Centrifugal freeze concentration

•We use centrifugation as a driving force to remove the concentrated solution from the ice matrix.•Approximately 0.73 kg of sucrose per 1 kg of initial sucrose was recovered.•Recovered solute was independent of initial concentration and freezing procedure.•Ice matrix acted as a porous solid through which the concentrated solution percolates.

Assisted techniques that improve the efficiency of freeze concentration in one-step configurations are important in achieving commercial viability. An alternative reported in this study is the use of the centrifugation for separating the concentrated solution from the ice matrix. By applying centrifugation, high values of solute had recovered, reaching approximately 0.73 kg of sucrose obtained per 1 kg of initial sucrose at 1600 RCF of centrifugation speed, independent of initial concentration of sucrose (5 to 20 wt.%) and freezing procedure (radial or unidirectional freezing). The performance of centrifugal freeze concentration may be attributed to ice matrix that acted as a porous solid through which the concentrated solution percolates through drainage channels between ice crystals improved by the centrifugal force.Industrial RelevanceThe freeze concentration allows producing food concentrates with high quality as compared to evaporation and membrane technology. In this work, centrifugation has been applied as an assisted technique to improve the efficiency of freeze concentration in one-step configuration, obtaining promissory results.