Thermal storage based on phase change materials (PCMs) for refrigerated transport and distribution applications along the cold chain: A review

• Published in: International Journal of Thermofluids 2022-11, Vol.16, p.100224, Article 100224
• Main Authors: Calati, Michele, Hooman, Kamel, Mancin, Simone
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cold chain; Energy management; Perishable food; Phase change material; Refrigerated transport; Review
• ISSN: 2666-2027; 2666-2027
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijft.2022.100224

•A review of the PCM-based LTES systems for refrigerated transport and cold distribution applications is presented.•For the refrigerated vehicles, three different PCM-based LTES are proposed: supplementing the insulation wall, included in the refrigeration equipment, or as eutectic plates.•The LTES system is able to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and the operational costs.•The research path to be followed aiming at filling the existing gap is suggested. Foodstuff has to be transported from where it is produced or packaged to the market. It is important to control the temperature and humidity of the delivered food to minimize the waste and ensure customer satisfaction. At the same time, unfortunately, the transport sector is among the polluting sectors. Therefore, innovative solutions have been proposed such as the adoption of Latent Thermal Energy Storage (LTES) systems based on Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to control the food temperature. Such systems minimize the fuel consumption and thereby reduce the emission. LTES systems rely on the phase change process to absorb and store heat in a more sustainable way while ensuring a nearly constant temperature for the foodstuff while being transported. Hence, we first present a general overview of the application of PCMs at low temperatures. Then, the literature on the adoption of PCMs in the refrigerated transport sector is critically surveyed. Different proposals offered in the literature are recovered, compared, and critically assessed based on their merits. Despite the differences between the proposed technologies, significant advantages in terms of temperature uniformity in the refrigerated space, product thermal stress reduction, product quality, energy consumption, and pollutant emissions reduction are reported in the literature as surveyed in this paper. [Display omitted]