What is emulsifier

Introduction: emulsifier refers to the third substance that can prevent the emulsion from combining and make the emulsion stable It plays an important role in the formation, stability and efficacy of emulsion So what's the emulsifier? Let's take a look at it with the small braid Emulsification is the function of one kind of liquid to disperse uniformly in another kind of immiscible liquid with very small droplets Emulsification is a liquid-liquid interface phenomenon Two immiscible liquids, such as oil and water, are divided into two layers in the container The oil with small density is in the upper layer and the water with large density is in the lower layer If a proper surfactant is added under strong agitation, the oil is dispersed in water to form emulsion, which is called emulsification So what is the emulsifier? Let's learn about it together with the small safety net of Baibai Emulsification refers to the process in which two immiscible liquids form emulsion In order to improve the stability of emulsion, a third substance is usually added to emulsion, which is called emulsifier It is a kind of substance that can make two immiscible liquids form stable emulsion It can be divided into two types: lipophilic type (w / O) and hydrophilic type (O / W) The former disperses water into oil, while the latter disperses oil into water The hydrophilicity and lipophilicity were represented by HLB value The w / O emulsifier was used for HLB value 3-5, and the O / W emulsifier was used for HLB value 8-18 Emulsifiers can be divided into four types according to their molecular structure: ionic, non-ionic, cationic and amphoteric Mostly mixed Most of the emulsifiers are surfactants The HLB value indicates the hydrophilicity and lipophilicity of the base, while the high value indicates the hydrophilicity Anionic emulsifiers include fatty acid soap, alkyl sulfonate, alkyl phenyl sulfate, phosphate, etc Cationic emulsifiers are mainly amines and quaternary ammonium salts Nonionic emulsifier is a kind of emulsifier with the most varieties, including polyoxyethylene, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide block copolymer, fatty acid ester of polyol, polyvinyl alcohol, etc Lecithin, lanolin and gum arabic are natural emulsifiers Emulsifiers are widely used in medicine, pesticide, synthetic rubber, synthetic resin, leather, cosmetics, food and coating industries In addition to emulsification, the emulsifier used in cosmetics has the functions of solubilization, immersion, wetting and descaling The ideal emulsifier should have the following conditions: ① it has strong surface activity, which can significantly reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water; ② it has strong surface adhesion, which can form a solid interface adsorption film to prevent the combination of droplets; ③ it can charge the droplets and generate electrostatic barrier; ④ it can increase the viscosity of the dispersion medium and increase the physical stability of the emulsion; ⑤ Good safety, no short-term or long-term side effects and local irritation; ⑥ good stability, no effect with drugs and other ingredients in the prescription Emulsification is little affected by various factors The above is the introduction of what emulsifier is If you need to know more about emulsifier and other food safety knowledge, please continue to pay attention to the general knowledge column of food additives of Baibai safety net Editor in charge: Wang Xiaoli