Characteristics of Ice Slurry Containing Antifreeze Protein for Ice Storage Applications

For the development of flowable ice for storage and long distance transportation purposes, that is resistant to recrystallization and contains defined crystal structures, the characteristics of an ice slurry generated from an antifreeze protein solution have been examined. Three methods for obtaining the antifreeze protein are described. In crystal growth studies it has been shown that controlling the supercooling is important to generate the desired needle-type crystals, coming from an effective adsorption of antifreeze proteins to the ice surface. The ice slurry's thermal storage ability is found using a differential scanning calorimeter. Furthermore, the slurry's flowability is examined using both a capillary tube viscometer and a test loop, the latter is used for comparison of the pressure drop with liquid pure water as well as for the visualization of the slurry flow. For an ice content of 30%, the pressure drop in a 6-mm-i.d. tube at 1 m/s flow is found to be twice the value for liquid pure water.