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Thermal energy storage for cold chain applications.

Number: 1102

Author(s) : URE Z.

Summary

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is the temporary storage of high or low-temperature energy for later use. It bridges the time gap between energy requirement and energy use. For HVAC and refrigeration application purposes, water and water ice constitute the principal storage media.
Water has the advantage of universal availability and low cost, but it can only be produced using inefficient low-temperature refrigeration units (if one wishes to use the latent heat capacity). If it is applied purely for sensible energy storage capacity it requires large storage tanks.
Phase Change Materials (PCM) between -74°C (-101°F) and +117°C (243°F) range overcome the disadvantages of water by combining the latent and sensible energy storage capacities into a single storage unit and therefore offers designers new horizons and practical application options.
PCM latent heat cool energy storage can be provided by utilising a conventional refrigeration unit for both direct expansions and secondary refrigeration systems for both new and retrofit applications without the need for any significant modifications.
By operating the refrigeration machinery at off-peak time periods, it is possible to utilise lower energy tariffs, which can significantly reduce the overall operating cost of many cold chain applications. Furthermore, by utilising the lower night-time ambient conditions to build TES, this can result in significantly lower power consumption due to lower heat rejection conditions overnight, whereby the power consumption of any refrigeration unit will be significantly lower than in the regular day-time period. Hence, a TES load shifting technique not only reduces the running cost, but through utilisation of off-peak power and operation during lower ambient conditions, there is the potential to achieve considerable environmental as well as economic benefits for many cold chain applications.

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Pages: 8 p.

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Details

  • Original title: Thermal energy storage for cold chain applications.
  • Record ID : 30029451
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: 7th IIR International Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain (Online). Proceedings: April 11-13 2022
  • Publication date: 2022/04/11
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18462/iir.iccc2022.1102
  • Document available for consultation in the library of the IIR headquarters only.

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