Investigation of the phase behavior of food-grade microemulsions by mesoscopic simulation

The microstructure and the phase behavior of a food-grade microemulsion composed of glycerol trioleate, water, Span 80/Tween 80, and ethanol were systematically investigated using the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method for the first time. The results show that the changes of the interfacial tension and the aggregating morphology of the system by simulation can be used to determine the phase-transition of the emulsion, and the phase diagram of the microemulsion developed by simulation method is in good agreement with that of the experimental method. The region of the microemulsion is relatively small due to the high molecular weight and complex structure of the glycerol trioleate. Ethanol as cosurfactant can assist surfactant to further reduce the oil-water interfacial tension through distributing at the water, oil and the interface of them. The aggregating morphologies of the O/W, W/O, and bicontinuous microemulsions are also explored by simulation. It is proved that DPD simulations and experiments can complement each other in developing a comprehensive understanding of the food-grade microemulsion of long-chain triglycerides. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.