Numerical Analysis of an Off-Grid Cold Room with Latent Energy Storage for Food Preservation

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that more than 1/3 of the food produced annually, about 1,3 billion tons, is wasted and that more than 800 million people worldwide suffer from malnutrition, Waste of perishable food is mainly associated to numerous weaknesses in the cold chain, from the very first stages of crop preservation to storage at the final retailers. The economic implications of those inefficiencies are estimated to generate losses for 940 billion $ every year and that contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission with around 4.4 Gton of CO2 eq/year, the 2.5% of the total amount. Latent thermal energy storages (LTESs), based on phase change materials (PCMs), represent a technology that could bring positive effects in terms of greenhouse gas emission reduction if coupled with renewable energy sources. Moreover, LTESs could serve as a flexible way to solve the current issues of the cold chain, especially in developing countries. This work investigates a novel concept of cold room coupled with a LTES filled with water powered only by photovoltaic panels as a viable solution for food storage and conservation in developing countries. The numerical study investigates the transient behavior of the cold room using TRNsys in different locations of Africa and Italy. The results will explore the interaction between the cold room, the photovoltaic field and L TES to develop simplified tools for the design of the different components.