Block freeze concentration intensification by means of vacuum and microwave pulses
Block freeze concentration has gained interest as a separation technology since it is simpler than the suspensionprocess. However, it has not been implemented at an industrial level because its separation efficiency is lower thanthat of the traditional freeze concentration process. Therefore, numero...
| Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2015 |
| Country: | México |
| Institution: | Universidad Panamericana |
| Repository: | Redalyc-UP |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:redalyc.org:291339265012 |
| Online Access: | https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=291339265012 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Ingeniería vacuum Cryoconcentration microwave heating separation efficiency |
| Summary: | Block freeze concentration has gained interest as a separation technology since it is simpler than the suspensionprocess. However, it has not been implemented at an industrial level because its separation efficiency is lower thanthat of the traditional freeze concentration process. Therefore, numerous assisting techniques are being studied aroundthe world to overcome this deficiency. In this paper, the combination of microwave heating and vacuum separation isbeing studied and compared with convection heating and gravity separation. Separation efficiency was measured usingthe cumulative concentration factor (CumCI) and the area under the curve defined by yield (Y) as a function of thethawed fraction (f). It has been observed that all treatments that used vacuum as separation method showed a higherefficiency than those in similar processing conditions that used gravity as the separation method. Regarding the effectof microwave pulses, it has been observed that pulses below 2.4 kJ increased the separation efficiency when combinedwith the hydrodynamic effect generated by the vacuum pulses. |
|---|