Ice slurry production in a tubular heat exchanger.

One of the challenges of ice slurry generation using a heat exchanger is to overcome the risk of choking. The nucleation usually appears after a supercooling state that remains a key aspect of this technology. In order to focus on this crucial problem, the crystallization of a water ethanol solution was studied in a transparent tubular heat exchanger. Our experiments consisted in cooling the solution until ice slurry formation. Flow visualization permitted mainly to determine the conditions of crystallization according to the flow rate. A limited range of flow rate permitted to obtain the desired ice slurry quality. The heterogeneous crystallization appeared on the wall and dendrites began to develop before being carried away by the solution. Experiments also indicated that dendrites growth from the freezing front upstream in the counter flow direction. The velocity of this retro-propagation phenomenon was estimated using an image analysis tool. Temperature measurements also provided important information on this retro-propagation. Selected process parameters have to be properly adjusted (flow rate, wall properties …). This technology has been patented by the CNRS in selected European countries and in the USA.