M. Raventós

Review: freeze concentration in the fruit juices industry

In conventional processes, such as evaporation, higher levels of concentration can be reached compared with freeze concentration or membrane techniques. However, the advantage of the freeze concentration technique is based on the quality of the product obtained due to the low temperatures used in the process, which makes it a very suitable technology for the processing of fruit juices. There are two basic methods for concentrating solutions by freezing: suspension and film freeze concentration. Suspension freeze concentration systems (FCS) already have operating equipment in the food industry, while film FCSs, also called layer crystallization, is still at an experimental stage. This review summarizes the most important studies relating to the suspension and film freeze concentration in fruit juices and sugar solutions, illustrating the different possibilities that freeze concentration has in the fruit juices industry; it also presents trends and suggests improvements for the future development of this technology. It is noted that most recent publications refer to the film FCS. The technology used to design, build and maintain layer crystallization equipment is simple and it can be available to any operator in the food industry, layer systems will be used in the future if their results can be improved in terms of ice purity and degree of fluid concentration.

Review: Freeze Concentration Technology Applied to Dairy Products

Freeze concentration is a process of concentrating liquid products by freezing the water content and subsequently removing the so-formed ice crystals from the food system. In dairy processing, this technology offers the advantage of minimizing the heat abuse of sensitive milk components, such as proteins and flavors. It thus provides an opportunity for producing dairy ingredients with enhanced functional and organoleptic qualities. By freeze concentration, skim milk has been concentrated up to 40 wt% total solids (TS) and whole milk up to 44 wt% TS. Lactose and lipids are more concentrated in the ice fraction than in the concentrated fraction. Proteins (casein and whey protein) decrease the ice growth rate and the high viscosity is a limiting factor for the freeze concentration of both skim milk and whole milk. In this study, the most important studies relating to the suspension, block and layer freeze concentration of milk are summarized, analyzing results and indicating how freeze concentration process efficiency of dairy products can be improved.

Multi-plate freeze concentration: Recovery of solutes occluded in the ice and determination of thawing time

The retention of solutes in the ice formed in a falling-film freeze concentrator (multi-plate freeze-concentrator) was analysed. Solutions of fructose, glucose and sucrose and a simulated juice with initial concentrations of 5, 10, 15 and 20 °Brix were freeze concentrated. The ice produced in the four steps of the process retains solutes at levels of 1.0–8.8 °Brix (expressed as solute mass fraction in the ice). The recovery of these solutes during thawing can increase overall system efficiency. All thawing steps were carried out dividing the sample in 10 fractions at 20 ℃. The first thawed fractions showed solute concentrations that were 1.9–3.3 times higher than the mean solute mass fraction in the ice, while the last fractions of ice showed very low levels of retained solutes, less than 0.2 times the mean solute mass fraction in the ice. It was found that fractionated thawing can recover most of the solute content in the ice. The procedure presented in the present study allows the determination of the solute concentration achieved in the various thawing fractions and predicts the thawing time required for a given form factor, melting temperature and initial solute mass fraction in the ice.

Rheological Behaviour, Freezing Curve, and Density of Coffee Solutions at Temperatures Close to Freezing

The physical properties of coffee solutions were determined for temperatures close to the freezing point. Rheological behaviour, freezing curve, density, and their relationship between coffee mass fraction and Brix degrees were determined for coffee mass fractions between 5 and 50% (wet basis) in the −6 to 20°C temperature interval. Values of viscosity varied from 1.99 to 1037 mPa·s and values of density from 1000 to 1236 kg·m−3. The freezing curve was generated using the undercooling method, giving values within freezing curves for food fluids. The results were used to generate mathematical models to predict viscosity, freezing point depression, and density as a function of coffee mass fraction and temperature.

Freeze concentration in the fruit juices industry.

In conventional processes, such as evaporation, higher levels of concentration can be reached compared with freeze concentration or membrane techniques. However, the advantage of the freeze concentration technique is based on the quality of the product obtained due to the low temperatures used in the process, which makes it a very suitable technology for the processing of fruit juices. There are two basic methods for concentrating solutions by freezing: suspension and film freeze concentration. Suspension freeze concentration systems (FCS) already have operating equipment in the food industry, while film FCSs, also called layer crystallization, is still at an experimental stage. This review summarizes the most important studies relating to the suspension and film freeze concentration in fruit juices and sugar solutions, illustrating the different possibilities that freeze concentration has in the fruit juices industry; it also presents trends and suggests improvements for the future development of this technology. It is noted that most recent publications refer to the film FCS. The technology used to design, build and maintain layer crystallization equipment is simple and it can be available to any operator in the food industry, layer systems will be used in the future if their results can be improved in terms of ice purity and degree of fluid concentration.

Effect of process parameters on progressive freeze concentration of sucrose solutions

The progressive freeze concentration of sucrose solutions was tested. The effect of the initial concentration of the solution (C0), the temperature of the refrigerant (T), and the stirring speed (ω) on the final concentration of the solution (Cf) was determined. The effects were significant on the freeze concentration, for both individual and combined effects. The maximum concentration achieved in the progressive freeze concentration was 53°Brix, when the initial concentration was 35°Brix, at a speed of 800 rpm and a temperature of refrigerant of −20°C. The best values of the concentration index (CI) are obtained at low concentrations, high ω, and low temperature. The average distribution coefficient increased with C0. The average yield parameter (WY) at different initial concentrations is around 0.6 kg ice · kg sol−1 · h−1.

An approach to the optimization of the progressive freeze concentration of sucrose solutions in an agitated vessel

The freeze concentration of liquid foods is a technique that consists of separating the water from the liquid fluid food through freezing. It is an emerging technology that uses low temperatures in...