The Phase Change Matters e-mail newsletter is a weekly summary of the latest news and research on phase change materials and thermal energy storage. To subscribe, visit www.puretemp.com/subscribe. For more frequent updates, follow @puretemp on Twitter or visit the Phase Change Matters blog, www.puretemp.com/pcmatters.
IN BRIEF
• Mike Hopkins, right, CEO of Ice Energy since 2014, has left the Riverside, Calif., company to pursue a “soon to be revealed” opportunity. Ice Energy makes ice-based thermal energy storage systems. According to an Ice Energy representative: “Dr. Marcel Christians (previously CIO) and Alex Collins (VP at Pacific Advantage Capital, majority shareholder in Ice Energy) have joined together to lead the company as co-COOs. Other than that, it’s business as usual as the company pushes most of its resources towards finding viable candidates for its 20+ MW thermal energy storage contract with major California utility, Southern California Edison.”
• AIMPLAS, a plastics technology center in Spain, is among 10 participants in a European project led by the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The consortium is developing new components for geothermal systems offering high thermal-conductivity properties.
• 1414 Degrees Ltd. has announced that the commissioning of the Australian company’s TESS-IND has been verified by Bureau Veritas. In three- and eight-hour test runs, the molten silicon heat store powered the system’s turbine to generate average electricity outputs of 104kW and 148kW. “The maximum verified temperature of the phase change material heat store was 1418 degrees Celsius,” the company said.
PATENTS
Thermal receptacle with phase change material
U.S. patent application 20190014932 (applicant Raymond Booska, Melbourne, Fla.):
“A liquid receptacle has an inner vessel for holding a liquid, an insulated outer shell spaced from the inner vessel, and a chamber defined between the inner vessel and the outer shell. A phase change material is disposed in the chamber for absorbing thermal energy from the liquid and then releasing the thermal energy back to the liquid to maintain the temperature of the liquid. … In some versions, a second phase change material is disposed within the second chamber. This phase change material has a phase change temperature different than the first phase change material. The phase change temperature of the second phase change material may be different than the phase change temperature of the first phase change material.”
Radiative cooling with solar spectrum reflection
U.S. patent application 20190017758 (applicant Board of Trustees of Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.):
“Aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward radiative cooling with solar spectrum reflection. In certain more specific embodiments, a structure facilitates far-field radiation at particular wavelengths while blocking radiation at solar wavelengths. Additionally, aspects of the present disclosure allow for twenty-four hour cooling of buildings and similar structures, and for cooling through a heat exchange to other liquid, gases, or solids. … The heat exchange interface may further interface with phase-change materials either directly or indirectly to allow for thermal storage driven by the radiative properties of the plurality of different materials.”
Cooling fabric
U.S. patent application 20190017200 (applicant Bedgear LLC, Farmingdale, N.Y.):
“A three-layer circular knitted jacquard fabric includes a first layer having a yarn made from a first material. A second layer of the fabric includes a yarn made from a second material. A third layer of the fabric includes a yarn made from a third material. At least one of the materials includes ultra-high weight molecular polyethylene. The second layer is positioned between the first layer and the third layer such that the second layer provides loft between the first layer and the third layer. … In some embodiments, a top layer, such as, for example, the first layer can be coated with a phase change material and a bottom layer, such as, for example, the third layer can be coated with a phase change material. It is envisioned that the first layer and/or the third layer can be soaked with a phase change material and/or can be infused with a phase change material.”
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
For our full list of recent academic research, see puretemp.com/academic. Here are highlights from the past week:
From Journal of Thermal Science:• Energy Storage Performance of a PCM in the Solar Storage Tank
From International Journal of Applied Engineering Research:
• Numerical assessment of suitability of phase-change materials in a concentric PCM-module for thermal storage applications [pdf]
From International Journal of Energy Research:
• Experimental measurements and numerical computation of nanofluid and microencapsulated phase change material in porous material
From IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering:
• Nano-enhanced phase change material effects on the supercooling degree improvement: A review
From Renewable Energy:
• Potential of ventilation systems with thermal energy storage using PCMs applied to air conditioned buildings
From Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology:
• Thermal performance analysis of nano enhanced paraffin wax and myristic acid
From Solar Energy:
• Synthesis and characterization of microencapsulated phase change materials with comb-like acrylic co-polymer shell as thermal energy storage materials
• Sensible and latent heat energy storage systems for concentrated solar power plants, exergy efficiency comparison
From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:
• Thermal energy storage characteristics of myristic acid-palmitic eutectic mixtures encapsulated in PMMA shell
From Thermal Science and Engineering Progress:
• Parametric analysis and optimization of an underfloor solar assisted heating system with phase change materials
From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:
• The improved enthalpy-transforming based lattice Boltzmann model for solid-liquid phase change
From Applied Energy:
• Innovative design of superhydrophobic thermal energy-storage materials by microencapsulation of n-docosane with nanostructured ZnO/SiO2 shell
From AIP Conference Proceedings:
• Preparation and characterization of nanoparticle blended polymers for thermal energy storage applications
NETWORKING
Connect with PCM experts and industry leaders on LinkedIn
More than 1,400 people have joined a LinkedIn group devoted to the discussion of phase change material and thermal energy storage. The Phase Change Matters group is an interactive complement to the award-winning blog and newsletter of the same name.
You are invited to join the group and connect with PCM and TES experts from around the world. This week we welcome Jonathan Todd Hunt, broker/distributor of synthetic phase change material, Calhoun, Ga.; and Joshua Charles, research scientist at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Penn.
The Phase Change Matters e-mail newsletter is a weekly summary of the latest news and research on phase change materials and thermal energy storage. To subscribe, visit www.puretemp.com/subscribe. For more frequent updates, follow @puretemp on Twitter or visit the Phase Change Matters blog, www.puretemp.com/pcmatters.