The Application of Barocaloric Solid-State Cooling in the Cold Food Chain for Carbon Footprint Reduction

Luca Cirillo, Adriana Greco and Claudia Masselli ()
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Luca Cirillo: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Adriana Greco: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Claudia Masselli: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: In this paper, the application of solid-state cooling based on the barocaloric effect in the cold food supply chain is investigated. Barocaloric solid-state technology is applied to the final links of the cold food supply chain regarding the steps of retail and domestic conservation. In this context, effective barocaloric cooling entails the refrigeration of food at 5 °C (273 K) and as such is a promising cooling technology due to its energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. The categories of food involved in this investigation are meat and fresh food products like soft cheese, yogurt, and milk. The energy performance of the barocaloric system is analyzed and compared with a commercial vapor compression refrigerator of a similar size, both operating using R600a under the same working conditions. Based on the results of this comparison, it is concluded that barocaloric cooling is a favorable technology for application in the final links of the cold food supply chain if the system operates in an ABR cycle at frequencies between 1.25 and 1.50 Hz with a regenerator comprising acetoxy silicone rubber as the solid-state refrigerant and a 50%EG–50% water mixture as the heat transfer fluid flowing at an optimal velocity of 0.15 m s −1 . Thus, an appropriate tradeoff between the temperature span, cooling power, and coefficient of performance is guaranteed. Under these conditions, the barocaloric system outperforms the domestic vapor compression cooler operating using R600a.

Keywords: barocaloric; food supply chain; carbon footprint reduction; solid-state cooling; energy saving (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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