Evaluation of Emulsion Stability by Centrifugation with Conductivity Measurements

ABSTRACT An industry problem when evaluating stability of emulsions is lack of a method reproducing, in a short time, aging of the emulsion. A method that combines centrifugation and conductivity measurements could be used for this purpose. Centrifugation accelerates destabilization of the product and thus simulates aging. Conductivity measurement of the aqueous phase, a function of the oil concentration, evaluates destabilization. Our method was compared with a creaming‐measurement method based on fat content. The increase in conductivity was representative of the creaming rate, with correlation higher than 0.93. The combined method, applied to different oil‐in‐water (O/W) emulsions, enables following stability during aging and assures the need of industry for a fast, easy method to evaluate emulsion stability.