TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermal storage based on phase change materials (PCMs) for refrigerated transport and distribution applications along the cold chain
T2 - A review
AU - Calati, Michele
AU - Hooman, Kamel
AU - Mancin, Simone
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Foodstuff has to be transported from where it is produced or packaged to the market. It is important to control the temperature and humidity of the delivered food to minimize the waste and ensure customer satisfaction. At the same time, unfortunately, the transport sector is among the polluting sectors. Therefore, innovative solutions have been proposed such as the adoption of Latent Thermal Energy Storage (LTES) systems based on Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to control the food temperature. Such systems minimize the fuel consumption and thereby reduce the emission. LTES systems rely on the phase change process to absorb and store heat in a more sustainable way while ensuring a nearly constant temperature for the foodstuff while being transported. Hence, we first present a general overview of the application of PCMs at low temperatures. Then, the literature on the adoption of PCMs in the refrigerated transport sector is critically surveyed. Different proposals offered in the literature are recovered, compared, and critically assessed based on their merits. Despite the differences between the proposed technologies, significant advantages in terms of temperature uniformity in the refrigerated space, product thermal stress reduction, product quality, energy consumption, and pollutant emissions reduction are reported in the literature as surveyed in this paper.
AB - Foodstuff has to be transported from where it is produced or packaged to the market. It is important to control the temperature and humidity of the delivered food to minimize the waste and ensure customer satisfaction. At the same time, unfortunately, the transport sector is among the polluting sectors. Therefore, innovative solutions have been proposed such as the adoption of Latent Thermal Energy Storage (LTES) systems based on Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to control the food temperature. Such systems minimize the fuel consumption and thereby reduce the emission. LTES systems rely on the phase change process to absorb and store heat in a more sustainable way while ensuring a nearly constant temperature for the foodstuff while being transported. Hence, we first present a general overview of the application of PCMs at low temperatures. Then, the literature on the adoption of PCMs in the refrigerated transport sector is critically surveyed. Different proposals offered in the literature are recovered, compared, and critically assessed based on their merits. Despite the differences between the proposed technologies, significant advantages in terms of temperature uniformity in the refrigerated space, product thermal stress reduction, product quality, energy consumption, and pollutant emissions reduction are reported in the literature as surveyed in this paper.
KW - Cold chain
KW - Energy management
KW - Perishable food
KW - Phase change material
KW - Refrigerated transport
KW - Review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140799958&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100224
DO - 10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100224
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85140799958
SN - 2666-2027
VL - 16
JO - International Journal of Thermofluids
JF - International Journal of Thermofluids
M1 - 100224
ER -