Only when the power goes off and food spoils do we truly appreciate how much we rely on refrigerators and freezers. In Refrigeration Nation, Jonathan Rees explores the innovative methods and gadgets ...that Americans have invented to keep perishable food cold—from cutting river and lake ice and shipping it to consumers for use in their iceboxes to the development of electrically powered equipment that ushered in a new age of convenience and health.
As much a history of successful business practices as a history of technology, this book illustrates how refrigeration has changed the everyday lives of Americans and why it remains so important today. Beginning with the natural ice industry in 1806, Rees considers a variety of factors that drove the industry, including the point and product of consumption, issues of transportation, and technological advances. Rees also shows that how we obtain and preserve perishable food is related to our changing relationship with the natural world. He compares how people have used the cold chain in America to other countries, offering insight into more than just what we eat. Refrigeration Nation helps explain one small part of who we are as a people.
Cold thermal energy storage (CTES) is a technology with high potential for different thermal applications. CTES may be the most suitable method and method to correct the gap between energy demand and ...supply. Although many studies cover the application of cold energy storage technology and the introduction of cold storage materials, compared with other energy storage technologies such as thermal energy storage, there is insufficient review in this field. In this study, the phase changes cold storage materials used in cold chain logistics are classified in detail, and the advantages and disadvantages of each type of phase change cold storage materials are described. At the same time, a systematic review of several main packaging forms (cold storage plates, cold storage microcapsules, cold storage bags and cold storage balls, etc.) of phase change cold storage materials used in cold chain transportation and their application status. There are great differences in practical applications. Finally, the key problems to be solved by further research are put forward.
•Classification of phase change cold storage materials used in cold chain transportation•Several main packaging forms of phase change cold storage materials for cold chain transportation•Application status of phase change cold storage materials in cold chain transportation
•A novel liquid CO2 energy storage system with low pressure stores is proposed.•The sensible and latent cold energy of CO2 after expansion is separately stored.•The efficiency and energy density are ...51.45% and 22.21 kW h/m3 at design condition.•A peak value of efficiency and energy density exists as discharge pressure varies.•The optimum allocations of compression and expansion ratios equal to 0.7.
Liquid CO2 energy storage system is currently held as an efficiently green solution to the dilemma of stabilizing the fluctuations of renewable power. One of the most challenges is how to efficiently liquefy the gas for storage. The current liquid CO2 energy storage system will be no longer in force for high environmental temperature. Moreover, the CO2 storage pressure is usually high with resulting in the high requirements on component materials. A novel liquid CO2 energy storage system with low pressure stores is thus proposed in this paper. The sensible cold energy is stored by liquid methanol and the latent cold energy is stored in the latent cold storage for the sake of liquefying the discharging CO2 after expansion. The mathematical model of the system is established for thermodynamic study. The analysis results indicate that the round trip efficiency and energy density of the system can be respectively 51.45% and 22.21 kW h/m3 at the typical default conditions. The round trip efficiency increases with a rise in charging pressure first and then appears a level-off with a striking inflection point. Moreover, the inflection point moves toward right for a larger discharging pressure. There is a peak value of the system round trip efficiency and energy density when the discharging pressure is changed. The allocations of compression ratio and expansion ratio should equal to 0.7 to reach the maximum value of round trip efficiency.
Hydrate cold storage technology has been intensively researched in recent years and plays an important role in the macro-control of energy. This paper reviews the diversity and variability of hydrate ...cold storage media and the new hydrate cold storage system. The diversity is embodied by the types of hydrate cold storage media, which include alkane hydrates, freon hydrates, CO2 hydrates, water-soluble organic hydrates, and mixed hydrates. In mixed hydrates, the different components in the mix media play different roles in the process of hydrate formation. The variability is reflected in the differences in the external environments (environmental compatibility: ozone depletion potential and global warming potential) and the multiple reinforcement methods of hydrate nucleation. The reinforcement methods including mechanical methods, external field functions, and additives (mainly surfactants, nanoparticles, porous materials, and thermodynamic accelerators) are compared and discussed for optimisation of the hydrate formation conditions. The operational characteristics and application advantages of the new cold storage systems with different hydrate media are summarised. The environmental impact, energy efficiency, life cycle assessment, and commercial and industrial possibilities of the hydrate cold storage system are discussed. Finally, this review provides a comprehensive outlook of hydrate cold storage from an application perspective.
•The characteristics of different hydrate cold storage media are compared and analyzed.•Reinforcement methods are summarised from the perspective of application.•The latest applications of hydrate cold storage are analyzed and are introduced.•Feasibility of hydrate cold storage system is evaluated comprehensively.•The key problems in the application of hydrate cold storage are mentioned.
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