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Applications of Nano Materials in Cold Storage: Usage of Nano Particles in Cold Storage

Applications of Nano Materials in Cold Storage: Usage of Nano Particles in Cold Storage

Kapilan N. (Nagarjuna College of Engineering and Technology, India) and Vidhya P. (SRSMN Government First Grade College, India)
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-5563-7.ch014
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Abstract

Nano particles (NPs) have superior properties and hence can be used for various applications. The cold storage is most widely used in the preservation of agricultural and horticultural products. The cold storage maybe operated by vapour compression or vapour absorption cooling system. The operating cost of this system can be reduced by using renewable energy systems and thermal energy storage systems. The NPs are used to increase the performance of renewable energy and thermal storage systems. In recent years, phase change materials are used to increase heat transfer rate in solar cold storage units. The NPs can be used to absorb the ethylene gas produced during storage of fruits, so that the shelf life, freshness, firmness, and texture of the fruits can be maintained for longer storage duration. The NPs coatings also increases the shelf life and freshness of the fruits. This chapter discusses NPs, types of NPs, basics of cold storage systems, use of NPs in solar integrated cold storage, and effect of NPs coatings on fruits stored in cold storage.
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Parts Of Cold Storage System

The major parts of cold storage systems are components of vapour compression refrigeration (VCR) or vapour absorption refrigeration (VAR) systems. In VCR based system, the major components used are compressor, condenser, evaporator, wind curtain and door. The compressor supplies the driving force to the cold storage system and may be called as heart of cold storage. It increases the pressure of the refrigerant and ensures its circulation in the system. It consumes lot of energy and energy efficient compressors are used. The compressor compresses the refrigerant vapour and the compressed refrigerant vapour is condensed into liquid refrigerant using condenser. Air or water is used as the cooling medium in the condenser. The water cooled condenser is compact as compared to air cooled condenser. The liquid refrigerant is allowed to expand in the expansion device and after expansion the pressure and temperature reduces. The low temperature refrigerant flows in the evaporator or ceiling unit and absorbs the heat from the cold storage and produces the cooling effect. The anti-moisture fan provided in the cold storage circulates room air into the evaporator coils. The wind curtain is located at the top of the door and blows the air such that cold air loss is minimized. The cold storage unit door is made of low thermal conductivity materials to reduce heat loss. In VAR based system is similar to VCR system and it uses generator, pump and absorber unit instead of compressor. A typical cold storage unit is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Typical Cold Storage Unit

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