Freeze Concentration of Sugarcane Juice in a Jaggery Making Process-Modeling

Freeze concentration is a process in which water is selectively separated out of a binary solution in the form of ice, resulting in concentration of the solution. Among several configurations of a freeze concentration system the one employing a layer freezing process is considered in this paper. The application of this system for the present paper is in the process of jaggery making used to concentrate sugarcane juice. A mathematical model is developed that helps in analyzing the system under the action of various operating parameters. The model is validated using previously published experimental results. Finally, based on simulation, effects of various system parameters on ice growth and subsequent juice concentration have been assessed and discussed.