Carnauba Wax and Beeswax as Structuring Agents for Water-in-Oleogel Emulsions without Added Emulsifiers

This research aims to explore the potential of waxes as ingredients in the formulation of food-grade water-in-oleogel emulsions without added emulsifiers. The effects of the wax type, wax concentration and water concentration were tested on systems containing exclusively water, sunflower oil, and wax. Beeswax and carnauba wax were used in the formulation of water-in-oleogel emulsions with 20%, 30% and 40% w/w of water. For the continuous phase, three different levels of wax were used, namely 50%, 100%, and 150% of the critical gelling concentration. More specifically, carnauba wax emulsions were prepared at 2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5% of wax, while concentrations of 0.75%, 1.5% and 2.25% of wax were utilized for the beeswax experiments. Samples were assessed over time regarding stability, rheology and microstructure (polarized light microscopy, cryo-scanning electron microscopy and confocal scanning laser microscopy). Our findings suggest that, if present in sufficient concentration, carnauba wax and beeswax can stabilize emulsions in the absence of additional added emulsifiers. The resulting systems were inherently different based on the wax used, as crystal morphology and droplet configurations are determined by wax type. The yield strain was dictated by the nature of the wax, while the complex modulus was mostly influenced by the wax concentration. To test the scaling-up potential, systems were crystallized in a pilot-scale scraped surface heat exchanger, resulting in notably smaller crystal sizes, reduced rigidity and a storage stability of over one year. These findings represent a starting point for the formulation of scalable water-in-oleogel emulsions without added emulsifiers.