Influence of Feed Temperature on Progressive Freeze Concentration of Magnesium Sulphate Solutions
Hafizuddin SUTIMIN, Aishah ROSLI, Mazura JUSOH
Abstract. Progressive freeze concentration (PFC) offers low-temperature separation for water treatment, yet the role of feed temperature remains unclear. Magnesium sulphate solutions were processed in a vertical finned crystallizer (50 min cycle, 2100 mL min⁻¹ circulation, −10°C coolant) using either room-temperature feed (RF, 27.4±1.8°C) or pre-chilled feed (CF, 9.1±0.8°C), with triplicate runs per condition. Outcomes were standardized into two composites: (i) Separation–kinetics metric (solute recovery, ion recovery efficiency, reversed partition coefficient, freezing and solution-retention rates) and (ii) energy metric (reversed SEC per litre, reversed process energy, energy efficiency). RF showed higher separation: solute recovery (0.643 vs. 0.585), ion recovery efficiency (79.5% vs 71.9%), and freezing rate (12.1 vs. 11.8 g min⁻¹). Partition coefficients were similar (0.129 vs. 0.122). Energy results diverged: RF required more process energy (314 vs. 235 kJ) but achieved lower SEC per litre (1.82 vs. 2.00 kWh L⁻¹) and higher efficiency (14.2% vs. 10.1%). Composite scores favoured RF for separation (0.278 vs. −0.278), while energy outcomes balanced near zero. Multivariate testing found no significant overall effect (Pillai’s Trace = 0.578, F (2,3) = 2.057, p = 0.274), though the separation–kinetics effect size was moderate-to-large (partial η² = 0.406). The results suggest that warmer feeds can improve recovery and kinetics while lowering per-litre energy demand, even though they increase absolute cooling duty. Larger studies are needed to confirm these trends and to explore adaptive flow control and expanded operating windows for scalability.
Keywords
Progressive Freeze Concentration, Magnesium Sulphate, Feed Temperature, Freezing Dynamics, Energy Consumption, Solute Recovery, Vertical Finned Crystallizer
Published online 1/15/2026, 9 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Hafizuddin SUTIMIN, Aishah ROSLI, Mazura JUSOH, Influence of Feed Temperature on Progressive Freeze Concentration of Magnesium Sulphate Solutions, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 59, pp 121-129, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903957-16
The article was published as article 16 of the book Separation Technology
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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