FREEZING

GROUP MEMBERS:

• Nursakeenah Husna Binti Mohamad Riza (177397)

• Nur Farhana Binti Mohd Zali (181748)

• Wengie Lim Yung Chi (184480)

• Amirah Hazwani Binti Ismail (182612)

• Loh Meng Yi (183773)

• Nickolas Anak Pius Matu (183110)

 Freezing
 A process of conversion of liquid into solid
 Occur when the temperature fall below freezing point
 Involves release of heat energy
 Freezing point same with melting point for most of matter
 Freezing Mechanisms
Crystallization
 Formation of crystalline solid from uniform liquid
 Temperature of the system is nearly equal to melting point during
transition phase, due to slow removal of heat when in contact with air
 Transition phase is during liquid and solid is coexist
 Temperature is static during freezing process but continue dropping
once the process is done
 Consist two major event; nucleation and crystal growth
 During nucleation, molecules started to form cluster (on nanometres
scale)
 During crystal growth, the clusters continue develop until certain
critical size
Supercooling
 A process of lowering temperature of liquid and gas without
forming solid
 Liquid phase can be maintained until crystal homogenous
nucleation occur
 Water normally freezes at 273.15 K but can be supercooled until
crystal homogenous nucleation occur at 224.80 K
 Supercooling process needs water to be pure and nucleation free
 Commercial application of supercooling includes refrigeration
and drug delivery
 In refrigeration, drinks is supercooled so that it form slush when
it is opened
 Crystalline form of drugs, with little environmental change is
easy to deliver to site (emergency place).
 Factors That Affect Freezing Time &
Quality
Freezing time

• One of the most important parameter in the freezing process

• Freezing time is defined as time required to lower product
temperature from its initial temperature to a given temperature at its
thermal centre
Freezer type
• The type of freezer will greatly influence the freezing time
• For example, due to improved surface heat transfer, a product will
normally freeze faster in an immersion freezer than in an air blast
freezer operating at the same temperature

Operating temperature
• The colder the freezer, the faster the food product will freeze
• However, the cost of freezing usually will increases when the
temperature of freezer used is lower

Product temperature before freezing

• The warmer the product at initial, the longer it will take to freeze
• The food product should therefore be kept chilled before freezing to
maintain the quality and able to reduce the freezing time easily
Product thickness
• The thicker the product, the longer the time taken for freezing
• The rate of change of freezing time with thickness also depends on the
relative importance of the resistance of the product to heat transfer

Product contact area and density

• For example in a plate freezer, poor contact between product and plate
results in increased freezing time.
• Poor contact may be due to ice on the plates, packs of unequal thickness,
partially filled packs or voids at the surface of the block

Quality of water used for freezing

• Water used for processing of food product must meet the drinking water
standard
• The water quality used will affect the quality of frozen product. This is
because a clean and cold water used for freezing will have lower
bacterial numbers
 Air Blast Freezer
How Air-Blast Freezer operate?

• The products were placed in a recirculation air stream

within a room or tunnel.
• Force convection of air (circulated by fan) was used to
transfer the heat.
• In a tunnel system, the air is confined to flowing in the
cross-section where the product is located.
• The product is spaced evenly so that uniform air distribution
and high air velocity is more easily achieved for a low total
air flow rate and fan power.
• To frozen the product in reasonable time, the air flow
rate need to be fairly high.
• Low air flow rates, longer freezing time.
• To obtain consistent freezing, the air flow need to be
consistent.
• Continuous freezer are best suited to processing large
volume of products.
Advantages

• Can maintains the natural quality of food products.

• Economical
• Can cope with a variety of irregularly shape product.
 Plate Freezer
• Commonly used on product with regular geometry
• Eg: (product packaged in rectangular shape)
• Packages held and pressed between two hollow plates
• Refrigerant circulates at temperature below -40°C
• Freezing time depends on the thickness of the product
between the plates
• Principles: Conduction and overall thermal resistance of both
plate and packaging material
• Pros: Energy efficient and compact, high rates of heat
transfer, good space utilisation, lower energy use and low
operating cost, minimise bulging that often happens in air
blast freezing, minimized dehydration loses
• Cons: Limited by shape
• Typical Package thickness: 70 mm
• Heat Transfer Coefficient approximately 3000W/m2K
• Eg: Fish Fillets, Fish Blocks, Pizza, Soups, Packaged
Vegetables such as Spinach and Brocolli
Types of plate freezer:

1. Horizontal Plate Freezer

• 15 to 20 plates
• Placed on metal trays, which are pushed in between the plates
manually
• Loading of bottom layer manually or automatically
• Load bottom layer, lower the next plate to clamp product in
plae
• Next layer of product is then loaded on top of this plate
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e56LEUjJpes
2. Vertical Plate Freezer
• Plates lie vertically and product loaded from top
• Once frozen, plates unclamped and product discharge either
side, upwards or downwards
• Operation of loading and unloading usually automated
• Discharge of product assisted by short hot gas defrost period
at the end of freezing cycle and use of compressed air to force
the product out
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcbv_pGNj60
Immersion Freezing
 Process of immersion freezing
• An immersion freezer consists of a tank that hold liquid
nitrogen with a belt running through the liquid nitrogen.
• The product need to be frozen is placed on a wire belt and
carried into the liquid nitrogen and then carry to opposite end.
• Short residence time in liquid nitrogen
• The immersion freezer normally built in a tunnel which it allow
the product to reach temperature equilibrium.
• When the products exit from liquid nitrogen bath, outer surface
of product approaching temperature of liquid nitrogen (-196°C)
while center of the product is at a much higher temperature.

Adapted from
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=o_bpBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA261&dq=immersion+freezing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqpOKUlv_aAhVERY8KHXxj
Bv8Q6AEITDAH#v=onepage&q=immersion%20freezing&f=true
• Allow intimate contact of every food surface with freezing
medium, ensuring a quick, efficient heat transfer.
• Immersion- products quickly crusted: ease the further freezing
of separate/ individual products
 Refrigerants characteristics
• Non-toxic
• Pure, clear
• Free from odor, color
• Free from bleaching action
• Low freezing point
• Eg: liquid nitrogen, carbon dioxide, freon

Adapted from:
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=1VXVbGHhrR4C&pg=PA486&dq=immersion+freezing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqpOKUlv_aAhVERY8KHXxjB
v8Q6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&q=immersion%20freezing&f=true
 Two classes of refrigerants
• Low freezing point liquids
-chilled by indirect contact with another refrigerant
-Used for non-packaged foods include solutions of sugars,
sodium chloride & glycerol.
-Used at sufficient concentration to remain liquid at -18 °C /
lower

• Cryogenic liquids
-compressed liquidified nitrogen
-With cooling effect to their own evaporation

https://books.google.com.my/books?id=NzXpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA238&dq=immersion+freezing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqpOKUlv_aAhVERY8KHXxjBv8
Q6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=immersion%20freezing&f=true
 • Supersaturated salt brines, temperature down to -21°C,
widely used but packaging of product is necessary to prevent
salt contamination and the materials construction of freezer
require anti-corrosive treatment.
• Glycol used in immersion freezing of tightly packaged
poultry carcasses.
-this process enable surface freezing, gives a desirable white
surface due to ice crystal formation, prior to blast freezing of
whole carcass

Adapted from:
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=NXtjWzwm0JEC&pg=PA287&dq=immersion+freezing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqpOKUlv_
aAhVERY8KHXxjBv8Q6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=immersion%20freezing&f=true
 • Brine used in direct immersion freezing strictly restricted to
freezing of fish at sea.
• Brine cannot used with unpackaged food: too salty
• Sugar solutions used to freeze fruits
-difficult to remain in liquid at 18C, a solution approximately
two-thirds sucrose is required and become very viscous at low
temperature.

https://books.google.com.my/books?id=NzXpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA238&dq=immersion+freezing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqpOKUlv_aAhVERY8KHXxjBv
8Q6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=immersion%20freezing&f=true
Advantages
• Rate of immersion freezing : 10 times higher than air blast
freezing
• Can preserve the integrity of litchi microstructure with low drip
loss
• Nutritional quality after immersion : close to 80% of fresh litchi
(lychee)
• Sensory quality after immersion freezing: close to fresh litchi
• Colour of product preserved as fresh fruits

Adapted from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2014.10.034

 Advantages

• Minimizes the contact of food with air during freezing

• Desirable for food sensitive to oxidations

Adapted from
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=1VXVbGHhrR4C&pg=PA486&dq=immersion+freezing&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqpOKU
lv_aAhVERY8KHXxjBv8Q6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&q=immersion%20freezing&f=true
Disadvantages
• Risk of thermal shock
-suitably for food which can suffer high degree of thermal
shock
• Eg: diced meat
• Internal pressure within food cause deformation & resultant
loss of texture and quality
Liquid Nitrogen Freezer
• Boiling temperature of -196 °C at atmospheric pressure, is a
by-product of oxygen manufacture.
• The refrigerant is sprayed into the freezer and evaporates
both on leaving the spray nozzles and on contact with the
products.
• The system is designed in a way that the refrigerant passes
in counter current to the movement of the products on the
belt giving high transfer efficiency.
• The refrigerant consumption is in the range of 1.2-kg
refrigerant per kg of the product. Typical food products
used in this system are, fish fillets, seafood, fruits, berries
(Persson and Lohndal, 1993).
 Carbon Dioxide Freezer
• It is similar in operation to the liquid nitrogen freezer, The liquefied carbon
dioxide is injected into the freezer and comes into direct contact with the product
• CO2 recovered as a by-product of other chemical processes ammonia plants,
refineries and ethanol processors. This waste gas, which would otherwise be
vented to the atmosphere, is recovered, cleaned and purified, compressed and
cooled into a liquid

• Liquid carbon dioxide exists as either a solid or gas when stored at atmospheric
pressure. liquid carbon dioxide is used in a variety of freezing systems, one of
which is a pre-freezing treatment before the product is exposed to nitrogen spray
(George, 1993).
• Well suited to high-value products and prepared foods, including cookie dough,
marinated poultry and individually quick frozen (IQF) meats, seafood and
vegetables.
THANK
YOU !