  Protein-based high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) have gained tremendous
attention in diverse fields, but their mechanism in the emulsification process
remains elusive. In this article, HIPEs were stabilized directly by food-grade
proteins, depending on a self-organized process featuring a fluid
laminarization. We elucidated that the emulsification with the rotor-stator
mixer is a typical non-equilibrium process. The crucial factor for the process
is related to the irreversible energy dissipation, while the internal phase
volume fraction is the threshold determining the laminarization. The feasible
explanation speculated that the transition corresponds to the dissipative
structure, i.e., compressive droplets, arising from the spatiotemporal
self-organization, to dissipate the turbulent kinetic energy. We found a new
paradigm of dissipative structure, comprehending such structure in the HIPEs
emulsification process, which is expected to pave the way for its
industrial-scale production with the virtue of low-cost proteins.
