Phase Change Matters

From Applied Energy:

• Microencapsulation and thermal properties of myristic acid with ethyl cellulose shell for thermal energy storage
• Fast and experimentally validated model of a latent thermal energy storage device for system level simulations
• Numerical simulation and experimental validation of the solar photovoltaic/thermal system with phase change material
• Low-temperature energy conversion using a phase-change acoustic heat engine

From Journal of Energy Storage:

• Exploring additives for improving the reliability of zinc nitrate hexahydrate as a phase change material (PCM)

From Energy:

• Laboratory assessment of residential building walls containing pipe-encapsulated phase change materials for thermal management
• Review on thermal performances and applications of thermal energy storage systems with inorganic phase change materials

From Nano Energy:

• Nanoconfinement effects on thermal properties of nanoporous shape-stabilized composite PCMs: A review

From International Journal of Thermal Sciences:

• Study of heat and fluid flow during melting of PCM inside vertical cylindrical tube

From Building and Environment:

• A new hybrid personal cooling system (HPCS) incorporating insulation pads for thermal comfort management: Experimental validation and parametric study

From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:

• An analytical technique for the optimal designs of tube-in-tank thermal energy storage systems using PCM

From 2nd International conference on Advances in Mechanical Engineering:

• Study of freezing characteristics of water based grapheme Nano-fluid PCM in a spherical capsule [pdf]
• Enhancement of thermal conductivity of PCM using filler graphite powder materials [pdf]

From 10th International Conference on Applied Energy:

• A Numerical Investigation into the Heat Transfer and Melting Process of Lauric Acid in a Rectangular Enclosure with Three Values of Wall Heat Flux

• ARPA-E this week awarded $28 million to 10 R&D projects aimed at developing energy storage systems to power the electric grid for up to 100 hours, improving grid resilience and performance. Thermal energy storage projects were among the winners. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory won a $2.79 million grant to “develop a high-temperature, low-cost thermal energy storage system using a high-performance heat exchanger and closed loop Brayton cycle turbine to generate power.” Michigan State University won $2 million to "explore a process that heats a bed of magnesium manganese oxide to release oxygen, and then passes air over the particle bed to start a chemical reaction that releases the heat to drive a gas turbine generator," Greentech Media reported.

• Mark Richards, applications engineering manager at Phase Change Energy Solutions, will give a presentation on "Testing and Modeling of Phase Change Materials for Building Applications" at next week's Building Performance Analysis Conference and SimBuild in Chicago.

• Nominations for nine Scientific and Society Awards given by the American Oil Chemists' Society are due Oct. 1. The awards recognize leaders in fats, oils, proteins and surfactants who have advanced the science and technology of their interest areas.

• The agenda has been posted for the CSP Madrid 2018 conference and exhibition, to be held Nov. 13-14. Topics include "Advancements in Thermal Storage Systems with Molten Salt" and "Thermal storage + PV, gas or other power generations."

• Ember Technologies announced this week that its PCM-equipped coffee mug is now available at Bloomingdale's. 

• New from Decision Databases: "2018-2023 Global Temperature Controlled Packaging Solutions Market Report" 

• Entropy Solutions has been granted a U.S. trademark for the tagline "Global Authority on Phase Change Material," in use since 2014.  

• How green is your lab? The EU Science Hub invites European Union residents to submit photos that show how to reduce waste, save energy, maximize equipment efficiency or anything else that makes a lab green. Science Hub will post submitted photos on its Facebook page. The entry deadline is Oct. 19. The winning photographer will receive a two-day trip to Berlin to visit the hub's ARTEFACTS exhibition, where the winning photo will be displayed.   

• Children curious about science will have a chance to chat with researchers, observe demonstrations and take part in hands-on experiments at the annual "Science is Wonder-ful!" event Sept. 25-26 in Brussels, Belgium. The event, sponsored by the European Commission and European Parliament, drew 4,600 participants in 2017.

• The United States has removed 142 chemical and plastic products, including paraffin wax, from the latest round of tariffs that it will impose on Chinese imports next week, the American Chemistry Council said Tuesday.

• The Thermal Energy Systems Lab at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has an opening for a post-doctoral researcher to assist in the development of thermal energy storage material and systems. For details, contact Alessandro Romagnoli, a.romagnoli@ntu.edu.sg. "We are looking for an expert on industrial energy efficiency with capabilities to run exergy/energy analysis, skills with flow diagrams (e.g. Sankey) and well grounded in current and future technology development," Romagnoli said. "This is a short-term appointment (either full time or part-time)." 

From Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics:

• Heat capacities of potential organic phase change materials

From Renewable Energy:

• Effects of microencapsulated phase change materials on the performance of asphalt binders
• An improved, generalized effective thermal conductivity method for rapid design of high temperature shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage systems
• Multi-objective optimisation of thermal energy storage using phase change materials for solar air systems

From Energy:

• A comprehensive study of properties of paraffin phase change materials for solar thermal energy storage and thermal management applications
• Evaluation of a novel solar driven sorption cooling/heating system integrated with PCM storage compartment

From Chemical Engineering Journal:

• Shape-stabilized phase change materials based on porous supports for thermal energy storage applications
• Novel smart textile with phase change materials encapsulated core-sheath structure fabricated by coaxial electrospinning

From International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer:

• Experimental research on the effective heating strategies for a phase change material based power battery module
• Modeling hysteresis in the phase transition of industrial-grade solid/liquid PCM for thermal energy storages

From Applied Thermal Engineering:

• Determination of heat transfer coefficients in direct contact latent heat storage systems

• The University of Central Florida was awarded a $360,000 grant from the National Science Foundation last month to develop and commercialize a grid-connected solar storage module. UCF is partnering with battery maker AllCell Technology to develop the system, known as iPV++. The system will use smart inverters and battery management to deliver stable and predictable PV-based solar power for grid-tied applications. AllCell phase change composite material will provide passive thermal management of the system's lithium-ion battery modules. Dr. Issa Batarseh, UCF electrical engineering professor and the project principal investigator, says use of the material "guarantees the safety of the battery modules, simplifies the installation and maintenance, and significantly increases lifetime due to temperature control.”

• A prototype cooling vest developed by the Nike Sport Research Lab made its public debut at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadow, N.Y., earlier this month. Scorching heat and high humidity marked the tennis tournament's later rounds, prompting players to do whatever they could to stay cool. Rafael Nadal, right, was among the players seen wearing the vest courtside. The form-fitting vest features four cooling packs -- two in the front and two in the back -- to quickly cool down players between sets and before and after matches. Nike declined to answer questions about the vest, but it appears similar to phase change vests already on the market, including versions made by TechNiche and Glacier Tek.

• Peli BioThermal, the temperature-controlled packaging company, has opened a service center in Indianapolis. The company says the 50,000-square-foot facility will be one of the largest in Peli's Credo on Demand network.

• Registration is open for the next ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, to be held in Denver, Colo., July 8-10, 2019. The 10th annual conference and technology showcase will "bring together experts from different technical disciplines and professional communities to think about America’s energy challenges in new and innovative ways." 

• Australian energy storage startup 1414 Degrees began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange last week after raising $16.3 million AUS as part of its initial public offering. The company's technology stores electricity as thermal energy by heating an melting containers full of silicon at a fraction of the cost of lithium-ion batteries.

• NETenergy, a Chicago startup that licenses technology developed at the University of Illinois at Chicago, plans to commercialize its hybrid air-conditioning system with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The $500,000 grant was awarded to NETenergy's partner, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The International Copper Association and Ingersoll-Rand are commercial partners on the grant, which will provide cash and in-kind matching funds. The technology uses phase change composites to store cold energy, allowing customers to shift A/C production to off-peak hours, when electricity is cheaper. 

• Costs for U.S. chemical distributors could rise by nearly $1.3 billion if the United States imposes tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods from China, according to an analysis by John Dunham & Associates. Job losses could top 5,900, the analysis said.

From Frontiers in Materials:

• Thermoplastic polyurethane blends with thermal energy storage/release capability

From Energies:

• Review of Reactors with Potential Use in Thermochemical Energy Storage in Concentrated Solar Power Plants

From Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics:

• Towards the simulation of supercooling and convection in phase change materials using a thermal lattice Boltzmann method

From Nanomaterials:

• Palm Kernel Shell Activated Carbon as an Inorganic Framework for Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Material

From Journal of Power Sources:

• A comprehensive review on a passive (phase change materials) and an active (thermoelectric cooler) battery thermal management system and their limitations

From Applied Energy:

• Process integration of thermal energy storage systems – Evaluation methodology and case studies

From Journal of Nanomaterials:

• Effects of Biceramic AlN-SiC Microparticles on the Thermal Properties of Paraffin for Thermal Energy Storage

• In an interview with Energy Storage Report, CEO Mike Hopkins discussed Ice Energy's plans to distribute its ice-based thermal energy storage technology in Australia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. In June, the California company announced a $40 million cash infusion from Argo Infrastructure Partners to finance the delivery of Ice Energy's residential and commercial thermal storage contracts.

• Thermetrics says its new ANDI sweating thermal manikin has the "unrivaled ability" to measure both positive and negative heat flux and to respond to changing environmental conditions with "unprecedented" speed and accuracy. The new manikin was unveiled this week at the 12th International Meeting of Manikins and Modeling, hosted by the Swiss research institute Empa, in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The manikin can be used to evaluate the thermal performance of apparel, blankets and seats, as well as quantify the cool-to-touch or warm-to-touch temperature-buffering effect in fabrics containing phase change materials. 

• New from LP Information: "2018-2023 Global Eutectic Phase Change Material Consumption Market Report"

• New from Research and Markets: "Phase Change Materials (PCMs) - A Global Market Overview"

• The journal Nature reports that India is cracking down on predatory journals, publications that "actively solicit manuscripts and charge authors hefty fees without providing the services they advertise, such as editing and peer review." 

• Life science laboratories are finding creative ways to reduce the amount of plastic they throw away, The Scientist reports. 

• Sonoco ThermoSafe will hold its next Leading Minds Seminar Nov. 6-7 at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel Heathrow, London, England. Co-hosted by ELPRO, the seminar is a chance for pharmaceutical manufacturers, supply chain partners and government representatives to discuss temperature-assurance packaging and data monitoring in a collaborative environment.

• Viking Cold Solutions says the thermal energy storage system the company installed at a 93,000-square-foot frozen food distribution center in Richmond, Calif., has reduced peak period energy consumption by up to 43 percent and reduced overall freezer energy consumption by 35 percent. Viking installed the system at the Dreisbach Enterprises warehouse earlier this year. Plastic panels filled with a proprietary salt hydrate are installed evenly throughout the warehouse atop the existing product racks. The PCM absorbs heat as it melts, allowing chillers to run less frequently and still keep the warehouse within a few degrees of the target temperature. The system also includes intelligent controls and sensors to optimize energy use and alert managers to temperature abnormalities, equipment failure and power outages.

From Sustainable Cities and Society:

• A review on applications of shape-stabilized phase change materials embedded in building enclosure in recent ten years

From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:

• Microencapsulation of eutectic and hyper-eutectic Al-Si alloy as phase change materials for high-temperature thermal energy storage

From Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics:

• Thermal analysis and heat capacity study of polyethylene glycol (PEG) phase change materials for thermal energy storage applications

From Exergy for A Better Environment and Improved Sustainability:

• Investigation of Thermal Characteristic of Eutectic Fatty Acid/Damar Gum as a Composite Phase Change Material (CPCM)

From Composites Part B: Engineering:

• Fabrication, morphology and thermal properties of octadecylamine-grafted graphene oxide-modified phase-change microcapsules for thermal energy storage

From Chemical Engineering Transactions:

• Study on the Temperature Characteristics of Phase-change Energy Storage Building Materials Based on ANSYS [pdf]

From International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies:

• Free cooling using phase change material for buildings in hot-arid climate

From International Journal of Energy Research:

• Experimental study on cold storage box with nanocomposite phase change material and vacuum insulation panel

• The second round of U.S. and China tariffs took effect last week, covering about $4.2 billion in chemicals and plastics. Based on 2017 exports to China, ICIS News says the U.S. commodity chemical products most affected are monoethylene glycol, styrene, EVA copolymers, linear low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and ethylene dichloride.

• Va-Q-tec AG's management board has extended the contract of CEO Dr. Joachim Kuhn, the company's founder, through Dec. 31, 2023.

• The South African utility Eskom has decided to scrap development of the 100MW Kiwano concentrated solar power plant and instead invest the money in battery storage.

• Pelican BioThermal has an opening for director of sales - Americas in the company's U.S. office in Plymouth, Minn. The director will "oversee all aspects of the growth and development of BioThermal market" in North and South America. Job candidates researching Peli may want to watch the company's latest videos, which show how to assemble the new CoolPall Flex temperature-controlled shipper.

• NorthVolt has an opening for a thermal/mechanical design engineer for battery system development at the company's office in Stockholm, Sweden. NorthVolt is building one of the first European large-scale lithium-ion battery factories.

• New from TMR Research: "Thermal Energy Storage Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Growth, and Forecast 2017 - 2025"

• New from QY Research: "Global Phase Change Materials (PCM) Market Professional Survey Report 2018"

• New from Reports and Markets: "Global Cold Chain Equipments Market Insights, Forecast to 2025"

• In an Imaginasium interview, Encapsys President Mary Goggans talks about the Appleton, Wis., microencapsulator's transition to a standalone company over the past two years.

From Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science:

• Thermal–hydraulic characteristics of ethylene glycol aqueous solutions containing microencapsulated paraffin

From Applied Thermal Engineering:

• Three-dimensional numerical and experimental investigation of the behavior of solar salts within thermal storage devices during phase change

From Renewable Energy:

• Numerical investigation on the effect of different parameters in enhancing heat transfer performance of photovoltaic thermal systems

From Energy Conversion and Management:

• Development of a calorific value controller using bimetal fin channel for PCM heat storage
• Experimental and numerical investigation for improving the thermal performance of a microencapsulated phase change material plasterboard

From Polymers:

• Fabrication and Performance of Composite Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials with Palmitic Acid Ethyl Ester as Core

From Cement and Concrete Composites:

• Elucidating the influences of compliant microscale inclusions on the fracture behavior of cementitious composites

From AIP Conference Proceedings:

• Simulation and validation of PCM melting in concentric double pipe heat exchanger
• Modeling and experimental validation of the thermal behavior of PCM using DSC input data
• Thermal behavior of melting paraffin wax process in cylindrical capsule by experimental study

From Energy and Buildings:

• A novel building material with low thermal conductivity: Rapid synthesis of foam concrete reinforced silica aerogel and energy performance simulation

From International Journal of Thermal Sciences:

• An experimental and a numerical analysis of the dynamic behavior of PCM-27 included inside a vertical enclosure: Application in space heating purposes

From Journal of Molecular Liquids:

• Thermal conductivity enhancement in organic phase change material (phenol-water system) upon addition of Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2 nano-inclusions

From Applied Thermal Engineering:

• Experimental and numerical investigations of nano-additives enhanced paraffin in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger: A comparative study
• Three-dimensional numerical and experimental investigation of the behavior of solar salts within thermal storage devices during phase change

From Energy Conversion and Management:

• Formulation of a model predictive control algorithm to enhance the performance of a latent heat solar thermal system
• Performance assessment of a new hydrogen cooled prismatic battery pack arrangement for hydrogen hybrid electric vehicles

From Carbohydrate Polymers:

• Chitosan composite microencapsulated comb-like polymeric phase change material via coacervation microencapsulation

From Renewable Energy:

• Analytical Considerations on Optimization of Cascaded Heat Transfer Process for Thermal Storage System with Principles of Thermodynamics

From Proceedings of Microscopy & Microanalysis 2018:

• In-Situ TEM Observation of Crystallization in Phase-Change Material