WO2010076434A1

WO2010076434A1 - Natural cooling and heating device, and cover thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2010076434A1
Application number: PCT/FR2009/001487
Authority: WO
Inventors: François DUCROCQ; Kim Huynh
Original assignee: Ducrocq Francois; Kim Huynh
Priority date: 2008-12-31
Filing date: 2009-12-30
Publication date: 2010-07-08

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigerating or heating energy-accumulating device (fig. 6-1) including a cover and a mixture of sphagnum and water at least optionally with halides for lowering the eutectic point (fig. 6-2), particularly for transporting parcels to be maintained at a constant temperature, or to be applied on a human or animal body so as to provide a dry cooling or soft heating sensation. The outer surface of the cover is formed by a humidity-absorbing layer, in particular for absorbing condensation. The layer is typically a non-woven one, optionally made of wool felt. Accordingly, the device is a heat or cold accumulator that can be theoretically endlessly reused, and which is entirely natural except for the cover which is considered to be recyclable.

Description

"Cooling and heating device, natural, and its envelope"

The present invention relates to a completely ecological energy refrigerating and heating accumulator refrigerant device, theoretically reusable to infinity. The present invention also relates to these refrigeration energy storage devices included in their envelope.

It is known that refrigeration energy storage devices are used to store objects such as fresh products, medicines, electronic products, biological samples, reagents, etc. for a given time and at a given temperature. The maintenance at constant temperature is carried out by bringing together in a preferably isothermal packaging the products to be preserved and the refrigeration energy storage device or devices in which a refrigerant material has been placed. A package is thus formed in which the heat-sensitive products are kept at a controlled temperature for a duration at least equal to that provided for transport.

Such devices can also be used for refreshing the human or animal body and relieving pain.

The refrigerant material used for the device is subjected before its use to a reversible transformation such as solidification. It is then the inverse transformation of the refrigerating material which will absorb calories and thus keep a temperature very close to the point of eutexia throughout the duration of the transformation.

According to a known embodiment, the refrigerating energy storage device is a flexible envelope of plastic in which is inserted a refrigerant material, in particular a eutectic gel.

Among the latest patent applications filed on this subject, Application No. 0853803 filed by Lisotherme (June 09, 2008) discloses a refrigerating device provided with a condensation-absorbing envelope generated. According to other known embodiments, the refrigeration energy storage device is a rigid envelope generally HDPE high density polyethylene and is called eutectic flask,

A disadvantage of the devices known to date, is that the refrigerant material consists mostly of a sodium polyacrylate type polymer or other which has the disadvantage of generating environmental nuisance. True, this product is known and widely used in industry and agriculture. For example, it is used in the composition of absorbents of baby diapers. However, its decomposition is not obvious if the product is not exposed to solar radiation and its long-term consequences are not known. In agriculture for example, if it is authorized in Spain as a water retencher, this is not the case in France.

The idea underlying the present invention is to eliminate any adverse environmental impact in the use of refrigerants. According to the invention, the refrigerant material is characterized in that its composition is that of a fairly widespread plant, a kind of bryophyte moss: sphagnum (genus: sphagnum, family: sphagnaceae, order: sphagnales, class: Sphagnopsida; embankment: Musci, branch, Bryophyta). Thus, the new refrigerant, mainly for freight forwarders, e-traders, pharmaceutical companies does not disperse any nuisance.

Another advantage is that the device in case of piercing or when used can still be useful in many very different fields:

- it can be used as an amendment for the cultivation of bonzai

- it can be used to eliminate odors from cat litter

- it can be used to protect plants from frost in gardens

- it can be used to protect the fruit trees foot

- (...)

Other bryophyte plants such as moss do not work the same way and do not have the same performance as sphagnum moss. A explanation can be found in the potential hydrogen sphagnum that is acidic. In addition, sphagnum flourishes fully in aqueous media, prior to peat formation.

The proportion of sphagnum in a sachet is of the order of 5% relative to the weight of water that should be added. So by comparing a sachet filled with water for example 1 liter and a sachet filled with sphagnum and water for a total of 1 kg including 5% sphagnum, one immediately notices the greater efficiency of sphagnum compared to with water: sphagnum restores the cold much longer, in other words, its enthalpy of fusion is definitely greater than that of water (figurel).

Compared to a more conventional refrigerant, the point of eutexia, ie the phase change point of the sphagnum-water mixture, that is to say still the point of passage from the solid state to the state liquid is less marked and it is higher in temperature, most often around 4 to 5 ⁰ C. Nevertheless its cold load is mostly equivalent until a rise in temperature of 8 °, to chemical refrigerants classics. (Figure 2),

The mixture rises slowly in temperature and the acceleration phase of the rise in temperature at the end of the cycle is less pronounced than with a conventional refrigerant, (FIG. 2)

Its efficiency is equivalent to the best conventional refrigerants produced in the state of the art until a rise in temperature of 8 °. Beyond this, it is more efficient and up to 15 ° C, it is about 30% more efficient than the refrigerant claisse (Figure 2).

However, as its eutexia point is higher than that of the conventional refrigerant, it should be lowered. For that, it is wise to use a natural solution based on halides. The simplest is to use sodium, but it is also possible to use products such as calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, etc. (Figure 3)

The refrigerant envelope is variable. It can consist of a PA / PE-polyamide / polyethylene or other materials such as PET / metal / PE - polyethylene terephthalate / metal / polyethylene or PE / PA / PE. The solution the most judicious is to take advantage of the latest developments in this area with the use of a shell absorbing condensation. Thus, the efficiency of the assembly is increased by about 20% with the effect of absorption of the coating. (Figure 2)

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description of an example of implementation which is in no way limiting, and the attached drawings:

The figure shows a comparative temperature curve between the effectiveness of restitution of cold by frozen water and sphagnum mixed with water and frozen

Fig. 2 is a comparative temperature curve between a condensation absorber bag containing a conventional refrigerant and a condensation absorber bag containing sphagnum;

FIG. 3 illustrates the temporal evolution of the temperature of a device according to the invention, that is to say with sphagnum and sodium chloride and a device according to the invention with sphagnum without sodium chloride;

Figure 4 illustrates the temporal evolution of the temperature of a device according to the invention with sphagnum and deionized water and sphagnum with tap water.

Figure 5 illustrates the differences in the effectiveness of restitution of the cold, according to the density of sphagnum included in a sachet

Figure 6 shows an overview of the envelope containing sphagnum tear.

The invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

In Figure 6, the device 1 according to the invention consists of a refrigerant material, sphagnum and water 2, which acts as a eutectic gel, and an envelope 3. The envelope 3 completely covers the sphagnum and water 2 and tightly encloses it with flat seals around the periphery of the bag in this example. In use, the device 1 is subjected to a sufficiently low temperature so that the refrigerant material 2 undergoes a reversible transformation, for example a solidification. The device is then placed close to products to be refrigerated, in particular to maintain at a temperature below room temperature. In general, the device (s) and the products are housed in a package filled with thermal insulation. The inverse transformation (softening or liquefaction) of the refrigerant material 2 is endothermic and then makes it possible to maintain the device (s) 1 and the products at a temperature very close to the eutexte point throughout the duration of the transformation. The eutexia point is also a function of the quality of the water. Thus a deionized water will make it possible to raise the eutexie point of the refrigerant, compared to a city water.

For city water, the rise during the defrosting phase takes place between 3 and 10 °, whereas for a deionized water, it can be from 5 ° to 12 ° (Figure 4).

The casing 3 is preferably formed by laminating a plastic film and an outer coating to absorb moisture.

To make the refrigerant, dry sphagnum must be inserted, which will then swell with the addition of water and return to a normal volume comparable to that of the perennial plant.

The peat moss used is dried beforehand. It is a dehydrated dead plant.

Subsequently, the water which has been previously mixed with sodium chloride or other halide is introduced. The salt must be in sufficient quantity to lower the eutexia point of water and sphagnum to about 2 °. The proportion of salt will thus be of the order of 5% of the weight of water (FIG. 3).

The density of Sphagnum can be of the order of 5% also. Beyond it becomes more difficult to industrialize and needs to be compressed in the bag for receiving the refrigerant. In terms of effectiveness, the cold pack with 5% sphagnum is about as effective as the sachet filled with 10% sphagnum. The difference in favor of a density of 5% is due to the fact that Sphagnum plays better the role of refrigerant and its eutexie point is lower than the water-sphagnum mixture to 10%.

The weight of the refrigerant can be very variable depending on the needs of the user.

In a standard embodiment, it can vary from 50 g to obtain a minimum efficiency of half an hour at an average ambient temperature of 20 °, up to 1, 2 or 3 kg to hold 14 to 30 hours, without being inserted in isothermal packaging and always at an average ambient temperature of 20 °. Integrated in an insulated packaging, the refrigerant can maintain a fresh product between 2 ° and 8 ° for 48h, 72h or 120h and more depending on different thermal loss parameters of the insulated packaging.

The device thus designed with a natural product, respectful of the environment, is perfectly adapted for controlled temperature transport. It can also be applied on the human body. Sphagnum is soft, even if it does not have the gelatinous side of a conventional refrigerant gel and reduces the density of a refrigerant

The device 1 can be applied to the human or animal body, in particular for paramedical purposes. More specifically, the device is placed in the refrigerator, and in particular in the freezer, for a period of time sufficient for the cooling material 2 to solidify, then it is applied to an area of the human or animal body, for example to relieve inflammation, migraine, muscle soreness, to refresh the body during or after exercise, etc. With the chosen coating condensation absorber, the device 1 remains dry and provides a feeling of "dry refresh" which contributes to the comfort of use of the device 1.

Figure 2 shows the time evolution in comparative form, the temperature of the device 1 (Figure 6) and a device including only water. Both devices containing the same amount of a material The same refrigerant was first cooled and allowed to warm to room temperature above the liquefaction temperature of the refrigerant. The respective temperatures of the two devices are measured at their surfaces throughout the duration of the experiment, from the beginning of the cooling phase, until the temperatures of the devices have almost reached room temperature. The temperature is expressed in degrees Celsius, and the time scale is graduated in hours. Curve l corresponds to device 1 according to the invention. Curve 2 corresponds to the device including water. There are four main stages:

a step of descent in negative temperature from Oh to half an hour or even an hour;

a step up to the point of eutexia, for a quarter of an hour to an hour according to the protocols of experience;

a step at almost constant temperature, slow rise up to 8 ° C, may last as in the present example exposure of refrigerants at room temperature, 5 hours as in the example, up to 70 -120 hours approximately for sphagnum moss, depending on the quality of the insulated packaging including sphagnum refrigerant. Water is less effective than sphagnum by about 60%;

a step of raising to room temperature which undergoes an inflection, later and less clearly for the sphagnum device.

These times are given for information only and can vary greatly depending on the protocol of the experiment (dimensions of the envelope, constitution of the envelope, contact surfaces between the refrigerant and the outside, mass of the water mixture -sphaign, ambient conditions, etc.).

The cooling step corresponds to the cooling phase of the refrigerant material of the two devices at a temperature below the solidification point of their refrigerant material. This is the start-up phase, when the gel is still frozen on the surface. The step of raising to the point of eutexia corresponds to the cessation of the cooling of the devices, when a thin layer of the refrigerant rises in temperature on the surface. This thawed layer will thicken gradually and serve as a buffer to the frozen part in the heart of the refrigerant bag.

The step at almost constant temperature corresponds to the reverse transformation step of the refrigerant material which keeps the devices at a temperature very close to the point of eutexia. It can be seen that the temperature outside the device according to the invention is clearly greater than that of the device including only water, during the eutectic transformation.

The start of the rise to ambient temperature step corresponds to the end of this inverse transformation.

Figure 3 shows that the sodium chloride added to the sphagnum lowers the euthetic point of sphagnum closer to 0 °, preferred temperature for the storage of drugs or fresh products.

Thus it is the mixture water, sphagnum and sodium chloride that can make the device perfectly equivalent to the refrigerant gel based on sodium polyacrylate.

In FIG. 4, a comparison is made this time between a deionized water-based device and a city-water-based device.

There are four main stages:

a cooling step from 0 to about 15 minutes;

a step up to the point of eutexia for about 20 minutes;

a step at almost constant temperature, for about 5 hours. This temperature is about 1 to 2 ° lower for tap water than for deionized water.

a step of raising to room temperature more marked for city water than for deionized water. The cooling step corresponds to the cooling phase of the refrigerant material of the two devices to below the freezing point.

The step of raising to the point of eutexia corresponds to the cessation of the cooling of the devices, and their bringing into contact with an atmospheric atmosphere.

The step at almost constant temperature corresponds to the reverse transformation step of the refrigerant material which keeps the devices at a temperature very close to the point of eutexia.

The rise to ambient temperature step begins at the end of this inverse transformation. We see that the device based on city water, so water a priori containing various minerals makes the eutexia point of the Sphagnum descend. On the other hand, the cold "load" being the same for the two Sphagnum-based devices, the consumption of energy will be greater for the device containing city water because the temperature will be maintained at a lower level compared to the device developed with deionized water and the device based on city water will rise more quickly temperature. It will join the deionized device around 6 to 7 ° Celsius, while the deionized water-based device will rise more slowly in temperature.

What makes the two devices each have their advantage:

with city water, the eutexia point is lower, so temperature recovery is at a preferable level for users of industry and transport (pharmaceutical logistics, fresh food logistics ...). )

with deionized water, the temperature resistance is slightly higher of the order of 10 to 15% below 8 ° Celsius.

In Figure 5, this time we compare the densities of sphagnum contained in a cooling bag to obtain the best possible restitution.

It is found that the refrigerant dosed with 5% sphagnum for a dose of water, in the example of Figure 50g sphagnum per 1 liter of water, restores the cold to close to its eutexia point more stably than the refrigerant dosed with 10% sphagnum. Thus, it is better to measure sphagnum at 5%, a proportion that allows it to absorb the maximum amount of water.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples that have just been described and many adjustments can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, one can imagine many variations as to the shape of the envelope 3 and the composition of the absorbent.

In another mode of use sphagnum, without chloride this time, can be used in the opposite way, that is to say that instead of refrigerating the device, it is quite possible to heat it. The heating device, although consisting essentially of a plant fiber, sphagnum, does not cause significant gas release to warming up to 60 ° / 65 ° and therefore does not cause bursting of the complete device. Thus the heated device can be used in individual applications to warm parts of the human or animal body. It can also find a use in the hot links between for example a kitchen and a canteen.

For the manufacture of the device, it is possible to use the technique, known per se, of the vertical bagging: a band of wrapping material is circulated upwards, so in the context of the invention the film complex - Coating, the tape is folded on itself around its longitudinal axis and a tube is formed by welding together the two edges of the strip; successive transverse welds are formed which divide the tube into pockets; before each transversal weld, fill the bag still open with the sphagnum contained in a doser. Preferably, dried and compressed sphagnum pieces will be retained to facilitate its insertion into the sachet. Then poured the water with or without sodium chloride with a second metering device that delivers the desired amount. The formed pockets are separated by a cutting operation.

In another embodiment, in particular on horizontal bagging machines, two superimposed complex sheets are used which are welded on three sides, or more generally on a part of their periphery, to form a pocket which is filled with sphagnum, then salt water before weld the fourth side, or more generally the rest of the perimeter. Multiple other complex film configurations may be associated with the nonwoven, such as OPA-PE, PET-PE, OPP-PE, without this list being limiting.

The device is characterized in that the nonwoven coating is formed of fibers selected from pure viscose, a blend of polyester, viscose or acrylic fibers, or viscose / polyester composite fibers or entirely natural wool-based felt. sheep. The thickness of the envelope is between 0.4 and 1 mm and absorbs at least 450 g of water per m ² of moisture absorbing layer. The total thickness is at least 500μ.

Claims

claims

1. cooling device based on refrigerant material (2), in particular a sphagnum mixture, water and optionally chloride.

2. refrigerating device according to claim 1 characterized in that the envelope is formed by the complexing of a plastic film (4)

3. refrigerant device according to claim 1 characterized in that the casing is formed by the complexing of a plastic film (4) and a coating (5) constituting a moisture absorbing layer

4. Sphagnum and water based cooling device according to claim 2 and 3, characterized in that the eutexia point is variable with variable proportions of chloride.

5. Device according to one of claims 2 to 4 characterized in that the coating (5) absorbing moisture is a nonwoven.

6. Refrigerant device according to claim 5 characterized in that the coating (5) nonwoven is formed of fibers selected from pure viscose, a mixture of polyester fibers, viscose, acrylic, or viscose / polyester composite fibers or 100% natural felt made from sheep's wool.

7. Refrigerant device according to one of claims 5 to 6 characterized in that the layer (5) absorbing moisture has a thickness between

0.4 and 1 mm and absorbs at least 450g of water per m ² of moisture absorbing layer.

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that its wall has a total thickness of at least equal to about 500 μ.

9. A refrigeration energy storage device for insertion into a package whose temperature is to be maintained, comprising an enclosure containing at least sphagnum and water according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A cooling or heating device intended to be applied to the human or animal body, especially for paramedical purposes, comprising an envelope according to one of claims 1 to 8 containing a mixture of at least sphagnum and water. he. A heat energy storage device for insertion into a larger isothermal or non-thermally controlled unit, the temperature of which is desired to be maintained above the ambient ambient temperature, comprising an enclosure containing at least sphagnum and water in accordance with one of claims 1 to 8.