Ice slurry formation and ice crystal growth by using paraffin microemulsion

Ice can be used as the secondary refrigerant. A kind of paraffin microemulsion is prepared as a new ice slurry medium. The crystallization temperature of the microemulsion is no lower than 0.7 degrees C. The ice percent factor (IPF) of ice slurry prepared with oil-water mass ratio of 1:8 is smaller than that with oil-water mass ratio of 1:9. The addition of hexanol can effectively prevent the ice slurry from adhering to the wall and improve the fluidity. The apparent viscosity of ice slurry increases with the increase of IPF. No phase separation of the microemulsion is found during ice slurry melting/freezing cycling. The morphology and growth process of ice crystals in the formation of ice slurry are different with different experimental temperatures. The higher the supercooling degree, the faster the ice crystals grow. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study found that ice slurry prepared with a lower oil-water mass ratio has a smaller ice percent factor (IPF), while the addition of hexanol can effectively improve the fluidity and increase the apparent viscosity of the ice slurry. There is no phase separation of the microemulsion in the ice slurry melting/freezing cycling, and the morphology and growth process of ice crystals at different experimental temperatures vary.