Fundamental study on freezing characteristics of trehalose solution (investigation based on scraping characteristics)

The authors have proposed application of ice slurry to a cold storage of foods for widely using the ice slurry. In this study, a new ice slurry utilizing the food additive trehalose was tested using the “harvest method”. The trehalose is expected to suppress ice crystal growth. The freezing characteristics of the trehalose solution were investigated based on a scraping force of ice growing on a carbon steel surface, apparent ice thickness, concentration in ice, observation of formed ice from the side view and behavior of ice during scraping, varying initial concentrations of the solution, amounts of formed ice, supercooling degrees of the solution and temperatures of the cooling surface. Furthermore, a unique freezing characteristic feature of the trehalose solution was clarified by comparing it with an ethylene-glycol solution.