Impact of Sustainable Manufacturing Processes on the Rheological and Microstructural Stability of Biopolymer-Stabilized Oil-in-Water Emulsions

This work investigated the impact of energy-efficient and water-saving manufacturing procedures-specifically one-pot and hot-cold processes-on the rheological and microstructural stability of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions (emulgels) stabilized by four distinct biopolymers and benchmarked against a synthetic polymer. Emulgels produced using these sustainable methods were directly compared against a traditional hot process. Results demonstrated that for most biopolymers, including tara gum, glucomannan, and cross-linked xanthan gum, the sustainable manufacturing procedures did not compromise overall stability and often provided beneficial polymer-specific flow profiles, such as reduced thixotropy or enhanced shear-thinning. A notable exception was the co-processed acacia/xanthan gum, where rheological data indicated that the one-pot process should be avoided due to structural degradation. Collectively, these findings broaden the applicability of sustainable manufacturing methods beyond traditional stabilizers like xanthan gum and provide additional data for process optimization, with tentative suggestions for transferability to food emulgel production.