Elucidation of oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with celery cellulose

Abstract Celery pomace (Rw), an agricultural residue, is a cellulose source for the separation of celery cellulose. Oxalic acid hydrolysis, followed by high pressure homogenization, was used to separate nanocellulose with aspect ratios of 63.8–171.7. Different sizes of celery cellulose were obtained, which were used as stabilizers for oil-in-water emulsions. The aspect ratio of nanocellulose significantly affected their emulsifying ability. With the change in the oil phase volume and solid content of celery nanocellulose, the surface coverage ratio of the emulsifying droplets increased from 0.2 to 8.1. In addition, the environmental factors, such as ionic strength, pH values, and temperature negligibly affected the stability of the emulsion. It shown that flexible celery cellulose played an important role in the stability of emulsion, and the higher concentration of cellulose improved the non-covalent “physical” cross-linking between molecules. The results suggest the possibility of using celery or other vegetables cellulose for stabilizing oil-in-water emulsions.