An Overview on Magnetic Field and Electric Field Interactions with Ice Crystallisation; Application in the Case of Frozen Food

Abstract

Abstract:Ice nucleation is a stochastic process and it is very difficult to be controlled. Freezing technologies and more specifically crystallisation assisted by magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields have the capability to interact with nucleation. Static magnetic field (SMF) may affect matter crystallisation; however, this is still under debate in the literature. Static electric field (SEF) has a significant effect on crystallisation; this has been evidenced experimentally and confirmed by the theory. Oscillating magnetic field induces an oscillating electric field and is also expected to interact with water crystallisation. Oscillating electromagnetic fields interact with water, perturb and even disrupt hydrogen bonds, which in turn are thought to increase the degree of supercooling and to generate numerous fine ice crystals. Based on the literature, it seems that the frequency has an influence on the above-mentioned phenomena. This review article summarizes the fundamentals of freezing under magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields, as well as their applicability and potentials within the food industry.

Effect of microwave assisted blanching on the ascorbic acid oxidase inactivation and vitamin C degradation in frozen mangoes

“…Several preservation methods have been investigated, developed and exploited over the last years to preserve fruits and vegetables but freezing still remains one of the most popular among them offering fresh-like characteristics on the food matrix after long period of storage (Barba, Ahrné, Xanthakis, Landerslev, & Orlien, 2018;Dalvi-Isfahan, Hamdami, Xanthakis, & Le-Bail, 2017;Jha, Xanthakis, Jury, & Le-Bail, 2017). Blanching is a common mild thermal pretreatment prior to freezing aiming to inactivate deteriorative enzymes, decrease the microbial load and remove the air from the pores which subsequently can affect the nutritional characteristics of the fruits and vegetables upon storage (Munyaka, Makule, Oey, Van Loey, & Hendrickx, 2010;Xanthakis & Valdramidis, 2017).…”

Effect of static magnetic field on the freezing process of deionized water and 0.9% NaCl solution

“…The traditional freezing process tends to cause irreversible damage to food due to its low thermal conductivity and temperature drop rate, which deteriorate food quality (James, Purnell, & James, 2015). Researchers have explored a range of new freezing techniques, such as high‐pressure, ultrasonic‐assisted freezing, new antifreeze proteins, and electromagnetically assisted freezing, to improve the method (Dalvi‐Isfahan, Hamdami, Xanthakis, & Le‐Bail, 2017; Jha, Xanthakis, Jury, & Le‐Bail, 2017; Kiani & Sun, 2011; Owada, 2007; Zhan, Sun, Zhu, & Wang, 2018). Cells Alive System (CAS) refrigeration equipment, which achieves the principles of successful promotion through weak constant and oscillating magnetic fields (OMFs) and other frozen food, is used to inhibit crystallization and improve the quality of food preservation.…”

Electrofreezing of the phase-change material CaCl2•6H2O and its impact on supercooling and the nucleation time

“…In general, the nucleator can impact the change in thermophysical parameters, such as the supercooling temperature, supercooling degree, specific heat, and the latent heat enthalpy. Recently, Sutjahja et al [14] reported the effectiveness of 1 wt% CuO to reduce the supercooling degree and further modify the thermal parameters of CaCl 2 ·6H 2 O by graphite and CuO dopants, although logical explanations for their effectiveness apparent do not exist.The effect of electrical energy on the behaviour of supercooled fluids has been studied since two decades ago [15][16] and is commonly called electrofreezing or electronucleation; see [17][18][19] for the review and references therein. In most of the past experiments water droplets were mainly exposed to high-voltage electric fields, with the success expressed by higher nucleation temperatures, reduction in the supercooling degree, lowering the induction times, and increased nucleation probability.…”

“…Recently, the effectiveness of electrofreezing has also been reported for some other materials, such as erythritol polyalcohol [20], tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB) clathrate hydrates [21][22], tetrahydrofuran (THF) clathrate hydrates [23][24], aqueous salt (NaCl) solutions [25], ammonium-based halide solution [26], aqueous glycine solutions [27], and lithium potassium sulphate (LKS) and lithium ammonium sulphate (LAS) [28], and food products [29]. The success of electrofreezing experiments were determined by certain factors, such as the type of the solution material, salt concentration, electrode material [21][22][30][31][32], surface properties of the electrode, electrode configuration [30][31][32][33][34], static (DC) or a fluctuating (AC) electric field [19,32,[34][35][36], magnitude of the voltage or electric field [37][38][39][40][41][42], temperature at the applied field [21,25], and duration of application of the electric field [21]. Although it is commonly observed that an increase in the electric field affects reduction in the supercooling degree, despite the variations in the experimental setups and procedures across these studies, the compiled data from many experimental results show that the magnitude of the supercooling degree is strongly dependent on the field and tends to increase by increasing the applied field [17].The electrofreezing phenomenon is based on the impact of a strong electric field to induce crystallisation of a supercooled liquid.…”

“…The effect of electrical energy on the behaviour of supercooled fluids has been studied since two decades ago [15][16] and is commonly called electrofreezing or electronucleation; see [17][18][19] for the review and references therein. In most of the past experiments water droplets were mainly exposed to high-voltage electric fields, with the success expressed by higher nucleation temperatures, reduction in the supercooling degree, lowering the induction times, and increased nucleation probability.…”