Method and apparatus for making spherical ice particles

摘要

A method and apparatus for generating uniformly sized spherical ice particles. The apparatus comprises a water feed pump, a vacuum chamber connected to the water feed pump and having a water spray nozzle, boosters discharging the vapor from the vacuum chamber to maintain the inside of the vacuum chamber below a desired pressure and compressing it, a condenser for condensing the vapor being compressed by the boosters, and a vacuum pump for removing noncondensable gases from the condenser. The method comprises the steps of decreasing the pressure of the vacuum chamber below the first pressure, feeding water from the water source to the spray nozzle of the vacuum chamber, making spherical ices by spraying the water being fed from the nozzle into the inside of the vacuum chamber, in which the size of the droplets being sprayed is below a desired size, during said ice making step, maintaining the pressure of the vacuum chamber below the second pressure by discharging the vapor from the vacuum chamber and compressing the vapor to increase its saturation temperature above room temperature, condensing the compressed vapor within the condenser using water at room temperature as coolant, and draining the water being condensed during the condensing step and removing noncondensable gases.