We will introduce the Ionoral Chiller as a safer and more environmentally friendly way to reduce mercury.
A typical refrigeration system carries heat out of a space with a gas that cools as it expands over a distance. Although this process is efficient, some of the gases used are particularly harmful to the environment.
However, there is more than one way to force a material to absorb and expel thermal energy.
A new method, developed by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, states that energy is stored and released when matter changes phase, such as when solid ice turns into liquid water. It utilizes the fact that
If you raise the temperature of a block of ice, it will melt. What we don’t often see is that when it melts, it absorbs heat from its surroundings and cools down.
One way to melt ice without adding heat is to add a few charged particles, or ions. A classic example is the use of salt on roads to prevent freezing.
Ionic thermal cycles also use salts to change the phase of the fluid and cool the surroundings.
“The cooling water problem remains unsolved,” says Drew Lilly, a mechanical engineer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
“No one has succeeded in developing an alternative solution that cools, works efficiently, is safe and does not harm the environment.”
“Iono-Catholic Cycle believes that if done properly, it has the potential to achieve all these goals.”
Researchers have modeled the theory of the iono-Catholic cycle and demonstrated that efficiencies can be achieved that match or exceed those of current refrigerants.
When an electric current is passed through the material, the ions contained in it move, and the melting point of the material moves, resulting in a change in temperature.
Experiments were also conducted using iodine sodium salt to dissolve ethylene carbonate. It is a common organic solvent that is also used in lithium-ion batteries, and is manufactured by adding carbon dioxide.
This would not only result in a GWP (Global Warming Potential) of zero, but it could also be negative.
Experiments have measured a temperature change of 25 degrees (45 degrees Fahrenheit) with a charge of less than 1 volt, a result that surpasses other heating technologies to date.
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