Progressive Freeze Concentration

Freeze concentration, which separates water from solutes by freezing, maintains high product quality and uses intrinsically less energy compared to evaporation. Current solutions in freeze concentration however do not bring the potential energy efficiency gains and capital- and operating costs are high. The overall project objective is to demonstrate that freeze concentration can offer intrinsic benefits in specific energy consumption and product quality. We employ conventional industrial refrigeration technology allowing for cost efficient and quick scale up and we investigate the balance between separation efficiency and bulk processing during crystallization on a heat exchanger surface. The project is part of a larger collaboration with ECN, ISPT, Royal Cosun, and Akzo Nobel and financially supported by RVO.