Experimental study on the characteristics of ethanol solution’s vacuum flash under adsorption condition

Characteristics of ethanol solution’s vacuum flash under adsorption condition were investigated experimentally. The temperature of cooling medium, ethanol solution flow velocity, and ethanol solution concentration were varied as experimental parameters. Explore the effects of these parameters on ice making process via controlling a single parameter. As results showed, adsorption condition can effectively reduce the peak pressure of ice slurry generator at initial flash moment. This peak pressure just reaches the minimum (800 Pa) when the cooling medium temperature in adsorption chamber is at 30 °C. The larger ethanol solution velocity of flow, the higher pressure when the whole system is stable in the same ethanol solution concentration. When the ethanol solution flow rate (velocity of flow) is at 5 L/h, the ethanol solution temperature can be reduced to −9 °C, which is more conducive to the production of ice crystals, but it may have ice blocking phenomenon. Ethanol additives can promote the solution to cool the temperature below 0 °C, and the higher the concentration is, the lower the temperature is. But for this ice preparation system, when the solution concentration is at 5%, it is more favorable to produce ice crystals. Through the analysis of all experimental conditions, 10 L/h of ethanol solution flow rate with ethanol concentration of 5% is the best ice production condition under the adsorption conditions.