Dense Coconut Oil-in-Water (CO-Water) Emulsification via a Vortex-Based Cavitation Device

Abstract

In this study, a vortex-based hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) device was used to produce coconut oil-in-water (CO-water) emulsions. Emulsions were produced at 200 kPa and 25 °C with coconut oil (CO) volume fractions (αo) of 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, and 0.60. The influence of the CO volume fraction on the droplet size distribution (DSD), Sauter mean diameter (d32), other characteristic diameters, and droplet breakage efficiency (η) was investigated. To examine the influence of dispersed-phase properties, the DSD profiles of CO-water were compared with rapeseed oil-in-water (RO-water) emulsions. This study validates the application of a turbidity-based method for estimating droplet size (d32) in CO-water emulsions, demonstrating its potential for real-time process monitoring.