Pulsed Electric Field Effects on Sucrose Nucleation at Low Supersaturation

Nucleation of sucrose at high supersaturation is difficult to control and the nuclei easily form aggregates, whereas at low supersaturation it is difficult to achieve nucleation using traditional methods. In order to explore a feasible method to enhance sucrose nucleation at low supersaturation, the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment on sucrose solutions at supersaturation of 1.05-1.20 was investigated. The experiments were conducted using electric field strengths of 10-30 kV cm(-1) and flow rates of 15-50 mL min(-1) in a volume of 3.0 mL. The results revealed that PEF treatment has a profound influence on sucrose nucleation at supersaturation of 1.05-1.20. Nucleation occurred at all degrees of supersaturation tested, with more nuclei formed in the more supersaturated solutions. The regression model indicated that the total nuclei number induced by PEF was proportional to supersaturation and field strength, but varied inversely with flow rate. The microstructure of the PEF-induced nuclei and a non-PEF-treated sample had a similar XRD pattern, and the PEF-induced nuclei had larger interplanar spacings, higher intensities, and greater crystallinity. PEF technology is revealed to be a promising method for sucrose nucleation at low supersaturation.