Prediction of the diffusion coefficients in multicomponent liquid refrigerant solutions

Abstract

Immersion chilling and freezing (ICF) consist of soaking foods in a low freezing point liquid medium maintained at a low temperature that are considered secondary refrigerants. Data related to transport properties for the refrigerating media used in ICF processes are scarce, particularly for ternary and higher order systems. The objective of this work was to develop a model for the prediction of diffusion coefficients for systems of interest for ICF processes. The generalized Maxwell–Stefan equations were used in the model development. Data obtained from literature corresponding to Fick diffusion coefficients of the binary systems NaCl–H2O and KCl–H2O, and the ternary system NaCl–KCl–H2O, were compared with predicted values. Results were satisfactory, errors of the main diffusion coefficients less than 13.5% being obtained. These results may be extended to the typical range of conditions of ICF, where no data are available in literature to date.