Investigation of the cold thermal energy storage reefer container for cold chain application

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2019-0242

Abstract

Abstract:

Aiming to solve the high energy consumption, large fluctuation of internal temperature and humidity issues of the conventional cold chain transportation containers, this paper presents a phase change materials (PCMs）-based cold thermal energy storage (TES） container for cold chain application. By installing 10 cold TES plates in a 40ft insulation container, the cooling of the interior of container can be achieved through the released cold during the solid-liquid phase transition of the PCMs inside the plates. The separate charging facility was introduced and the charging performance of the TES conditioner was studied. Experimental investigations of the internal temperature and humidity of the container with time have been carried out, the cooling time, the time evolution of the internal temperature and humidity under the dynamic condition are obtained. The charging time was found to be 6 hours. The dynamic discharging experiments showed that the cooling time of the TES container was long, and the internal relative humidity could be maintained between 85% and 95%. Compared with the conventional refrigeration container, the operation cost can be saved by 61.9%, with a payback period of 0.58 years. Higher internal relative humidity and longer cooling time, together with the benefits of operating costs, indicate the feasibility of the TES container for the cold chain application.

Key words: cold thermal energy storage, cold chain, reefer container, discharging performance

CLC Number:

TB 658

TONG Shanhu, NIE Binjian, LI Zixiao, JIN Yi, DING Yulong, HU Hongli. Investigation of the cold thermal energy storage reefer container for cold chain application[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2020, 9(1): 211-216.

Figures/Tables 12

Table 1

Table 2

Fig.1

Fig.2

Fig.3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig.7

Fig. 8

Table 3

Table 4

References 13

1	EVANS J A, HAMMOND E C, GIGIEL A J, et al. Assessment of methods to reduce the energy consumption of food cold stores[J]. Appl. Therm. Eng., 2014, 62: 697-705.
2	TASSOU S A, DE-LILLE G, GE Y T. Food transport refri-geration-Approaches to reduce energy consumption and envir-onmental impacts of road transport[J]. Appl. Therm. Eng., 2009, 29: 1467-1477.
3	ADEKOMAYA O, JAMIRU T, SADIKU R, et al. Minimizing energy consumption in refrigerated vehicles through alternative external wall[J]. Renew Sustain Energy Rev., 2017, 67: 89-93.
4	VEERAKUMAR C, SREEKUMAR A. Phase change material based cold thermal energy storage: Materials, techniques and applications-A review[J]. Int. J. Refrig., 2016,67:271-289.
5	WAQAS A, DIN Z U. Phase change material （PCM） storage for free cooling of buildings-A review[J]. Renew Sustain Energy Rev., 2013, 18: 607-625.
6	ZHANG J, LI X, HE F, et al. Experimental investigation on thermal management of electric vehicle battery module with paraffin/expanded graphite composite phase change material[J]. Int. J. Photoenergy, 2017: doi: 10.1155/2017/2929473.
7	谭宏博, 厉彦忠, 脱瀚斐, 等. 基于液化天然气低温冷藏车的相变蓄冷实验[J]. 低温工程, 20093）: 31-35.
	TAN Hongbo, LI Yanzhong, Hanfei TUO, et al. Experiment on cold storage with phase change based on LNG low temperature refrigerated vechicle[J]. Cryogenics, 2009（3）: 31-35.
8	陶文博, 谢如鹤. 有机相变蓄冷材料的研究进展[J]. 制冷学报, 2016, 36: 52-59.
	TAO Wenbo, XIE Ruhe. Research and development of organic phase change materials for cool thermal energy storage[J]. Journal of Refrigeration, 2016, 36: 52-59.
9	AHMED M, MEADE O, MEDINA M A. Reducing heat transfer across the insulated walls of refrigerated truck trailers by the application of phase change materials[J]. Energy Convers. Manag., 2010, 51: 383-392.
10	李晓燕, 张晓雅, 邱雪君, 等. 相变蓄冷技术在食品冷链运输中的研究进展[J]. 包装工程, 2019, 15: 150-156.
	LI Xiaoyan, ZHANG Xiaoya, QIU Xuejun, et al. Research progress of phase change cold storage technology in food cold chain transportation[J]. Packaging Engineering, 2019, 15: 150-156.
11	夏全刚, 刘宝林, 宋晓燕. 一种新型冷藏车箱体模型的设计与实验验证[J]. 制冷学报, 2014, 35: 108-112.
	XIA Quangang, LIU Baolin, SONG Xiaoyan. Design and experimental verification of a new type of refrigerated vehicle model[J]. Journal of Refrigeration, 2014, 35: 108-112.
12	ASTE N, DEL P C, LEONFORTE F. Active refrigeration technologies for food preservation in humanitarian context-A review[J]. Sustain Energy Technol. Assessments, 2017, 22: 150-160.
13	MOFFAT R J. Describing the uncertainties in experimental results[J]. Exp. Therm. Fluid. Sci., 1988, 1: 3-17.

属性	传统柴油驱动	蓄冷式
行驶距离/km	874
运行时间/h	14
耗电量/kW·h		32
制冷系统柴油消耗量/L·h^-1	1^[14]	0
柴油价格/元·L^-1①	6.6
电价/元·(kw·h)^-1②	1.1
柴油费用/元	92.4	0
电费/元	0	35.2
运费降低	61.9%

类别	传统柴油驱动	蓄冷式
保温箱体	100000	130000
相变材料	0	44100^①
蓄冷板	0	26000 ^②
制冷机组	150000	0
充冷装备	0	58333^③
总计	250000	258433