Menu Close

Phase Change Matters Newsletter Oct 7 2017

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.

MANUFACTURING

Grzyb is president of North American PCM manufacturers association

Joe GrzybJoe Grzyb, CEO of Phase Change Energy Solutions of Asheboro, N.C., has been chosen to lead the new Phase Change Materials Industry Association of North America.

Members of the association, gathered for the association’s inaugural meeting in Boston, Mass., on Thursday, approved bylaws, outlined goals and created committees to develop strategies to pursue those goals. The eight founding members attending the meeting were Phase Change Energy Solutions; Microtek Labs, Dayton, Ohio; Encapsys LLC, Appleton, Wis.; Outlast LLC, Golden, Colo.; Croda Inc., Edison, N.J.; Insolcorp Inc., Las Vegas, Nev.; Cold Chain Technologies, Franklin, Mass.; and Entropy Solutions, Plymouth, Minn. 

The meeting, hosted by the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, was led by the association’s newly elected executive director, Jan Kosny, who heads Fraunhofer’s Building Enclosures & Materials group. Also attending were representatives of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office; as well as David Yarbrough of R&D Services Inc., Cookeville, Tenn.

The association’s mission is to promote the development and use of phase change material in North America. It has been established as a not-for-profit corporation in the state of Delaware. 

After much discussion, members approved the formation of committees to focus on four key areas and selected chairmen to lead them: PR/communications (Mark Hartmann, director of research and development at Outlast); government/policy (Tim Riazzi, CEO at Microtek); technical (Reyad Sawafta, chief scientific officer at Phase Change Energy Solutions); and codes/standards (Joe Grzyb).

Four membership types were approved:

General: Companies that manufacture PCMs; supply raw materials or processing equipment used in the PCM industry; or use PCMs in their products. General members have all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of membership, including the right to hold office and vote on matters put before the association. Annual dues: $2,000.

Associate: Businesses or individuals performing work related to phase change material. Associate members cannot vote or hold office. Annual dues: $1,000.

Academic/research: Organizations or individuals performing research related to phase change material. Such members cannot vote or hold office. Annual dues: $50.

Honorary: Persons who by virtue of their contributions to the industry and who are no longer employed by a general member are eligible for honorary membership. Such members will pay no dues.

The association tentatively plans to meet again in six months. Organizations or individuals interested in joining or working with the association should contact Jan Kosny at jkosny@cse.fraunhofer.org or Joe Grzyb at jgrzyb@phasechange.com

PCMIA inaugural toast

A champagne toast followed the PCM Industry Association’s inaugural meeting.

PATENTS

Controlled release microcapsules

U.S. patent application 20170281985 (applicant Encapsys LLC, Appleton, Wis.):

“A method of forming microcapsules having improved physical properties and release control as well as the microcapsules formed by the process wherein the capsule wall is formed by the concurrent polymerization of monomers, oligomer and/or prepolymers on the inside of the capsule wall and different monomers, oligomers and/or prepolymers on the exterior of the capsule wall as it forms. … Microcapsules containing phase change materials according to the present invention are prepared using a process with a two-part water phase and a single core phase.”

Immersion cooling systems and methods

U.S. patent application 20170290205 (applicant Hamilton Sundstrand Corp., Charlotte, N.C.)

“An electronics cooling arrangement includes a housing, an electronic device disposed within the housing, and a solid-liquid phase change material disposed within the housing and is in thermal communication with the electronic device to absorb heat generated by the electronic device. A method of cooling an electronic device and a vehicular electronics cooling system are also described.”

IN BRIEF

• A bill that would create a tax credit for the purchase of energy storage systems, including thermal systems, is advancing in the U.S. Senate. The bill, known as the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 2017, is sponsored by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).  The bill was first floated last year and gained support from both Democrat and Republican senators, Energy Storage News reports.

Bloomberg BNA News reports that states could soon respond quicker to chemical accidents armed with information on file at the Environmental Protection Agency has. But first, they’ll have to prove they can protect chemical manufacturers’ trade secrets.

• Looking to pitch your next big idea? David Beckett, an Amsterdam-based Brit who has coach more than 500 startups, has a few tips for you. No. 1: Memorize the first 60 seconds of your pitch. That’ll keep you on track until that mind-numbing adrenaline wears off.  

Simba Hybrid pillow• The Simba Hybrid, the latest high-tech pillow to feature Outlast phase change material, hit stores last week. The price tag: $125. 

• Bedding foam producers are stepping up their research-and-development efforts and rolling out PU foams with improved performance, BedTimes Magazine reports. Temperature regulation remains among the most sought-after features among consumers, according to research conducted by FXI, a PU foam specialist based in Media, Penn.

Peli BioThermal has announced the expansion of its European manufacturing capabilities in France to produce CoolPall Vertos, the cold chain company’s single-use bulk thermal shipper. 

• U.K.-based Softbox Systems has launched AEON, a line of reusable temperature-control parcel shippers that feature vacuum insulation panels and phase-change modules. Initially, AEON will be sold in three payload sizes for 2º C to 8º C temperature control. Other temperature ranges (15⁰ C to 25⁰ C and -20⁰ C) will be launched in December. 

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.

RESEARCH ROUNDUP

For our full list of recent academic research, see puretemp.com/academic. Here are highlights from the past week:

From Journal of Cleaner Production:

Personalized cooling as an energy efficiency technology for city energy footprint reduction

From International Journal of Mechanical Sciences:

Melting of Nanoparticles-Enhanced Phase-Change Materials in an Enclosure: Effect of Hybrid Nanoparticles

From International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer:

Numerical simulation and experimental verification of constrained melting of phase change material in inclined rectangular enclosures
A comparative study on the performances of different shell-and-tube type latent heat thermal energy storage units including the effects of natural convection

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

Experimental verification of theoretically estimated composition and enthalpy of fusion of eutectic salt mixtures
Preparation, characterization and thermal regulation performance of cement based-composite phase change material

From Energy and Buildings:

PCM-mortar based construction materials for energy efficient buildings: A review on research trends

From Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews:

Water and phase change material based photovoltaic thermal management systems: A review

From Case Studies in Construction Materials:

Experimental study of thermal properties of a new ecological building material based on peanut shells and plaster

From Computational Thermal Sciences:

Numerical simulation of melting and solidification of different kinds of phase change materials (PCM) encapsulated in spherical nodules in a water flow

NETWORKING

Connect with PCM experts and industry leaders on LinkedIn

More than 1,100 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.

LinkedIn logoYou are invited to join the group and connect with PCM and TES experts from around the world. New members include Laura Newton, business development manager for geo technologies, Croda, Snaith, U.K.; Cyril Winkler, cold chain product manager, ELPRO, Buchs, Switzerland; Howard Atwood, operations director at SPX FLOW Inc., Newport, N.C.; and Sébastien Duclos, thermal and materials manager at Winco Technologies, Ploufragan, France.