Freeze Concentration Plants
Precise water removal at freezing temperatures ensuring product quality at its best.
GEA has enhanced the freeze concentration process with its unique solid-liquid separation into a sophisticated process that fits perfectly into the modern processing plant.
Freeze Concentration, among all available concentration methods, provides the highest selectivity in water removal since ice crystals contain only water.
The complete separation of these ice crystals results in specific removal of water at very low processing temperatures. The very gentle concentration at sub-zero temperatures allows product freshness to be maintained and practically eliminates all biological degradation.
Since the crystallization process is highly specific for water and no vapor phase is present, all volatile aromas and flavors will be preserved in the liquid concentrate.
Key features:
- No loss of volatiles or solids
- Sub-zero temperature processing
- Maintains original product characteristics
- Closed system that prevents oxidation
- Elimination of microbiological activity
- Continuous and stable operation
What differentiates Freeze Concentration for food solutions from Melt Crystallization for chemicals is that the liquid is a solution with water instead of a chemical and the product is the concentrate instead of the separated (ice) crystals.
Freeze Concentration plants can be found in installations around the globe, with dewatering capacities ranging from 200 to 200,000 tons per year and handling a variety of products, from small volume specialties to large scale commodities, serving to diverse industrial processes that can be differentiated in two big groups:
Food concentrates
- Fruit juices, cider, wine, milk, whey, buttermilk,
- Coffee extract, tea extract, seaweed extract, fish extract
- Vinegar, wort
- Egg white liquid
Wastewater
- High purity water production from mixed wastewaters
- Separation from pure water from a feed containing dissolved volatile substances in a single step.
- Insensitivity to the presence of scaling components
- Insensitivity to the present of some suspended solids
- Handling of precipitating solids in a separate stream as a sludge (eutectic freeze concentration)
Products
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Freeze Concentration Test Center
Available for detailed tests based on the feed properties and every product's requirements.
IceCon®
GEA's patented unique solid-liquid separation solution for Freeze Concentration.
IceCon® Compact
Standard skid mounted units suitable for the production of liquid food concentrates. All relevant components for running a freeze concentration plant.
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