Development of Corn-Oil Ester and Water Mixture Phase Change Materials for Low Temperature Refrigeration Applications

摘要

This study focuses on development of corn-oil ester and tap water mixtures as novel solid-liquid phase change material (PCM) candidates for low temperature refrigeration applications with product temperature between -20°C and -10°C. Thermal properties of both tap water and its mixture with corn-oil ester were tested by DSC and T-history methods. The test results showed that freezing and melting temperatures of tap water were 0°C and phase transition temperatures of the mixtures were lower than those of individual tap water. The results indicated that corn-oil ester in the mixtures as a nucleate agent was able to lower the freezing point and to trigger ice nucleation in tap water which could diminish its super-cooling. The PCM candidates were found to have excellent thermal properties that could fulfill requirements of latent heat thermal energy storage systems used for low temperature refrigeration applications.