Determination of required HLB value and emulsifiers for the preparation of water in coconut oil emulsions for application in food process industries

A wide variety of surfactants are available in the market with different Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values; therefore, one must choose suitable surfactants and their concentration to give maximum effect in the final product in an early stage of formulation development. The required HLB value of the oil phase was determined by experiments and the emulsifier selected of the same HLB value reduced the number of formulations with increased stability and minimum quantity of emulsifier. This study reviews the importance of the required HLB system and methods of determining it. Further, it also provides the surfactants application in the production of coconut oil emulsion with butter-like properties. The Griffin approach does the conventional way of determining the required HLB value of the oil phase. Various emulsions were prepared with emulsifier blends of Span and Tween, covering all the HLB range as per the final product and emulsion type, and observed regarding their separating/emulsifying properties with variable time or concentration. Interfacial Tension (IFT), Droplet Size, Zeta potential, centrifugal separation measurements of the emulsion prepared with food-grade emulsifiers like Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), Distilled Monoglycerides (DMG), and Lecithin, was carried out to identify the best suitable emulsifier and its concentration which gives better emulsion stability. The coconut and sunflower oil blend (70:30, w/w) shows, the required HLB value is 3.7 when it emulsified with 60% of water and found that PGPR + DMG blend gives maximum emulsion stability at 3% of emulsifier concentration.