SOLICE - The Cooler SOLar ICE Maker

AI Quick Summary

The lack of a sustainable cold chain for remote communities is a major challenge that our society must address to reduce food loss, decrease poverty, and support local economies. Our technology can help meet this need by making carbon-free ice with solar thermal energy. We designed and tested an ice maker which combines our thermal panel with readily available materials to drive a refrigeration cycle. This reliable solar ice maker can boost the development of a resilient cold chain for remote areas. IntroductionA sustainable and affordable cold chain is a major challenge which our society must address to reduce food loss, decrease poverty, and support circular local economies among disadvantaged and marginalized communities. In their latest cold chain report, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) exhorts governments, industry, and other stakeholders to identify and develop new cooling solutions using a holistic approach to meet future demand and emission targets. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the crucial role of the cold chain in distributing medicines and vaccines to the farthest corners of the globe. Our solar thermal ice maker will aid in solving the lack of access to affordable, dependable, and sustainable cold chains for low-infrastructure and/or remote communities.ScopeWorking from this framework, we have built an ice maker capable of supplying ice and cooling for small scale applications in remote and/or grid-isolated areas. This prototype could contribute to maintaining the quality, nutritional value, and safety of food products. The ice maker would also strengthen the cold chain for vaccine distribution by freezing the standard ice packs used in portable cold boxes or vaccine carriers. By providing a renewable source of cold, we eliminate CO2 emissions from standard fuel sources. The lack of complex electrical or mechanical components in our system reduces the CO2 emissions during manufacturing along our entire supply chain. With the only consumable of the system being the water required to produce ice, our ongoing energy costs and emissions are minimal. Moreover, the access to sustainable cooling boosts the reduction of CO2 emissions from food loss and waste that were estimated at 1 gigaton of CO2 equivalent in 2017. This simple ice maker brings a large socioeconomic impact. From a holistic perspective, this solution decreases emissions from food waste, refrigeration, and agriculture while reducing food loss and boosting local economies. A refrigeration system driven by a renewable energy source builds resilience to unpredictable external forces and increases a community’s independence from grid electricity. From a social view, access to cooling technology is an important strategy to combat gender inequality. According to FAO reports, women in developing countries and remote communities are often responsible for most food preparation and domestic maintenance, this could have a significant positive impact by offering them more opportunity to engage in educational or economic activities for their own benefit.Furthermore, our proposed solution is beneficial on a local level with small-scale farmers, fishermen, dairies, merchants, and mountain communities, as a few examples. On an international level, this solar cooling device could be integrated into the Swiss framework for international cooperation and development.Our end users are small communities in remote or low-infrastructure areas. We also aim to collaborate with government agencies and NGOs to distribute our solution to the locations where we can have the most effective impact, to assist with international development and emissions reductions targets. ProjectOur team is designing a second prototype solar ice maker based on our commercial panel technology. Our revolutionary high vacuum panel has the highest Solar Keymark-certified sun-to-thermal efficiency, and it provides a reliable heat source without requiring regular mechanical maintenance or cleaning. Taking advantage of a standard adsorption refrigeration cycle, the solar thermal panel drives a thermochemical reaction involving a solid-gas (adsorber/adsorbate) couple to produce cold. Different chemical couples are proposed for the adsorption refrigeration loop: ammonia/metal chlorides or methanol/activated carbon are two examples. The system includes a high vacuum panel with a bed adsorber, a condenser, and an evaporator. The ice maker is built using commercial plumbing products (pipes, valves, bottles, etc.) and it has a compact, modular design. The ice maker will work in an intermittent cycle as follows:· During the day: the absorber and refrigerant mixture is heated in the adsorption chamber, which causes the refrigerant to desorb from the adsorber and return to the gas phase. The gaseous refrigerant is then directed to the condenser, where it is cooled and condensed into a liquid which flows into the evaporator.· During the night: the refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator, adsorbing heat and cooling the surrounding area. The gaseous refrigerant then travels from the evaporator to the adsorption chamber, where it is re-adsorbed by the adsorber. This removes the refrigerant from the gas phase, creating a vacuum in the evaporator and allowing the refrigeration process to continue.This process is repeated each day, allowing the system to provide a consistent cooling effect.Standard solar direct drive (SDD) refrigerators function using photovoltaic (PV) panels, mechanical devices (compressors, pumps), and batteries. These components require technicians to install, commission and maintain, and these qualified workers are not always available in remote areas. Moreover, because these SDD devices consist of several mechanical and electrical parts, they have an increased probability of failures or malfunctions. Other solutions based on solar thermal technology are also in use, and they typically use parabolic trough solar collectors to drive the refrigeration cycle in an efficient manner. As with PV systems, the presence of electromechanical components (tracking system) and the requirement for regular cleaning of the parabolic mirrors introduce significant system costs.In contrast, our ice maker’s simple configuration will work as assembled, removing the need for commissioning efforts. Thanks to the absence of electromechanical parts, our prototype has a reduced number of failure points and is a significantly more reliable source of ice. As the components are all off-the-shelf and standard, the solar thermal ice maker would be delivered as a standardized package to further simplify installation and operation. Our panels are also manufactured and tested in the EU according to EU environmental and performance standards, which allows us to comprehensively control and document our environmental impact.Status and further activitiesWe have already constructed a proof-of-concept prototype using an older version of our panel with a smaller solar absorption area. This prototype combined our technology with generic components, demonstrating the feasibility of the ice maker concept. Our intention is to build an upgraded prototype using the commercial version of our panel, which doubles the absorption area, leading to significantly greater cooling capacity. Based on our calculations, the solar ice maker will produce 8-10 kg of ice per day/night cycle. Moreover, this upgrade will incorporate the needs of our intended end users, aiming to simplify the assembly and usage of the system while lowering the overall cost. We plan for three work packages:1. Test different adsorber/adsorbate pairs, choose the option with the highest performance, and design the physical structure of the system.2. Manufacture and assess the new prototype under laboratory conditions.3. Evaluate the new prototype under real-world conditions.4. (Pre)Assess priority markets and local sales partnersWe hope and expect that the Energy Lab can help to provide feedback from the scientific community in the improvement of our project in these development phases. Once complete, Energy Lab will be key in promoting and providing visibility for this global quality of life-improving project.

Project Idea Metadata

Project Idea Name: SOLICE - The Cooler SOLar ICE Maker
Date: 3/2/2023 3:47:47 PM
Administrators:
- Matteo Monti

Project Idea Description

Introduction

A sustainable and affordable cold chain is a major challenge which our society must address to reduce food loss, decrease poverty, and support circular local economies among disadvantaged and marginalized communities. In their latest cold chain report, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) exhorts governments, industry, and other stakeholders to identify and develop new cooling solutions using a holistic approach to meet future demand and emission targets. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the crucial role of the cold chain in distributing medicines and vaccines to the farthest corners of the globe. Our solar thermal ice maker will aid in solving the lack of access to affordable, dependable, and sustainable cold chains for low-infrastructure and/or remote communities.

Scope

Working from this framework, we have built an ice maker capable of supplying ice and cooling for small scale applications in remote and/or grid-isolated areas. This prototype could contribute to maintaining the quality, nutritional value, and safety of food products. The ice maker would also strengthen the cold chain for vaccine distribution by freezing the standard ice packs used in portable cold boxes or vaccine carriers. By providing a renewable source of cold, we eliminate CO₂ emissions from standard fuel sources. The lack of complex electrical or mechanical components in our system reduces the CO₂ emissions during manufacturing along our entire supply chain. With the only consumable of the system being the water required to produce ice, our ongoing energy costs and emissions are minimal. Moreover, the access to sustainable cooling boosts the reduction of CO₂ emissions from food loss and waste that were estimated at 1 gigaton of CO₂ equivalent in 2017.

This simple ice maker brings a large socioeconomic impact. From a holistic perspective, this solution decreases emissions from food waste, refrigeration, and agriculture while reducing food loss and boosting local economies. A refrigeration system driven by a renewable energy source builds resilience to unpredictable external forces and increases a community’s independence from grid electricity. From a social view, access to cooling technology is an important strategy to combat gender inequality. According to FAO reports, women in developing countries and remote communities are often responsible for most food preparation and domestic maintenance, this could have a significant positive impact by offering them more opportunity to engage in educational or economic activities for their own benefit.

Furthermore, our proposed solution is beneficial on a local level with small-scale farmers, fishermen, dairies, merchants, and mountain communities, as a few examples. On an international level, this solar cooling device could be integrated into the Swiss framework for international cooperation and development.

Our end users are small communities in remote or low-infrastructure areas. We also aim to collaborate with government agencies and NGOs to distribute our solution to the locations where we can have the most effective impact, to assist with international development and emissions reductions targets.

Project

Our team is designing a second prototype solar ice maker based on our commercial panel technology. Our revolutionary high vacuum panel has the highest Solar Keymark-certified sun-to-thermal efficiency, and it provides a reliable heat source without requiring regular mechanical maintenance or cleaning. Taking advantage of a standard adsorption refrigeration cycle, the solar thermal panel drives a thermochemical reaction involving a solid-gas (adsorber/adsorbate) couple to produce cold. Different chemical couples are proposed for the adsorption refrigeration loop: ammonia/metal chlorides or methanol/activated carbon are two examples. The system includes a high vacuum panel with a bed adsorber, a condenser, and an evaporator. The ice maker is built using commercial plumbing products (pipes, valves, bottles, etc.) and it has a compact, modular design. The ice maker will work in an intermittent cycle as follows:

· During the day: the absorber and refrigerant mixture is heated in the adsorption chamber, which causes the refrigerant to desorb from the adsorber and return to the gas phase. The gaseous refrigerant is then directed to the condenser, where it is cooled and condensed into a liquid which flows into the evaporator.

· During the night: the refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator, adsorbing heat and cooling the surrounding area. The gaseous refrigerant then travels from the evaporator to the adsorption chamber, where it is re-adsorbed by the adsorber. This removes the refrigerant from the gas phase, creating a vacuum in the evaporator and allowing the refrigeration process to continue.

This process is repeated each day, allowing the system to provide a consistent cooling effect.

Standard solar direct drive (SDD) refrigerators function using photovoltaic (PV) panels, mechanical devices (compressors, pumps), and batteries. These components require technicians to install, commission and maintain, and these qualified workers are not always available in remote areas. Moreover, because these SDD devices consist of several mechanical and electrical parts, they have an increased probability of failures or malfunctions. Other solutions based on solar thermal technology are also in use, and they typically use parabolic trough solar collectors to drive the refrigeration cycle in an efficient manner. As with PV systems, the presence of electromechanical components (tracking system) and the requirement for regular cleaning of the parabolic mirrors introduce significant system costs.

In contrast, our ice maker’s simple configuration will work as assembled, removing the need for commissioning efforts. Thanks to the absence of electromechanical parts, our prototype has a reduced number of failure points and is a significantly more reliable source of ice. As the components are all off-the-shelf and standard, the solar thermal ice maker would be delivered as a standardized package to further simplify installation and operation. Our panels are also manufactured and tested in the EU according to EU environmental and performance standards, which allows us to comprehensively control and document our environmental impact.

Status and further activities

We have already constructed a proof-of-concept prototype using an older version of our panel with a smaller solar absorption area. This prototype combined our technology with generic components, demonstrating the feasibility of the ice maker concept. Our intention is to build an upgraded prototype using the commercial version of our panel, which doubles the absorption area, leading to significantly greater cooling capacity. Based on our calculations, the solar ice maker will produce 8-10 kg of ice per day/night cycle. Moreover, this upgrade will incorporate the needs of our intended end users, aiming to simplify the assembly and usage of the system while lowering the overall cost. We plan for three work packages:

1. Test different adsorber/adsorbate pairs, choose the option with the highest performance, and design the physical structure of the system.

2. Manufacture and assess the new prototype under laboratory conditions.

3. Evaluate the new prototype under real-world conditions.

4. (Pre)Assess priority markets and local sales partners

We hope and expect that the Energy Lab can help to provide feedback from the scientific community in the improvement of our project in these development phases. Once complete, Energy Lab will be key in promoting and providing visibility for this global quality of life-improving project.