Adsorption Cooling-energy Conversion with Encapsulated Sorbents (ACCESS)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: Chemical Engineering
Abstract
Cooling energy is a vital foundation of modern society for refrigeration and air conditioning processes of various kinds. Currently cooling consumes up to 14% of the UK's electricity, with an annual cost of more than £5 billion. Therefore only the use of solar thermal energy or low-grade waste heat instead of electricity to generate cold can lead to a sustainable way of cooling. However both present absorption refrigeration and adsorption refrigeration technologies are unsuitable for domestic application due to their complexity and inefficiency.
This project will develop a new adsorption approach that combines the advantages of absorption processes and adsorption processes by encapsulating the liquid sorbents. The encapsulated sorbents offer not only a much higher sorption quantity but also a much higher sorption rate, which in combination enables the adsorption refrigeration system to be more compact and efficient for domestic applications.
This project will address different levels of the scientific and technological challenges of such a new adsorption cooling technology. At a material level a two-step microencapsulation-coating approach will be developed to produce encapsulated sorbents. At the device level, the adsorption/desorption dynamics of a sorption bed based on encapsulated sorbents will be investigated both numerically and experimentally to achieve optimal designs. At a system level, an advanced system will be developed with encapsulated sorbents and related sorption beds. A lab-scale integrated system will also be constructed to investigate and demonstrate its performance for domestic applications.
This project will develop a new adsorption approach that combines the advantages of absorption processes and adsorption processes by encapsulating the liquid sorbents. The encapsulated sorbents offer not only a much higher sorption quantity but also a much higher sorption rate, which in combination enables the adsorption refrigeration system to be more compact and efficient for domestic applications.
This project will address different levels of the scientific and technological challenges of such a new adsorption cooling technology. At a material level a two-step microencapsulation-coating approach will be developed to produce encapsulated sorbents. At the device level, the adsorption/desorption dynamics of a sorption bed based on encapsulated sorbents will be investigated both numerically and experimentally to achieve optimal designs. At a system level, an advanced system will be developed with encapsulated sorbents and related sorption beds. A lab-scale integrated system will also be constructed to investigate and demonstrate its performance for domestic applications.
Planned Impact
The impact of the research will be wide and varied. It is highly relevant to various sectors including: (i) Academics: The fundamental investigation on encapsulated sorbents will benefit the research in microencapsulation, new sorbents synthesis, heat and mass transfer process intensification, CO2 capture, gas separation etc.; (ii) Industry: Cooling equipment companies will be able to develop more efficient and compact products; Other cold related industries will also be able to integrate the technology to their existing systems for more efficient operation; (iii) Government and Society: Household electrical energy consumption will be reduced to decrease the electricity bill, which as a whole will contribute to UK's emissions reduction. Furthermore UK will be placed a leading position for even bigger international markets; (iv) the cross-boundary nature of the project will attract students' passion and excite students' creativity to this field.
The academic impact will be achieved by article publications and conferences/events. We will keep publishing our findings in a timely manner in top peer-reviewed journals and conferences. We will also report our outcomes to other relevant programmes such as i-Stute and SuperGen programme to attract attentions in this new area. The industrial and governmental impacts are achievable through direct knowledge transfer. The outcomes from the proposed work will be patentable, for which the existing exploitation mechanisms of the University of Birmingham will be used. Patents will be considered prior to any publications. We will then continue communicating results and engaging with not only the project partners, but also other potential industrial partners. Our outcomes will also be disseminated through various knowledge transfer networks as well as application-oriented magazines to maximize the impact.
We will put mechanisms in place to ensure that each member of the team benefit from the development of their career into new areas resulting in new publications, collaborations, exposure and skills. In particular, we shall pay specific attention to the training of PDRFs with a goal of their development into independent researchers. The project will also support the training and development of visiting scholars in the related aspects at the University of Birmingham.
The academic impact will be achieved by article publications and conferences/events. We will keep publishing our findings in a timely manner in top peer-reviewed journals and conferences. We will also report our outcomes to other relevant programmes such as i-Stute and SuperGen programme to attract attentions in this new area. The industrial and governmental impacts are achievable through direct knowledge transfer. The outcomes from the proposed work will be patentable, for which the existing exploitation mechanisms of the University of Birmingham will be used. Patents will be considered prior to any publications. We will then continue communicating results and engaging with not only the project partners, but also other potential industrial partners. Our outcomes will also be disseminated through various knowledge transfer networks as well as application-oriented magazines to maximize the impact.
We will put mechanisms in place to ensure that each member of the team benefit from the development of their career into new areas resulting in new publications, collaborations, exposure and skills. In particular, we shall pay specific attention to the training of PDRFs with a goal of their development into independent researchers. The project will also support the training and development of visiting scholars in the related aspects at the University of Birmingham.
Publications
Zhao Y
(2020)
Performance of a liquid cooling-based battery thermal management system with a composite phase change material
in International Journal of Energy Research
Zhang Y
(2020)
Hydrocolloids: Nova materials assisting encapsulation of volatile phase change materials for cryogenic energy transport and storage
in Chemical Engineering Journal
Zhang Y
(2019)
Polysaccharide assisted microencapsulation for volatile phase change materials with a fluorescent retention indicator
in Chemical Engineering Journal
Zhang Y
(2022)
Cooling technologies for data centres and telecommunication base stations - A comprehensive review
in Journal of Cleaner Production
Zhang Y
(2019)
Converting Capsules to Sensors for Nondestructive Analysis: From Cargo-Responsive Self-Sensing to Functional Characterization.
in ACS applied materials & interfaces
Zhang Y
(2020)
Improved volatile cargo retention and mechanical properties of capsules via sediment-free in situ polymerization with cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) as an emulsifier
in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Yu Q
(2018)
Heat storage performance analysis and parameter design for encapsulated phase change materials
in Energy Conversion and Management
Yu Q
(2019)
Cooling performance improvement of impingement hybrid synthetic jets in a confined space with the aid of a fluid diode
in Applied Thermal Engineering
Yu Q
(2019)
Numerical study on energy and exergy performances of a microencapsulated phase change material slurry based photovoltaic/thermal module
in Energy Conversion and Management
Yu Q
(2018)
Thermo-mechanical analysis of microcapsules containing phase change materials for cold storage
in Applied Energy
Yu Q
(2018)
Theoretical analysis for heat exchange performance of transcritical nitrogen evaporator used for liquid air energy storage
in Applied Thermal Engineering
Yang R
(2021)
Numerical investigations on flow boiling heat transfer of ammonia water binary solution (NH3/H2O) in a horizontal microchannel
in International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Xu J
(2021)
A review of boiling heat transfer characteristics in binary mixtures
in International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Wang Y
(2020)
Enhancing deteriorated heat transfer of supercritical nitrogen in a vertical tube with wire matrix insert
in International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Vecchi A
(2021)
Liquid air energy storage (LAES): A review on technology state-of-the-art, integration pathways and future perspectives
in Advances in Applied Energy
Vecchi A
(2021)
Multi-energy liquid air energy storage: A novel solution for flexible operation of districts with thermal networks
in Energy Conversion and Management
Tafone A
(2017)
Techno-economic Analysis of a Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) for Cooling Application in Hot Climates
in Energy Procedia
Sun Q
(2020)
Functional phase change composites with highly efficient electrical to thermal energy conversion
in Renewable Energy
Suleiman B
(2022)
Microstructure and mechanical properties of cold sintered porous alumina ceramics
in Ceramics International
Suleiman B
(2019)
Fabrication of form stable NaCl-Al2O3 composite for thermal energy storage by cold sintering process
in Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering
She X
(2017)
Enhancement of round trip efficiency of liquid air energy storage through effective utilization of heat of compression
in Applied Energy
She X
(2019)
Preliminary study of Liquid Air Energy Storage integrated with LNG cold recovery
in Energy Procedia
She X
(2019)
Configuration optimization of stand-alone Liquid Air Energy Storage for efficiency improvement
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
She X
(2020)
Liquid Air Energy Storage for Decentralized Micro Energy Networks with Combined Cooling, Heating, Hot Water and Power Supply
in Journal of Thermal Science
Sciacovelli A
(2018)
Performance Analysis and Detailed Experimental Results of the First Liquid Air Energy Storage Plant in the World
in Journal of Energy Resources Technology
Ryu J
(2022)
A novel liquid air energy storage system using a combination of sensible and latent heat storage
in Applied Thermal Engineering
Rama S
(2019)
Encapsulation of 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol with tetraethyl orthosilicate for CO2 capture
in Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering
Peng X
(2018)
Thermodynamic study on the effect of cold and heat recovery on performance of liquid air energy storage
in Applied Energy
Peng X
(2019)
Liquid Air Energy Storage with LNG cold recovery for air liquefaction improvement
in Energy Procedia
Peng H
(2018)
n -Alkanes Phase Change Materials and Their Microencapsulation for Thermal Energy Storage: A Critical Review
in Energy & Fuels
Nie B
(2017)
Charging properties of a compact energy storage device for transport air conditioning applications
in Energy Procedia
Nie B
(2020)
Discharging performance enhancement of a phase change material based thermal energy storage device for transport air-conditioning applications
in Applied Thermal Engineering
Nie B
(2020)
Performance enhancement of a phase-change-material based thermal energy storage device for air-conditioning applications
in Energy and Buildings
Nie B
(2019)
Experimental study of charging a compact PCM energy storage device for transport application with dynamic exergy analysis
in Energy Conversion and Management
Negoescu C
(2017)
Heat transfer behaviour of supercritical nitrogen in the large specific heat region flowing in a vertical tube
in Energy
Muñoz-Sánchez B
(2018)
Rheology of Solar-Salt based nanofluids for concentrated solar power. Influence of the salt purity, nanoparticle concentration, temperature and rheometer geometry
in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Mustapha A
(2022)
A systematic study on the reaction mechanisms for the microencapsulation of a volatile phase change material (PCM) via one-step in situ polymerisation
in Chemical Engineering Science
Mustapha A
(2021)
Taguchi and ANOVA analysis for the optimization of the microencapsulation of a volatile phase change material
in Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Mustapha A
(2022)
Supercooling elimination of cryogenic-temperature microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCMs) and the rheological behaviors of their suspension
in Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Mustapha A
(2021)
Latent heat thermal energy storage: A bibliometric analysis explicating the paradigm from 2000-2019
in Journal of Energy Storage
Description | We had successfully developed a route and recipe for the formulation of microcapsules with selective permeability for sorption/desorption processes and also the potential applications in energy storage, refrigeration, and water-retaining pavement. |
Exploitation Route | Research publications |
Sectors | Chemicals Construction Energy |
Description | The research work of this project has also contributed to the formulation of an EPSRC-funded project GREEN-ICEs (EP/T022701/1), which also uses phase change slurry as a heat transfer fluid and a cold storage medium. The research outcomes from this project, together with another project EP/N000714/1 (Cryogenic-temperature Cold Storage using Micro-encapsulated Phase Change Materials in Slurries), have contributed significantly to the creation of a research and innovation staff exchange platform (CO-COOL) in collaboration with 17 academic and industrial partners globally. Part of the findings from this project were also used for a Master level module on sustainable cooling and energy storage at the University of Birmingham. |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Education,Energy |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | The Royal Society Briefing Note for COP26 - CLIMATE CHANGE : SCIENCE AND SOLUTIONS: Low-carbon heating and cooling: overcoming one of world's most important net zero challenges |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | (CO-COOL) - Collaborative development of renewable/thermally driven and storage-integrated cooling technologies |
Amount | € 892,400 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 101007976 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 05/2021 |
End | 05/2025 |
Description | (iclimabuilt) - Functional and advanced insulating and energy harvesting/storage materials across climate adaptive building envelopes |
Amount | € 16,431,778 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 952886 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 02/2025 |
Description | A multi-scale, high-resolution, tri-beam facility for fast machining and 3D characterisation |
Amount | £1,970,212 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/T031379/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 09/2025 |
Description | Flexible Air Source Heat pump for domestic heating decarbonisation (FASHION) |
Amount | £1,149,351 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/V042033/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2021 |
End | 08/2024 |
Description | Flow boiling heat transfer behavior of microencapsulated phase change materials slurry and its application on battery pack thermal management |
Amount | £6,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Birmingham |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2019 |
End | 07/2021 |
Description | GREEN-ICEs: Generation of REfrigerated ENergy Integrated with Cold Energy storage |
Amount | £1,204,098 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/T022701/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2020 |
End | 08/2024 |
Description | Heat Accumulation from Renewables with Valid Energy Storage and Transformation - HARVEST |
Amount | £1,504,773 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/V041665/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 03/2025 |
Description | Industrial project |
Amount | £52,808 (GBP) |
Organisation | Guangzhou HY Energy Technology Limited Corp |
Sector | Private |
Country | China |
Start | 03/2018 |
End | 03/2020 |
Description | Investigation of thermo-mechanical performance of PCM incorporated Geothermal Energy Pile (PCMinGEEP) |
Amount | £214,354 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S037349/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2019 |
End | 10/2022 |
Description | PATCH: Plasma Assisted Thermo-CHemical energy storage for Carnot batteries |
Amount | £1,065,178 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2022 |
End | 06/2024 |
Description | Solar-driven thermochemical fuel conversion from carbon dioxide for energy accumulation and storage |
Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 03/2023 |
Description | Supergen Storage Network Plus 2019 |
Amount | £1,012,009 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S032622/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2019 |
End | 09/2024 |
Description | The University of Birmingham and Aggregated Micro Power Holdings PLC |
Amount | £153,086 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 511767 |
Organisation | Innovate UK |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | UK-China Workshop on Renewable Energy and Latent Heat Storage Integration for Buildings |
Amount | £24,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 2019-RLWK11-10724 |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2020 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | nano-Structured PCM Composites for Compact Space Heating: n-CoSH |
Amount | £924,591 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/P003435/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2016 |
End | 04/2021 |
Company Name | Kelvin Thermotech Ltd |
Description | |
Year Established | 2019 |
Impact | Just started, to be updated next year |
Description | Advisory Board member of 'UK Thermal Energy Challenge Network' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | 50 participants each time to discuss the research needs and commercial opportunities of thermal energy technology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018 |
Description | BBC TV World News interview |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | It was about global cooling challenges |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | China-UK Workshop on Renewable Energy Systems in Zero Carbon Villages |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | I was the mentor of this event |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Energy Sub-Alliance in University Alliance of the Silk Road (ESA-UASR) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited as a Plenary Speaker to deliver a lecture entitled 'Microencapsulation of phase change materials for cold energy storage applications'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | IEA Task 36 - Carnot Batteries |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | This is an international Energy Agent activities, I led of the Sub-tasks, leading to a report to be submitted this month. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
URL | https://www.eces-a36.org/ |
Description | International Summer School Lecture - Shandong University, China |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | guest lecture entitled: Phase change based Thermal Energy Storage and applications |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | International Summer School Lectures - Tianjin University, China |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Development and applications of phase transition based thermal energy storage and conversion technologies |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Joint UK-China prospective workshop on Building Energy Efficiency |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | I was a mentor of this event held in Xi'an China |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | MSc module - Sustainable Cooling and the Cold Chain |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Give a guest lecture entitled: Overview of technologies for sustainable cooling and the cold chain |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |