The role of heterogeneous nucleation in water based phase change material for medium temperature refrigeration

This paper presents an experimental investigation on effects of corn oil to ice nucleation phenomenon of a corn oil - water solution immersed in a tank containing super-cooled liquid mixture of water and propylene glycol. Temperature of water and propylene glycol mixture was to be maintained as low as -20 °C. The corn oil-water solution is a new PCM candidate to be investigated for medium temperature refrigeration applications. Thermal energy storage characteristics of the PCM candidate were established and tested at various concentrations using a T-history method. Ice nucleation below freezing point in water/ice at temperatures ranging from -6 °C to -4 °C was induced by mixing corn oil with water to form an oil-water solution. As most of the solution consisted of water, this PCM became a strong candidate for under 0 °C applications. The PCM should be capable to maintain product temperatures of a medium temperature refrigeration system between -1 °C and +5 °C.