New use of technology could make refrigerators cheaper and more respectful of the environment, according to a report.
National refrigerators and freezers consumed almost 4% of global electricity in 2019, According to an estimateSo an innovation that considerably reduces their use of electricity would not be insignificant.
Research by the University of Huazhong sciences and technology has shown that thermalvinic technology has promising potential as a cooling mechanism and could be a lasting alternative to steam compression technology now used in most Refrigerators.
“Thermalvinic cooling with a potential carbon footprint is a technology adapted to the environment, which will promote carbon neutrality if their use became generalized,” said the main study of the study, Jiangjiang Duan.
The study also revealed that technology could be extended to various applications, from portable cooling devices to industrial quality scenarios.
“Thermalvanic technology is on the way for our lives, either in the form of clean electricity or low -power cooling, and research and commercial communities should be careful,” said Duan.
Thermalvanic cells use the heat produced by reversible chemical reactions to create an electrical power. The researchers found This thermalvanic hydrogelFor example, could be used to keep a mobile phone battery in the fridge while transforming waste heat into electricity.
In theory, the reversal of this process allows the generation of cooling power, but previous studies have shown that this effect had limited potential. By optimizing the chemicals used in the process, the researchers found that they were able to improve the cooling power of the 70%hydrogalvanic cell.
The electricity used to supply the refrigerators combined with gas leaks from refrigerators and freezers in the atmosphere makes it an important source of greenhouse emissions. Fifty percent of British food refrigeration emissions come from electrical energy, with 37% of British food refrigeration electrical emissions, according to a study published by the International refrigeration newspaper.
Future research by this team will include optimization of the system design and investigate another potential commercial use.
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“Although our advanced electrolyte is commercially viable, other efforts in the design, scalability and stability in the system are necessary to promote the practical application of this technology,” said Duan.
“In the future, we aim to continuously improve the thermalvanic cooling performance by exploring new mechanisms and advanced materials. We are also trying to develop various refrigerator prototypes to potential application scenarios and seeks to collaborate with companies to promote the marketing of thermalvanic technologies. »»