UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR

MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL & BIOENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

LABORATORY REPORT
SUBMISSION FORM
To: Nor Zanariah Safiei Code Subject: CFB31103

From: Student ID. No.:

1. Izzira Azreen Binti Ismail 55218119164

2. Noor Hasniza Binti Abd Hasani 55218119188

3. Muhammad Adib Haziq Bin Amran 55218119173

4. Muhammad Syamie Amin Bin Zulkafle 55218119171

No. of Group: 1 Date of Experiment: 15/03/2021

Title of Experiment: Blast Freezer

Received by: Nor Zanariah Safiei Date of Submission:

Note: Late submission will be penalized.

VERY VERY
CRITERIA POOR GOOD EXCELLENT
POOR GOOD

1. ABSTRACT (TOTAL10%) 2 4 6 8 10
1. Simple abstract containing context of study,
method used, result obtained
2. INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES 3 6 9 12 15
(TOTAL: 15%)

1. State the background to the experiment

conducted.
2. Summary of theories including formulations

related to the experimental work.

2. State the objectives of the experiment (point

form)
 3. PROCEDURE (TOTAL: 15%) 3 6 9 12 15
1. Explain step by step used in performing this
experiment. (Include reasons for respective
step if there is any)

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS (TOTAL: 8 16 24 32 40

40%)
1. Data are presented as deemed suitable
with
complete label and units in tables and/or
graphs.
2. Explanations of the referred tables and/or
graphs are presented after it.

3. Discuss on the findings and relations to the

theory and objective of experiment.

4.0 CONCLUSIONS (TOTAL: 15%) 3 6 9 12 15

1. Summary of the results to relate the findings
or results with the theory applicable to the
experiment.

5.0 REFERENCES/ TIME SCORE (TOTAL: 1 2 3 4 5

5%)
Office Slip
1.0 ABSTRACT

The purpose of this experiment is to examine the freezing process in an air blast and how
to control this operation. Then, to verify the accuracy of existing correlations accuracy on the
prediction of food freezing times. There were 2 samples used such as fish ball and steel ball. The
operation was within 120 minutes. Firstly, write down the dimensions of the food items to freeze
considering the meat ball as sphere. Then, insert the thermocouple in the thermal centre each
food item and another one inside the chamber. Lastly, set the temperature registering device to
register temperature every minute then wait until the food items reaches a constant temperature.
Based on figure 1 above, shown the blast freezing curve for fish ball and steel ball. The period of
freezing operation for each sample was 110 minutes and 60 minutes respectively. In the first 10
minutes, both freezing curves dropped rapidly because heat lost from the sample to the medium.
More energy required to remove more heat in order to turn the water present in the food into ice
crystal. In the minutes of 20 to 80, the freezing curve of fish ball sample slightly equilibrium until
complete phase change occur. This is because fish ball has much lower thermal conductivity than
steel ball. The relationship of the freezing temperature of sample (̊C) against freezing time (min)
that can be deduced is when the freezing temperature of sample decreases, the freezing time will
also decrease.
2.0 INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE

The concept of blast freezer is to rapidly reduce the temperature of foodstuffs or fresh
produce and freezing them very quickly. The fundamental goal of blast freezing is fast freeze
times. Fast freeze times are crucial for the several reasons where the most obvious are being
production efficiency, getting the most production out of the least amount of production space is
important in every industry. However, the most important is the economics of quality. High quality
food products can be ranked into high price in markets but on the other hand the low-quality
products are left into low-price markets. When freezing food, the water inside crystallises into ice.
The longer the freezing process takes, the larger the ice crystals. Larger ice crystals damage
materials by causing phenomena like cell bursting, which affects quality and flavour of foods.
Rapidly freezing within a blast freezer causes the crystals formed to be very small, which does
less damage and preserves food at a higher quality. More usefully, once the food is blast frozen,
it can be moved into a normal freezer for longer term storage and as long as this one stay cold
enough for the food to stay frozen. This benefit to food safety is one of the reasons why blast
freezing is very popular in commercial food preparation areas, as it greatly reduces the risk to
customers and consumers.

Blast freezing are widely used in the frozen food industry for production of iced cream, pre-
prepared meals and vegetables or seafood. It is also used in the commercial kitchens for some

things. Blast freezing is the most technique used because it is productive and versatile and come

in a variety of configurations, from single-load freezers that freeze batches of products, to

“continuous” freezers such as tunnel freezers that continuously freeze product as it moves
through the freezer on a conveyer belt. Aside from the integrity, quality and taste of the food, blast
freezing also provide a health and safety benefit in that extreme cold slows down the growth of
bacteria. There is a greatly reduced risk of contamination when the food is handled safely and put
into the freezer immediately after the preparation. In 1913, Plank derived an approximate solution
for the freezing time, which is used frequently in engineering problems Equation 1. This equation
was obtained after the following assumptions were taken:

1. Food is at the freezing temperature although still unfrozen.

2. The thermal conductivity of the frozen part is constant.

3. All the components freeze at the frozen point with a constant latent heat.
Heat transfer by conduction in the frozen layer occurs so slowly that it can be considered in steady state:

where P and R are constants that depend on the geometry of the food to freeze (Table 1). For food in
brick shape, for example, P and R are obtained through Figure 1 prepared by Ede, in 1952, where b1 is
the ratio between the second larger size and the smaller size and b2 is the ratio between the larger size
and the smaller size, which gives a P or R value.

Table 1 P and R constants values of different geometries

In 1955, Nagaoka et al. proposed a change to the Plank equation, based on data obtained from, fish
freezing, Equation (2):

In this equation, Nagaoka et al. (1955), take into account the sensible heat above and below the initial
freezing point cpd and cpc, assuming that all the latent heat is removed at constant temperature Tf, taking
into account the final temperature of the product, T and adjusting the value of the latent heat of fusion
according to the water content of the product.
Cleland and Earle, in 1979, proposed new changes to the Plank equation and rewrote it in a
dimensionless form:
Where NFo is the Fourier number (αt/a2),NBi is the Biot number (ha/k),NSt is the Stefan number (Cpf(Tf-
Tm)/λ) NPk is the Plank number (Cpu(Ti-Tf)/λ) and α is the thermal diffusivity.
P and R estimated using the following equations:

Slab

Cylinder

Sphere

OBJECTIVE

1. Examine the freezing process in an air blast and how to control this operation.
2. Verify the accuracy of existing correlations’ accuracy on the prediction of food freezing
times
 3.0 PROCEDURE

Two sample were used in this A thermocouple were inserted in

experiment which is fish ball and the thermal centre of each food
steel ball and need to write down item and another one inside the
the dimensions of the food items. chamber.

Then, temperature were set to registering

device to the temperature every minute and
wait until the food items reaches a constant
temperature.
4.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

SAMPLE 1: FISHBALL

Convective coefficient of heat transfer, h

ℎ𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 ℎ(0.01425 𝑚𝑚)

Nbi = = 0.05 = 𝑊𝑊
𝑘𝑘 0.406
𝑚𝑚.̊𝐶𝐶.̊

h= 1.42 W/m2. °𝐂𝐂

calculated freezing time using Nagaoka’s method

ρf (Lf) 𝑃𝑃′ 𝑎𝑎 𝑅𝑅′ 𝑎𝑎 2

tf = ( + )
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇−𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 ℎ 𝑘𝑘

𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝐽𝐽 1 1
950 (271 )(1000 ) ( 0.01425 𝑚𝑚) (0.01425 𝑚𝑚)2
𝑚𝑚3 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 1𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
Tf= [6 𝑊𝑊 + 24
𝑊𝑊 ]
−2° 𝐂𝐂−(−36 ° 𝐂𝐂) 1.42 . °𝐂𝐂. 0.406 . °𝐂𝐂
𝑚𝑚2 𝑚𝑚2

1 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 1 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
= 12710.41 s x .41 s x x
60 𝑠𝑠 60 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

= 3.53 hours

SAMPLE 2: STEEL BALL

Convective coefficient of heat transfer, h

ℎ𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 ℎ(0.01275 𝑚𝑚)

Nbi = = 0.0125 = 𝑊𝑊
𝑘𝑘 15.1
𝑚𝑚.̊𝐶𝐶.̊

h= 14.80 W/m. °𝐂𝐂

calculated freezing time using Nagaoka’s method

𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝐽𝐽 1 1
8055 (247 )(1000 ) ( 0.01275 𝑚𝑚) (0.01275 𝑚𝑚)2
𝑚𝑚3 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 1𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
Tf= [6 𝑊𝑊 + 24
]
−2° 𝐂𝐂−(−36 ° 𝐂𝐂) 14.80 . °𝐂𝐂. 15.1. °𝐂𝐂
𝑚𝑚2

1 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 1 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
Tf= 8429.32 x
60 𝑠𝑠 60 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

Tf= 2.34 hours

 freezing temperature of sample ( C
̊ ) vs freezing
time (min)
30

Freezing temperature of sample

25
20
15
10
5
0
-5 0 10 20 30 40 60 80 90 100 110 120
-10
-15
freezing time (min)

fishball steel ball

Figure 1: The free temperature of sample (°C) against Freezing time (min)

Blast freezing is referred as shock freezing. It is a process that push cold air at high velocity
throughout the food in order to quickly freeze the food product. Thus, it retards the microorganism
activities and growth and slow down the chemical changes that effecting the quality of food.
(Rodezno, E, et.al., 2013). For normal refrigerators, the water that exist in a food started to
crystallize when the food is frozen. The crystal form inside of the frozen food are larger than the
crystal form in blast freezer. When the larger crystal in the frozen food melted, it ruptured the
food’s cells that can affect the taste and texture of the food. In contra, blast freezer consists a
blower that allow pass chill air to the surface of the food to make it rapidly freezing. the tremendous
cold temperature promotes rapid freezing, thus creating small ice crystals. (A. Conte, J.Laverse,
et.al., 2017). Hence, blast freezing inhibits microorganism growth because low temperature will
inhibit spoilage bacteria. The likelihood of contamination is very low if the food is handled safely
and placed immediately in freezer after blast heating. (Jeremiah, 1996).

In this experiment, blast freezing is applied for freezing operation technique. There were
2 samples used such as fish ball and steel ball. The operation was within 120 minutes. Based on
figure 1 above, shown the blast freezing curve for fish ball and steel ball. The period of freezing
operation for each sample was 110 minutes and 60 minutes respectively. In the first 10 minutes,
both freezing curves dropped rapidly because heat lost from the sample to the medium. More
energy required to remove more heat in order to turn the water present in the food into ice crystal.
In the minutes of 20 to 80, the freezing curve of fish ball sample slightly equilibrium until complete
phase change occur. This is because fish ball has much lower thermal conductivity than steel
ball. So, the heat transferred through materials is much lower than the steel ball. When the critical
mass of nuclei is reached, the steel ball releases its latent heat faster than the heat is being
removed from the system. The freezing curve of steel ball in minutes 20 to 60 were rapidly
dropped. The higher freezing rates resulting the formation of small ice crystals during this period.
Then, the sample completely frozen because the water in the sample turn to ice.

It is considerable importance to all sectors of industry concerned with freezing to be able

to accurately predict the freezing time of foodstuffs (Muftugil N. et.al., 1986). The prediction time
can be calculated using Plank’s equation. Knowing the thermal constant of fish ball and steel ball,
the freezing time calculated as shown in calculation above. The convective coefficient of heat
transfer, h determined by using Biot’s number. The value of h in fish ball calculated was 1.42
W/m. °C while the steel ball was 14.80 1.42 W/m. °C. the result was proven by the theory. As the
higher convective coefficient resulting faster freezing rate of food. next, the time freezing
calculated using Plank’s equation. The freezing time calculated for fish ball was 3.53 hours while
steel ball was 2.34 hours. The larger temperature difference between steel ball and the ambient
temperature in the blast freezer and thermal conductivity of sample material affecting large value
of convective coefficient of heat transfer, h. hence, the steel ball cold faster than the fish ball.

The prediction of freezing time can be also depending on product properties. The product
temperature, size, shape, density, water content and more determine the rate of freezing time.
Lastly, there are several errors that happening during experimentation such as the thermocouple
used was old resulting different data. Furthermore, the blast freezer was not in good condition.
The efficiency of components in the blast freezer reduced because of the irregular maintenance.
Thus, the result obtained differ from theoretical result.
5.0 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

Blast freezing is the process of pushing cold air at high velocity across a food product to
freeze the product as quickly as possible. Freezing time for any product should be verified before
designing a blast freezer. The objective of the experiment is to examine the freezing process in
an air blast and how to control this operation and to verify the accuracy of existing correlations’
accuracy on the prediction of food freezing times. The freezing time is determined by using the
equations of Plank and the Nagaoka et al. 1955 and the freezing time calculated for the steel ball
is 2.34 hours and for the fish ball, the freezing time calculated is 3.53 hours. The relationship of
the freezing temperature of sample (̊C) against freezing time (min) that can be deduced is when
the freezing temperature of sample decreases, the freezing time will also decrease.

There are some recommendations that can help to improve the result of the experiment.
The blast freezer used needs to be done maintenance over time so that the blast freezer is always
in a good condition. The thermometer should be adjusted correctly to ensure the result achieved
accurately.
6.0 REFERENCES

1. Rodezno, E., Luis, A., Srijanani, S., Kevin Mis, S., Arranee, C., Zhang, L.J., Alfaro, J., Bankston,
J., Sathivel, D., and Subramaniam (2013). Cryogenic and air blast freezing techniques and their
effect on the quality of catfish fillets. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 54(2), 377–382.
doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2013.07.005
2. Conte, A., Laverse, J., Costa, C., Lampignano, V., Previtali, M. A., & Del Nobile, M. A. (2017).
Conventional or blast freezing prior to frozen storage to preserve properties of fiordilatte cheese.
Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 41(6), e13235. doi:10.1111/jfpp.13235.
3. Jeremiah, L. E. (1996). Freezing effects of food quality. New York/Basel/Hong Kong: Marcel
Dekker, Inc.
4. Müftügil, N. (1986). Theoretical and experimental freezing times of strawberries. International
Journal of Refrigeration, 9(1), 29–30. doi:10.1016/0140-7007(86)90148-9
7.0 APPENDICES

Result for Steel Ball

Result for Fish Ball