming kinetics has a complex dependence on caseinate content. At low protein content (1 wt%), corresponding to less than half that required for saturation monolayer coverage, the emulsion is destabilized by bridging flocculation (accompanied by some coalescence). At higher protein content (2 wt%), where individual droplets are fully protected against protein bridging or coalescence by the thick adsorbed protein layer, the unflocculated emulsion has good stability over a period of several weeks. With further increase of protein content (>/=3 wt%), the observed creaming stability is reduced again, with the rate of serum separation at the bottom of the sample now greatly increased. This is attributed here to depletion flocculation by unadsorbed caseinate, probably in the form of small particles called "casein submicelles." Light microscopy has confirmed that the visually observable extent of reversible depletion flocculation in concentrated emulsions of this type is very sensitive to overall protein content. Once the caseinate concentration reaches a high value (6 wt%), the strength of the depletion interaction is such that it produces a very strong emulsion droplet network which can reorganize only slowly, and is hence much more stable to creaming and serum separation.