Phase change material production kit and its uses

Abstract

This application describes a kit for manufacturing a PCM containing one or more additives. The application also describes a method for manufacturing a PCM, including using the kit and the latent heat storage material or its precursor described herein.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to phase change materials (PCMs). Specifically, the present invention relates to a kit for producing a PCM containing one or more additives. The present invention also relates to a method of using the kit. More specifically, the present invention relates to a kit for producing a PCM that does not contain free powder, granules, or flakes and a method of using the same.

Background Art

[0002] PCMs store and release thermal energy as latent heat associated with melting and crystallization. Energy is stored and released when the material moves across the solid / liquid phase boundary.

[0003] PCMs are usually selected for specific applications based on the amount of heat of phase transition, the temperature at which the phase transition occurs, the reliability of the phase transition, and the stability of the PCM with respect to repeated thermal cycles. In addition to these factors, cost, toxicity, the material of the storage container and compatibility with submerged components, and the environmental sustainability of the PCM also influence the decision of which PCM to use.

[0004] For one or more of the above reasons, while PCMs have excellent properties, it is not uncommon to find drawbacks that prevent or make impossible their use. For example, a PCM may be inexpensive and harmless and may have an appropriate phase transition temperature, but it may not be able to reliably repeat thermal cycles. To overcome or mitigate potential problems, it is common to use various additives to improve the performance of the PCM in some way for specific applications. Commonly used additives are nucleating agents used to promote crystallization of the PCM and stabilizers used to improve the cycle stability of the PCM. Other common additives include melting point depressants, corrosion inhibitors, biocides, thickeners, pH adjusters, and the like.

[0005] However, the use of such additives complicates the preparation process of PCM and may cause difficulties and / or errors when implemented on a large scale.

[0006] To prepare PCM, it is usually necessary to carefully weigh and measure the components of PCM. When doing this on a large scale, it is necessary to manually handle large quantities of various solids and liquids while maintaining the accuracy required to produce the working PCM.

[0007] The preparation of PCM usually involves the large-scale supply of some components (most of the PCM other than PCM additives, latent heat storage materials, etc.), while the PCM additives may be less than a few percent.

[0008] Additives are usually in solid forms such as powders, granules, flakes, etc. This is disadvantageous in accurately, safely, quickly, and simply combining PCM additives with other components of PCM.

[0009] The use of free solid components (such as powders, granules, and / or flakes) can be complicated by various factors.

[0010] · Free solids may be difficult or expensive to measure or weigh in real time.

[0011] · Free solids may be difficult to transfer from one container to another without loss.

[0012] · Free solids often take time when attempting to accurately perform the transfer.

[0013] · Free solids may pose an inhalation risk to workers by causing dust generation and suspension in the air.

[0014] · It generally takes time to accurately transfer free solids from one container to another or into PCM.

[0015] · In solids, there are cases where the endothermic effect that occurs when added to the PCM is large, which may cause undesirable crystallization. As a result, the device may be damaged, or it may be difficult or impossible to transfer the PCM from one container to another.

[0016] · Free solids have a low bulk density, and the volume transportation cost may be relatively high.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0017] One of the objects of the present invention is to avoid or reduce one or more of the problems described in this specification.

[0018] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a kit for manufacturing a PCM and a method for using the same.

[0019] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a kit for manufacturing a PCM containing a PCM additive.

[0020] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a kit for manufacturing a PCM containing a PCM additive in a form that facilitates the production of the PCM.

[0021] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a kit for manufacturing a PCM containing a PCM additive in a form other than free solids.

[0022] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a kit for manufacturing a PCM containing a PCM additive in the form of a compressed or melt-molded piece and / or in a liquid state, for example, a suspension.

[0023] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a kit for manufacturing a PCM containing a PCM additive that enables the inclusion of the additive in the PCM to be performed simply, easily, quickly, safely, and / or accurately.

[0024] One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a method of using a kit for manufacturing a phase change material (PCM) that is used in combination with a latent heat storage material for manufacturing the PCM.

[0025] One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a method of using a kit for manufacturing a PCM that is used in combination with a precursor of a latent heat storage material.

[0026] One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a method of using a kit for manufacturing a PCM that is used in combination with a thermoelectric cell device and a latent heat storage material and / or its precursor.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0027] The present invention relates to a kit for manufacturing a PCM and a method of using the same.

[0028] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit for manufacturing a phase change material (PCM), wherein the kit includes at least one PCM additive component, and the at least one PCM additive component is in a compressed state, in a melt-molded state, and / or in a liquid or suspension state, and the kit is provided.

[0029] The kit may include a single type of additive or a plurality of types of additives. In the case where the kit includes a plurality of types of additives, these plurality of PCM additives may be present in the same form, or may be present in different forms (for example, some additives are present as a suspension, and other additives are in different forms, such as a compressed state). Alternatively, all the additives may be present in the same form (for example, a compressed state, a melt-molded state, a liquid state, or a suspension state).

[0030] The kit may further include a latent heat storage material and / or a precursor of the latent heat storage material.

[0031] The kit may further include a container for combining the at least one PCM additive component with the latent heat storage material or its precursor.

[0032] The kit may further include instructions for use.

[0033] The kit may include a single component or multiple components. Each kit component may include a single type of additive or multiple types of additives. The kit may include a single component containing multiple types of additives. The kit may include multiple components each containing a single type of additive.

[0034] If at least one PCM additive component is present in the kit in a compressed state and / or a melt-molded state, such a PCM additive component may be supplied in the kit in the form of one or more parts, for example, in the form of a compressed and / or melt-molded piece. Each such compressed part or melt-molded part may each have a volume of at least about 0.1 cm 3 . Each such compressed part or melt-molded part may each include a single type of additive or multiple types of additives. When each part includes multiple types of additives, the free solids of the multiple types of additives may be combined by mixing or other means before forming such a part. Alternatively, the free solids of each additive may be laminated (e.g., inside a compression die or a melt mold) before forming such a part.

[0035] Each compressed part or melt-molded part may have a volume of at least about 0.1 cm 3 . Each compressed part or melt-molded part may have a volume of at least about 1 cm, at least about 100 cm, at least about 500 cm, at least about 1,000 cm, at least about 5,000 cm, depending on the size of the preparation and the relative filling amount of the required PCM additive. 3 3 3 3 3 ​​​​、or have a volume of at least about 10,000 cm 3 may also be. To facilitate handling, the parts of such additives preferably have a volume of 1 to 1000 cm 3 or so. The volume of each additive part may be, for example, about 1 cm 3 to about 900 cm 3 、or about 1 cm 3 to about 500 cm 3 、or about 1 cm 3 to about 300 cm 3 、or about 1 cm 3 to about 100 cm 3 、or about 1 cm 3 to about 50 cm 3 、or about 1 cm 3 to about 20 cm 3 、or about 10 cm 3 to about 50 cm 3 、or about 25 cm 3 to about 50 cm 3 、or about 100 cm 3 to about 500 cm 3 、or about 200 cm 3 to about 400 cm 3 、or about 500 cm 3 to about 1000 cm 3 、or about 600 cm 3 to about 800 cm 3 、or about 700 cm 3 to about 900 cm 3 may be.

[0036] The components of the kit may each have different parts. When multiple parts of the same additive are used, they may generally have the same size / volume. As a result, each part can be regarded as having the same or substantially the same mass and volume as the other parts constituting the components of the kit, so that it can be used simply by counting without performing precise measurements, which can facilitate the use of the components of the kit.

[0037] The compressed solid and / or melt-molded additive described above is spherical; cubic; Ellipsoidal; Cylindrical; Conical; Star-shaped; Any pyramidal shape; Any sheet-like shape, Any rod-like shape, and / or Any bi-pyramidal shape may be compression and / or melt molded into one or more of these shapes.

[0038] The kit is configured such that the phase change material (PCM) can be produced by combining one or more components of such a kit with a latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof.

[0039] The PCM additive may be present in liquid form within the kit.

[0040] The PCM additive may be liquid under environmental conditions (e.g., environmental pressure and room temperature). The PCM additive may be liquid and present in a solution (liquid-in-liquid or liquid-in-solid) or a suspension (e.g., solid-in-liquid).

[0041] The PCM additive component may be present in the kit component of the liquid additive at a concentration equal to or above the solubility limit.

[0042] The PCM additive component may initially be solid and become liquid upon heating before use.

[0043] In the context of the present disclosure, a suspension can be defined as a liquid in which a solid is dispersed. Here, the solid may be dispersed uniformly or homogeneously, but may also be dispersed non-uniformly (i.e., having a non-uniform distribution of the solid material within the liquid).

[0044] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a PCM comprising the kit of the first aspect of the present invention and a latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof.

[0045] The latent heat storage material of any aspect of the present invention may be a salt, a hydrated salt, a salt eutectic, or an organic material.

[0046] Examples of the precursor of the latent heat storage material include any material that can be converted into the latent heat storage material. The precursor of the latent heat storage material may form the latent heat storage material by reactions such as neutralization reaction, concentration, dilution, and / or dissolution. It may be necessary to use at least two precursors to form the latent heat storage material. The kit may be configured to be used in combination with one or more precursors of the latent heat storage material. By combining such a kit with the precursor of the latent heat storage material and further combining with additional precursors, it may be configured to form a PCM.

[0047] The latent heat storage material or its precursor may be configured to be combined with the components of the kit of the present invention in the liquid phase (e.g., molten state). When using the kit, the latent heat storage material may be in a liquid state. The components of the kit may also be in a liquid state.

[0048] Examples of the PCM additive components include, for example nucleating agents, stabilizers, melting point depressants, corrosion inhibitors, rheology modifiers, pH adjusters, thermal conductivity improvers, and biocides One or more of them may be mentioned.

[0049] The PCM additive components are supplied to the kit in a compressed state, a melt-molded state, and / or as a liquid or liquid suspension.

[0050] The crystallization promoting additive is also known as a nucleating agent. Examples of stabilizers include polymers, surfactants, thickeners, etc. Examples of melting point depressants include impurity additives. Examples of thermal conductivity improvers include carbon-based materials (such as graphite, graphene, etc.), other planar materials (such as boron nitride, etc.), and / or other nanomaterials (such as nanoparticles, rods, tubes, etc.). Examples of pH adjusters include acids, bases, and / or buffers, etc.

[0051] More specifically, examples of PCM additives include one or more components selected from polymers, monomers, polymerization initiators, surfactants, salts, hydrates, acids, bases, oxides, carbides, silicates, carbonaceous materials, organic materials, heterocycles, oils, and / or waxes. The PCM additive is present in the kit in a compressed form, a melt-molded form, and / or as a liquid or a suspension in a liquid.

[0052] The PCM additive components may include one or more additives in the same form or different forms. When there are two or more PCM additives, such a plurality of PCM additives may be mixed to form any of the kit components (for example, a part or a liquid containing a mixture of additives), or each additive may be provided separately as an individual kit component. Alternatively, the kit may include at least one kit component containing a mixture of a plurality of additives and at least one kit component containing a single additive. The plurality of kit components may be in the same form or different forms within the kit.

[0053] Examples of nucleating agents (but not limited to these) include strontium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, disodium phosphate, strontium chloride, sodium borate, and / or their hydrates. Also, as nucleating agents (but not limited to these), silver iodide, silicon dioxide, silicon carbide, titanium dioxide, aluminum oxide, bismuth oxide, zinc oxide, iron oxide, copper oxide, vermiculite, or other phyllosilicate materials, and / or talc can be selected.

[0054] The nucleating agent may account for more than 0.1% by mass, more than 0.5% by mass, more than 1% by mass, more than 5% by mass, or more than 10% by mass of the final PCM composition.

[0055] When the PCM preparation kit contains a nucleating agent, the nucleating agent may account for at least 5% by mass, at least 10% by mass, at least 20% by mass, at least 30% by mass, at least 40% by mass, at least 50% by mass, at least 60% by mass, at least 70% by mass, at least 80% by mass, at least 90% by mass, or about 100% by mass of the kit components.

[0056] Examples of stabilizers (but not limited to these) include sodium salts, lithium salts, potassium salts, and / or ammonium salts of polyacrylic acid and / or polymethacrylic acid, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, and other crystal form modifiers selected therefrom.

[0057] Examples of stabilizers (but not limited to these) also include thickeners such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, polyacrylamide, xanthan gum, guar gum, bentonite, diatomaceous earth, kaolinite and other clays, and / or talc.

[0058] The stabilizer may account for more than 0.01% by mass, more than 0.05% by mass, more than 0.1% by mass, more than 0.5% by mass, more than 1% by mass, more than 2% by mass, more than 5% by mass, or more than 10% by mass of the final PCM composition.

[0059] When the PCM preparation kit contains a stabilizer, the stabilizer may account for at least 5% by mass, at least 10% by mass, at least 20% by mass, at least 30% by mass, at least 40% by mass, at least 50% by mass, at least 60% by mass, at least 70% by mass, at least 80% by mass, at least 90% by mass, or 100% by mass of the kit components.

[0060] Examples of the melting point depressant include, but are not limited to, magnesium sulfate, lithium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium, lithium, potassium, and / or ammonium salts of carboxylic acids, sodium bromide, sodium chloride, calcium bromide, calcium chloride, sodium sulfate, strontium bromide, strontium chloride, ammonium chloride, potassium chloride, potassium bromide, magnesium chloride, magnesium bromide, and / or lithium sulfate.

[0061] The melting point depressant may account for more than 1% by mass, more than 3% by mass, more than 5% by mass, more than 10% by mass, more than 15% by mass, or more than 20% by mass of the final PCM composition.

[0062] When the PCM preparation kit contains a stabilizer, the stabilizer may account for at least 5% by mass, at least 10% by mass, at least 20% by mass, at least 30% by mass, at least 40% by mass, at least 50% by mass, at least 60% by mass, at least 70% by mass, at least 80% by mass, at least 90% by mass, or 100% by mass.

[0063] Examples of the corrosion inhibitor include, but are not limited to, benzotriazole and / or alkylaminophosphate.

[0064] The corrosion inhibitor may account for more than 0.0001% by mass, more than 0.0005% by mass, more than 0.001% by mass, more than 0.01% by mass, or more than 0.05% by mass of the final PCM composition.

[0065] When the PCM preparation kit contains a corrosion inhibitor, the corrosion inhibitor may account for at least 0.1% by mass, at least 0.5% by mass, at least 1% by mass, at least 2% by mass, at least 5% by mass, at least 10% by mass, at least 20% by mass, at least 30% by mass, at least 40% by mass, at least 50% by mass, at least 60% by mass, at least 70% by mass, at least 80% by mass, at least 90% by mass, or 100% by mass of the kit components.

[0066] The latent heat storage material may be, but is not limited to, water, magnesium nitrate hexahydrate, salt eutectic, calcium chloride hexahydrate, sodium acetate trihydrate, calcium nitrate tetrahydrate, methyl laurate, dimethyl adipate, dimethyl succinate, erythritol, trimethylolethane, hexadecanol, tetradecanol, lithium nitrate trihydrate, calcium bromide hexahydrate, strontium bromide hexahydrate, strontium chloride hexahydrate, sodium sulfate decahydrate, disodium phosphate dodecahydrate, sodium carbonate decahydrate, sodium, lithium, potassium and / or ammonium tetrafluoroborate, tetrabutylammonium salt hemihydrate, tetraisopropylammonium salt hemihydrate, etc. and can be selected therefrom.

[0067] The latent heat storage material may account for most of the final PCM composition. The latent heat storage material may account for more than 20% by mass, more than 40% by mass, more than 50% by mass, more than 60% by mass, more than 70% by mass, more than 80% by mass, more than 90% by mass, or more than 99% by mass of the final PCM composition.

[0068] The thermal conductivity improver may be, but is not limited to, expanded natural graphite, graphene, boron nitride, and / or graphite-like carbon nitride, etc. and can be selected therefrom.

[0069] The thermal conductivity improver may account for more than 1% by mass, more than 3% by mass, more than 5% by mass, or more than 10% by mass of the final PCM composition.

[0070] When the PCM preparation kit contains a thermal conductivity improver, the thermal conductivity improver may account for at least 5% by mass, at least 10% by mass, at least 20% by mass, at least 30% by mass, at least 40% by mass, at least 50% by mass, at least 60% by mass, at least 70% by mass, at least 80% by mass, at least 90% by mass, or 100% by mass of the kit components.

[0071] Examples of the pH adjuster include, but are not limited to, acetic acid, glycolic acid, or other carboxylic acids, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydroiodic acid, hydrobromic acid, hydrofluoric acid, fluorophosphate, sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, and / or calcium hydroxide, etc., from which it can be selected.

[0072] The pH adjuster may account for more than 0.0001% by mass, more than 0.0005% by mass, more than 0.001% by mass, more than 0.005% by mass, more than 0.01% by mass, more than 0.1% by mass, more than 1% by mass, or more than 5% by mass of the final PCM composition.

[0073] When the PCM preparation kit contains a pH adjuster, the pH adjuster may account for at least 0.1% by mass, at least 0.5% by mass, at least 1% by mass, at least 2% by mass, at least 5% by mass, at least 10% by mass, at least 20% by mass, at least 30% by mass, at least 40% by mass, at least 50% by mass, at least 60% by mass, at least 70% by mass, at least 80% by mass, at least 90% by mass, or 100% by mass of the kit components.

[0074] The PCM additive may account for up to 100% by mass of each individual kit component. For example, if the kit component contains a single type of PCM additive, the kit component may consist entirely of only that additive. As a result, multiple types of PCM additives exist as individual components within the kit, and by combining these with the latent heat storage material, the final PCM composition can be obtained. Alternatively, the kit may be configured such that only a single type of PCM additive is present within the kit, and by combining this with the latent heat storage material, the final PCM composition can be obtained. A single type of PCM additive may exist within the kit in two or more forms (e.g., liquid, solution, suspension, melt-molded solid, and / or compressed solid).

[0075] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the kit includes at least two PCM additive components, at least one component contains one or more stabilizers, and at least one other component contains one or more nucleating agents. According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the kit includes a single additive component consisting of at least one stabilizer and at least one nucleating agent.

[0076] According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the kit includes two components, namely, a liquid stabilizer and a nucleating agent in a compressed and / or melt-molded state.

[0077] According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the kit includes one additive component, and the additive component includes one or more nucleating agents and / or one or more stabilizers and a part of the latent heat storage material.

[0078] According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the kit includes a single component, and the single component includes one or more biocides, one or more pH adjusters, and / or one or more corrosion inhibitors.

[0079] Also disclosed herein are methods for manufacturing components of compressed PCM additives, melt-molded components, and liquefied additive components for inclusion in a kit.

[0080] The PCM additive can be formed into a compressed form (e.g., a compressed component) by, for example, placing a free solid additive in a container (e.g., a compression die) and applying pressure to the container. The size and volume inside the container will determine the size and volume of the PCM additive component. The PCM additive in compressed form (e.g., a compressed component) may be prepared, for example, by applying pressure to a free solid additive. The pressure can be at least about 1 MPa, at least about 2.5 MPa, at least about 5 MPa, at least about 25 MPa, at least about 100 MPa, or at least about 250 MPa.

[0081] When rapidly dispersing the compressed solid additive in the latent heat storage material, for example, a low pressure (e.g., about 1 MPa to about 25 MPa) can be used. When it is desirable to slowly disperse the solid material in the latent heat storage material, for example, a pressure of at least about 25 MPa can be applied.

[0082] To produce a compressed component, the compression may be applied uniaxially (e.g., along a single axis) or along multiple axes. For example, compression may be applied along 2, 3, or more axes. The compression may be applied isotropically or anisotropically.

[0083] A method for preparing a compressed component of an additive used in the kit of the present invention includes placing a free powder containing one or more additives in a rated pressure die and applying a compressive force along at least one axis. In some embodiments, the method includes applying compression molding along two, three, or four axes. The method may further include removing the PCM additive component from the die.

[0084] To form the (one or more) PCM additives in a melt-molded form, for example, first melt the (one or more) PCM additive materials, place the molten additive materials in a mold or on a surface, and cool and solidify the (one or more) PCM additive materials on such a mold or surface to form one or more parts. This method may further include solidifying the material to obtain a molded product by passively cooling the molten additive or actively cooling the molten additive. When the melt-molded part contains a mixture of multiple additive materials, the method combines such multiple PCM additive materials in a free solid state, optionally mixes them, heats such PCM additives to at least the melting point of at least one of these PCM additive materials, optionally mixes them, and cools and solidifies such PCM additives or a composite of multiple additives which may also be included.

[0085] The melting of the (one or more) PCM additive materials can be achieved, for example, by heating such materials to a temperature above their melting point. Active cooling can be performed by any suitable means, such as a cold plate, a cooling gas (such as air, etc.), or a method of circulating a liquid above or near the mold.

[0086] The PCM additives may be present in liquid form in a kit. The PCM additives may be liquefied by dissolution and / or suspension. When a liquid, solution, or suspension of the additive is required, solvents such as water, oil, organic liquids, ionic liquids, etc. may be used.

[0087] If there are multiple types of additives in the kit, one or more additives may be liquefied by dissolving or suspending them in one or more other additives that are originally liquid. The liquid polymer additive can be used as a medium for dissolving and / or suspending the free solid additive. If an additive is in a molten and / or supercooled state, other free solid additives may be dissolved and / or suspended therein. Such a mixture or suspension may be included as a component of the kit.

[0088] Such a kit may include at least one PCM additive disclosed herein and a latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof. Here, the at least one additive may be present in the latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof at a concentration higher than the concentration required for the PCM produced by using the kit. In such an embodiment, the components of the kit are configured to be diluted with the latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof for use.

[0089] That is, the combination of the components of the kit and the latent heat storage material may be a dilution process. The components of the kit may be provided in a state containing the additive at a relatively high concentration (for example, a concentration higher than the concentration required for the final PCM composition produced using the kit). The kit may be configured to provide a PCM having the additive at the concentration required for the PCM when combining the component containing the latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof and the PCM additive component of the kit. The concentration of the PCM additive in the final PCM composition is effectively diluted by the process of combining the kit component containing the latent heat material or a precursor thereof and the kit component containing the PCM additive.

[0090] The PCM additive that constitutes a component of the kit may be mixed with the latent heat storage material or its precursor to form a solid form, and then compressed to form one part that constitutes a component of the kit. In this process, a pressure of at least about 1 MPa, at least about 2.5 MPa, at least about 5 MPa, at least about 25 MPa, at least about 100 MPa, or at least about 250 MPa can be applied to the parts of the PCM additive and the latent heat storage material. The content of the PCM additive in the compressed part is higher than the amount required for the final PCM composition. When the kit is used, the components of the kit are diluted with the latent heat storage material, so that the concentration of the PCM additive is reduced to the level required for the final PCM composition.

[0091] The PCM additive that constitutes a component of the kit may be mixed with the latent heat storage material or its precursor to form a solid form, and then melt-molded to form one part that constitutes a component of the kit. This can be achieved by heating the PCM additive and / or the latent heat storage material to a temperature sufficient to melt one or both of the PCM additive and / or the latent heat storage material, and then combining these materials into a single liquid or suspension. Thereafter, the resulting liquid or suspension is cooled to solidify it into one or more parts that constitute a component of the kit. The content of the PCM additive in the melt-molded part is higher than the amount required for the final PCM composition. When the kit is used, the components of the kit are diluted with the latent heat storage material, so that the concentration of the PCM additive is reduced to the level required for the final PCM composition.

[0092] The PCM additive that constitutes a component of the kit may be dissolved or suspended in the liquid latent heat storage material. The PCM additive that forms a component of the kit is dissolved or suspended in the latent heat storage material at a concentration higher than the concentration required for the final PCM composition. When the kit is used, the components of the kit are diluted with the latent heat storage material, so that the concentration of the PCM additive is reduced to the level required for the final PCM composition.

[0093] That is, a component of one or more kits that is combined with a latent heat storage material by mixing, compression and / or melt molding, or a liquid in which such a component of the kit is dissolved or suspended in a latent heat storage material can be regarded as a concentrate of an additive or a concentrated form of an additive of the final PCM produced by using the kit. The concentrate of the additive referred to here can be defined as a component having a higher additive concentration that can produce a PCM by dilution with a latent heat storage material.

[0094] The components of the kit may be concentrated at least 2 times, at least 5 times, at least 10 times, at least 50 times, at least 100 times, at least 200 times, or at least 500 times the concentration required for the final PCM composition. The latent heat storage material can be used at a dilution rate of at least 1 / 2, at least 1 / 5, at least 1 / 10, at least 1 / 50, at least 1 / 100, at least 1 / 200, or at least 1 / 500 to produce the final PCM. To achieve such a dilution rate, one or more precursors of the latent heat storage material may be used.

[0095] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a method for manufacturing a PCM, the method comprising: providing a component of a kit containing at least one PCM additive component, in a compressed state, in a melt-molded state, and / or in a liquid or suspension state, providing a latent heat storage material or a latent heat storage material precursor, combining the components of the kit with the latent heat storage material and / or the latent heat storage material precursor. A method is provided that includes the above.

[0096] ​Such a kit can be used by combining one or more components of the kit with a latent heat storage material. As a method of combining the kit (or components of the kit) with the latent heat storage material, examples include dispersing the components of the kit in the latent heat storage material by any suitable means. For example, by stirring, dissolving, abrasion, dissolution, dilution, gas generation, phase transition, photochemical decomposition, or a combination thereof, one or more components of the kit may be dispersed in the latent heat storage material (e.g., a latent heat storage material for sensible heat, i.e., a latent heat storage material in a liquid phase). The latent heat storage material may be in a liquid phase, for example, a melted latent heat storage material. This method may include providing a latent heat storage material in a liquid phase state by heating the latent heat storage material above its melting point. This method may include heating the latent heat storage material and the components of the kit during the mixing process. This method may include mixing or stirring them after combining the latent heat storage material and the additive components of the kit. The latent heat storage material and the kit components may be combined by performing heating and mixing simultaneously.

[0097] The one or more latent heat storage material precursors may include water and / or one or more acids or bases. In the case of an acid or a base, it may be configured to react with the corresponding base or acid to produce a salt containing the latent heat storage material.

[0098] This method may include adding one or more kit components to water as a latent heat storage material precursor and adding an anhydrous salt and / or a salt having a degree of hydration lower than the degree of hydration required for the final PCM to the resulting mixture of the kit components and water. Thereby, the water of the precursor can be combined with the components of the kit and the solid (e.g., salt and / or salt hydrate) to form a PCM, and the final PCM can be produced.

[0099] This method may include adding one or more kit components to an acid (such as a liquid acid) as a latent heat storage material precursor, and adding a base to the resulting mixture of the kit components and the acid. Thereby, by combining the acid of the precursor with the components of the kit and the base to form a PCM, the final PCM can be produced.

[0100] This method may include adding one or more kit components to a base as a latent heat storage material precursor, and adding an acid to the resulting mixture of the kit components and the base. Thereby, by combining the base of the precursor with the components of the kit and the acid to form a PCM, the final PCM can be produced.

[0101] According to a further aspect, there is provided a method for manufacturing a PCM, which includes combining one or more components of the kit described herein with other PCM components (such as latent heat storage materials) in a thermal energy storage device.

[0102] The thermal energy storage device may include one or more types of containers. Among these elements, · one or more types of heat exchangers, · one or more types of heat sources, · one or more types of cooling sources, · one or more types of ports for adding or removing materials (such as additives, latent heat storage materials, precursors, PCMs, etc.) into or from the device etc. may be included.

[0103] The thermal energy storage device may include a heat insulating material, a sensor, control electronics, and / or means for mixing the PCM.

[0104] The thermal energy storage device may include a configuration for adding materials to the container that constitutes the device. Such configurations include funnels, pipes, cannulas, ports, or other means. These may be removable from the device after use. The means for adding materials to the container of the thermal energy storage device may be a housing for arranging the components of the kit during preparation.

[0105] The method for manufacturing the PCM described in this specification may include arranging one or more kit components within the thermal energy storage device and then adding the remaining one or more PCM components. Here, the remaining one or more PCM components may include a latent heat storage material.

[0106] Also, within a heat storage device that includes internal components (such as piping, one or more heat exchangers, a heating and cooling device, etc.), the kit can be used by combining the kit components with other PCM components (such as a latent heat storage material, etc.).

[0107] This method may include arranging one or more kit components within the thermal energy storage device and bringing them into contact with one or more heat exchangers and / or one or more heat sources that supply heat. Before and / or during the addition of the remaining PCM components (such as a latent heat storage material), the one or more kit components can be heated by the heat source by bringing them into contact with one or more heat sources. Thereafter, the latent heat storage material may be combined with the one or more kit components in a liquid state (such as a molten state).

[0108] It is preferable to arrange the components of the kit such that the latent heat storage material or its precursor is added to the kit components (i.e., it has an impact when added). Thereby, by combining the above-mentioned materials, PCM can be generated within the thermal energy storage device.

[0109] This kit can also be used by combining the components of the kit with one or two or more other PCM components such as latent heat storage material precursors. This precursor may then be configured to be converted to a PCM by reacting with one or two or more kit components.

[0110] As disclosed in the examples described below, the inventors have found that by using such a kit, it is possible to simplify the production of bulk PCM, reduce the necessary metering, reduce the volume and shipping quantity of materials, speed up production, facilitate the metering of each component, make the production process safer, and avoid the endothermic effect in PCM production.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0111]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0112] The present invention relates to the manufacture of a phase change material (PCM) including a latent heat storage material and one or more additives that improve some aspects of the performance of the latent heat storage material. Some latent heat storage materials do not require any modification when used as a thermal energy storage medium, but in many cases, the characteristics of the latent heat storage material are improved by additives or the negative aspects of the material are overcome.

[0113] Problems faced by latent heat storage materials include, but are not limited to, the following. · Insufficient nucleation. · Slow crystal growth rate. · Low cycle stability. · Corrosiveness. · Inappropriate phase transition temperature. · Heat insulation characteristics.

[0114] Therefore, it is common to use additives to overcome or alleviate the problems found in latent heat storage materials, thereby achieving or improving compatibility with applications.

[0115] When a latent heat storage material exhibits supercooling, i.e., maintains a metastable liquid state below the phase transition temperature, it is common to use a nucleating agent. Furthermore, even when nucleation occurs, crystal growth may be slow, and the available heat output of the system may be limited depending on the system. Adding a crystallization accelerator as an additive may improve the heat output of the system.

[0116] An important property of PCM is that it can repeatedly absorb and release heat (e.g., through a cycle involving a phase change). However, when this process is carried out, many latent heat storage materials become unstable. To improve cycle stability, additives such as polymers, surfactants, and thickeners are used to prevent the decomposition and separation of PCM, enabling long-term use.

[0117] PCM usually exhibits a phase transition at different temperatures and absorbs and releases heat at those temperatures. If the phase transition temperature of the latent heat storage material is not suitable for the selected application, the transition temperature can be adjusted by adding an impurity additive. Such additives are generally called melting point depression additives.

[0118] The latent heat storage material may corrode one or more of the materials of the system's storage container and / or other internal components in contact with the PCM. When corrosion becomes an issue, the problem can be mitigated by adding a corrosion inhibitor to the PCM mixture.

[0119] Also, the latent heat storage material may have a low thermal conductivity. This is also called thermal insulation. Therefore, melting and freezing cannot be carried out rapidly or at high power. To improve the thermal conductivity of PCM, additives such as carbon-based materials (e.g., graphite, graphene, etc.), other planar materials (such as boron nitride), and / or other nanomaterials (e.g., nanoparticles, rod-shaped, tube-shaped, etc.) may be used.

[0120] The pH of latent heat storage materials can be disadvantageous. Materials with extreme pH values can be difficult to handle, and the pH must be carefully adjusted to ensure that all materials in contact with the PCM are maintained stably (i.e., do not cause corrosion or other degradation). pH adjusters such as acids, bases, and buffers may be used as additives to produce PCMs with a specific pH value.

[0121] Some latent heat storage materials can serve as media for the growth of microorganisms. In such cases, it may be necessary to add a biocide to inhibit the growth of microorganisms.

[0122] Furthermore, multiple types of additives listed here and other additives considered necessary for the performance of the PCM may be used in combination.

[0123] That is, additives commonly used in PCMs include, but are not limited to, nucleating agents, stabilizers, melting point depressants, corrosion inhibitors, rheology modifiers, pH adjusters, thermal conductivity improvers, biocides and so on.

[0124] These additives are often free solids in the form of powders, granules, flakes, etc. under standard temperature and pressure conditions. However, such solid forms are generally not suitable for large-scale operations and may pose a risk to workers, making them unsuitable for PCM formulation.

[0125] Measuring and weighing solids in a free state is difficult in real time and costly. In particular, for additives that account for a small proportion of the entire PCM, it is difficult to measure the solids with acceptable accuracy, which takes time and / or requires cost. If the process is rapid, less energy is required to overcome heat loss, so it is advantageous if the production of PCM can be accelerated. Therefore, rapid addition of additives is advantageous.

[0126] Solids in a free state are generally difficult to transfer from one container to another and are often carried out manually, which is heavy labor for workers.

[0127] Solids in a free state can generate dust and float in the air, posing a risk of inhalation by workers. Also, it may cause scattering when introduced into the PCM mixture, which can pose an additional risk to workers. In particular, the risk is heightened during the production of PCM that is very hot or cold, or PCM that may be toxic, harmful, or irritating.

[0128] Furthermore, accurately transferring solids in a free state from one container to another or into the PCM usually takes time and is usually measured by weight, so it is necessary to repeat offline measurements, further slowing down the process.

[0129] Some solids can bring about a large endothermic effect when added to the PCM. When the additive is dissolved in the PCM, energy is transferred from the PCM to the PCM additive, the lattice structure of the PCM additive is destroyed, and the PCM is cooled. If this cooling effect is large, it may cause undesirable crystallization, damage to equipment, or make it difficult or prevent the transfer of the PCM from one container to another.

[0130] When transporting materials for PCM production, using free solids is inefficient as a large portion of the volume is occupied by the voids between particles. Therefore, the transportation cost is higher for free solids than for solids with their volume concentrated by compression or other methods.

[0131] Therefore, in the PCM preparation process, it is desirable to avoid using free solids as much as possible.

[0132] The present invention describes a kit for manufacturing a phase change material (PCM) including additives in a compressed form, a melt-molded form, and / or a liquid form or a suspension form. That is, the present invention describes a kit for manufacturing a PCM that does not contain free solid additives. In other words, according to the kit of the present invention, by compression into a shape-stable part, formation of a shape-stable part by melt molding, and / or provision of a liquid form by dissolution or suspension in a liquid, the use of free solid additives can be avoided. This kit may further include a latent heat storage material and / or a precursor of the latent heat storage material. Also, the present invention describes a method for manufacturing a PCM by combining the components of the kit with other PCM components (such as a latent heat storage material) and / or a PCM precursor (such as water to which salt is added to form a salt eutectic or a hydrate). The overall process from the formation of the kit to its use is schematically shown in FIG. 1.

[0133] In this specification, a suspension can be defined as a liquid in which a solid is present. Such a solid and a liquid may have different chemical identities (i.e., the solid material is present in a different liquid material), or may have the same chemical identity (i.e., the solid form of a material is present in the liquid form of the same material). Here, the solid is expressed as being dispersed in the liquid. The dispersion here may be homogeneous or heterogeneous. A homogeneous dispersion can be defined as a state in which the solid is uniformly dispersed throughout the liquid. On the other hand, a heterogeneous dispersion refers to a state in which the solid is non-uniformly dispersed throughout the liquid.

[0134] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit for manufacturing a PCM, which includes at least one PCM additive component, and the at least one additive component is · in a compressed form, · in a melt-molded form, and / or · in the form of a liquid or suspension A kit is provided.

[0135] When using the kit, the components of the kit are combined with a latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof so that the PCM is configured to be produced.

[0136] The finally produced PCM itself will consist of a latent heat storage material and a PCM additive derived from the kit described as part of the present invention. In other words, the PCM excluding the additive is called a latent heat storage material, and by combining such a latent heat storage material with the above-mentioned PCM additive, a PCM will be produced. Such a final PCM is defined as the final product obtained by using the kit in combination with one or more latent heat storage materials and / or precursors thereof.

[0137] Examples of latent heat storage materials include salts, hydrated salts, eutectic salts, or organic materials. In this specification, the latent heat storage material is defined as excluding the PCM additives from the PCM, and the PCM is defined as the latent heat storage material with additives added thereto. Examples of precursors of the latent heat storage material include any material that can be configured to be converted into the latent heat storage material. The precursor of the latent heat storage material may form the latent heat storage material by reaction (e.g., neutralization reaction, etc.), concentration, dilution, and / or dissolution. At least two precursors may be combined to form the latent heat storage material. For example, when the latent heat storage material is a salt, examples of the precursors include a base and an acid configured to produce such a salt by reaction. As a further example, when the latent heat storage material is a hydrated salt, examples of the precursors include a salt (or the corresponding acid / base precursor) and / or water. Further examples of the latent heat storage material and their precursors are shown in Table 1 below.

[0138]

Table 1

[0139] The kit may consist of a single component or may include a plurality of components. Each kit component may contain a single type of additive or may contain a plurality of types of additives. By way of non-limiting example, the kit may consist of a single kit component containing a plurality of types of additives. As a further non-limiting example, the kit may include a plurality of components each consisting of a single type of additive.

[0140] The PCM additive may be included in the kit as a solid or liquid individual article. The individual article may contain a pre-measured amount of the PCM additive. As an advantage, by providing the PCM additive as an individual article, the user may only need to count the number of articles to add the required amount for formulating the PCM, and may not need to measure or measure the amount of the additive in some cases. In the context of the present disclosure, when the PCM additive is solid, the individual article may sometimes be referred to as a "piece".

[0141] The foregoing PCM additive may be provided to the kit in the form of one or more compression parts.

[0142] The foregoing PCM additive may be provided to the kit in the form of one or more melt-molded parts.

[0143] Here, a part is defined as an amount of substance or material that forms a single mass or object. If there are multiple such objects, they are understood as such (e.g., as multiple masses or objects).

[0144] The compressed state and melt-molded additives that make up part or all of the kit can be defined as having "shape stabilization" or "shape stability" when maintaining a macroscopic shape without a support container. This is in contrast to powders, granules, or flakes that form mountains at a characteristic angle of repose when the support container is removed. The shape-stabilized additive can be handled and used as a single article.

[0145] According to the inventors, when the volume of each part is less than about 0.1 cm 3 it was found that the advantages due to the shape stabilization of one or more PCM additives (i.e., by applying compression and / or melt molding) are lost, and it begins to behave as free powder or granules rather than macroscopic parts.

[0146] Therefore, to obtain the advantage of using parts of the macroscopically stable additive, it is necessary to compress and / or melt mold the material to form parts of macroscopic size (i.e., much larger than powders, flakes, and / or granules). The inventors have found that to stabilize the form of the additives described herein, at least about 0.1 cm 3should be of such a size that it functions as an independent macroscopic component rather than as free particles or aggregates thereof. At a larger volume, the method of using such a component would have to be physically counted into the preparation tank of the PCM. This is because the inventors have found that this size is the minimum size required for the input of a highly reliable, predictable, and low-error PCM additive.

[0147] Therefore, the volume of the compressed and / or melt-molded component should be greater than about 0.1 cm 3 in size.

[0148] The compressed and melt-molded solid additive can be formed into components of sizes greater than about 1 cm 3 super, greater than about 100 cm 3 super, greater than about 500 cm 3 super, greater than about 1,000 cm 3 super, greater than about 5,000 cm 3 super, or greater than about 10,000 cm 3 super, or any combination thereof. For ease of handling, the size of such an additive is preferably on the order of 1 to 1000 cm 3 in size.

[0149] As disclosed herein, for any component in a compressed state and melt-molded, the size of the component to be manufactured is determined by the size of the container in which they are molded (i.e., molded as a compressed or melt). That is, in the case of an additive to be compression-molded, the size of the compression die used determines the size of the component to be manufactured. Also, when using melt molding, the size of the mold used to mold the PCM additive in a molten state determines the size of the component to be manufactured. Therefore, the internal size of the die used for compression and / or the size of the mold used for melt molding is preferably greater than about 0.1 cm 3 in size.

[0150] To use such shape-stable parts, it is beneficial to prepare parts in a uniform and predictable amount. That is, for example, when parts of a plurality of additives consisting of the same additive constitute the components of a kit, these parts have approximately the same volume and dimensions. Depending on the filling amount required for the final PCM composition, the components of different kits may be parts of different sizes, but the parts of the same additive are preferably of the same size. Thereby, each component of the kit can be regarded as having substantially the same mass and volume as the other components of the kit, so that the use of the components of the kit is simplified and it is possible to use them simply by counting without performing accurate measurements.

[0151] The above-mentioned compressed solid and / or melt-molded additive is spherical; cubic; ellipsoidal; cylindrical; conical; star-shaped; any pyramidal shape; any sheet-like shape, any rod-like shape, and / or any bi-pyramidal shape can be compressed and / or melt-molded into one or more of these shapes.

[0152] The PCM additive may be present in the kit in a compressed state. The inventors have found that compression is one of the methods capable of producing shape-stable parts containing additives for PCM production.

[0153] To form a compressed solid additive contained in the kit, the free solid additive can be compressed using any pressure exceeding 1 MPa, exceeding 2.5 MPa, exceeding 5 MPa, exceeding 25 MPa, exceeding 100 MPa, or exceeding 250 MPa.

[0154] When rapidly dispersing the compressed solid additive in the latent heat storage material, a low pressure (e.g., about 1 MPa to about 25 MPa) can be used. When it is desirable to slowly disperse the solid material in the latent heat storage material, a pressure of at least more than 25 MPa can be applied.

[0155] 1 MPa is 1×10 6 Pa or 1×10 6 Nm -2 and can be understood to be equivalent.

[0156] The parts of the compressed additive may be composed of one type of additive per part, or may contain multiple types of additives per part. By combining the free solids of multiple types of additive materials before compression, a compressed part composed of multiple types of additives can be manufactured. Optionally, a mixture of free solids may be prepared by kneading the solid powder before compression. Also, the free solids may be arranged in layers before compression (e.g., arranged as a series of layers in the compression die).

[0157] A schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the compressed additive is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the free powder (202) of one type or two or more types of additives is arranged in the pressure-rated die (201), and a compressive force is applied along the axis of the arrow (203). Thereby, a compressed part (204) containing the PCM additive is formed. By taking this out of the die, all or part of the kit can be formed.

[0158] The compression for producing the compressed part may be applied in a uniaxial direction (e.g., along the single axis shown in FIG. 2), or may be applied along multiple axes. For example, the compression may be applied along two axes, three axes, or more axes. The compression may be applied isotropically or anisotropically. The compression must be actively applied along at least one axis, but compression may also occur along one or more axes due to the material being constrained within the die.

[0159] The PCM additive may be present in the kit in a melt-molded state. The inventors have found that melt molding is one of the techniques capable of producing shape-stable parts containing additives for PCM production.

[0160] In this specification, melt molding is defined as a process of first melting a material and then cooling and solidifying the material on a mold or surface to obtain one or more parts. A general schematic diagram of this process is shown in Figure 3. In Figure 3, a molten component (302) containing at least one or two or more additives is added to a mold (301). This melt (302) is cooled passively or actively and solidified to become a melt-molded product (303). By removing this molded product (303) from the mold, all or part of the kit for PCM production can be formed.

[0161] A free-form single additive material can be melted by heating it to a temperature higher than its melting point, and this can be poured into and cooled on a mold and / or surface to be solidified. Alternatively, a melt-molded additive part composed of multiple additive materials can also be prepared.

[0162] The method for manufacturing such one or more parts is as follows. · Combine multiple free solid PCM additive materials. · Optionally mix them. · Heat these PCM additives to the melting point of at least one PCM additive. · Optionally mix them. · Cool and solidify the resulting PCM additive composite.

[0163] When manufacturing a melt-molded additive part, natural cooling may be used to solidify the material in one or more molded parts. Also, active cooling may be performed by using a cooling plate or passing a cooling gas (such as air, etc.) or liquid over or near the mold.

[0164] In some cases, it may be preferable to include the additive, which is a salt and / or a salt hydrate, in the kit in a melt-molded state.

[0165] The PCM additive may be present in the kit in a liquid state.

[0166] The PCM additive may be liquefied by dissolution and / or suspension. When a liquid or suspension of the additive is required, a solvent such as water, oil, or an organic or ionic liquid may be used.

[0167] When multiple types of additives are present in the kit, one or more of the additives can be liquefied by dissolving or suspending them in one or more other additives that are essentially liquid. As a non-limiting example, a liquid polymer additive can be used as a medium for dissolving and / or suspending a free solid additive. As a further non-limiting example, the additive may be in a molten state and / or a supercooled state, and other solid additives may be dissolved and / or suspended therein. These mixtures or suspensions may constitute components of the kit.

[0168] The PCM additive component may be present in the kit component of the liquid additive at a concentration equal to or above the solubility limit.

[0169] The PCM additive component may initially be solid and may change to a liquid state by applying heat before use.

[0170] As part of the present invention, a kit for manufacturing a PCM is provided, which includes one or more PCM additive components. Here, the one or more PCM additive components are · Solid parts that are compressed and / or melt-molded, having a volume of at least about 0.1 cm 3 and being compression parts at at least about 1 MPa, and / or, · In a liquid or suspension state, where these PCM additives are liquid under environmental temperature and pressure conditions, and / or · These PCM additives are dissolved or suspended in a solvent and / or · One or more additives are dissolved or suspended in one or more other additives and / or · They are liquefied by heating

[0171] The PCM additives may be polymers, monomers, polymerization initiators, surfactants, salts, hydrates of salts, acids, bases, oxides, carbides, silicates, carbonaceous materials, organic substances, heterocycles, oils, and / or waxes. These are supplied in the kit in a compressed form, a melt-molded form, and / or as a liquid or a suspension in a liquid

[0172] Various non-limiting examples of the types of additives disclosed herein, their uses, and preferred forms in the kit are shown in Table 2 below

[0173]

Table 2

[0174] The kit may include a latent heat storage material added to its components as a further component. That is, by combining the kit components and the latent heat storage material, a dilution process is performed. Using a kit component with a relatively high concentration of the additive (for example, higher than the amount required for the final PCM composition manufactured using the kit) and combining it with the latent heat storage material when using the kit, the concentration of the PCM additive can be reduced to the level required for the final PCM composition

[0175] A PCM additive forming one or two or more kit components may be mixed with a latent heat storage material in a solid state and compressed to form one part constituting the kit component. In such a process, when compressing the PCM additive and the latent heat storage material, a pressure of, for example, more than about 1 MPa, more than about 2.5 MPa, more than about 5 MPa, more than about 25 MPa, more than about 100 MPa, or more than about 250 MPa can be applied. The content of the PCM additive in the compressed part can be higher than the amount required for the final PCM composition. When using the kit, the concentration of the PCM additive can be reduced to the level required for the final PCM composition by diluting the components of the kit with the latent heat storage material.

[0176] One or two or more PCM additives forming kit components may be mixed with a latent heat storage material and melt-molded to form one part constituting the kit component. This can be achieved, for example, by heating one or two or more PCM additives and / or the latent heat storage material to a temperature sufficient to melt any one or two or more of the one or two or more PCM additives and / or the latent heat storage material, and then combining these materials into a single liquid or suspension. Thereafter, the liquid or suspension can be cooled and solidified to form one or two or more parts constituting the kit component. The content of the PCM additive in the melt-molded part can be higher than the amount required for the final PCM composition. When using the kit, the concentration of the PCM additive can be reduced to the level required for the final PCM composition by diluting the components of the kit with the latent heat storage material.

[0177] One or two or more PCM additives forming kit components may be dissolved or suspended in a liquid latent heat storage material. The PCM additive forming the kit component can be dissolved or suspended in the latent heat storage material at a concentration higher than the concentration required for the final PCM composition. The concentration of the PCM additive can be reduced to the level required for the final PCM composition by diluting the components of the kit with the latent heat storage material.

[0178] That is, when one or more kit components are made into parts that are mixed with a latent heat storage material and compression and / or melt-molded, or dissolved or suspended in the latent heat storage material, they can be regarded as concentrates or concentrated forms of PCM additives produced by the use of the kit. The additive concentrate referred to here is defined as a component having a higher additive concentration that can be diluted with a latent heat storage material to produce a PCM.

[0179] The kit components may be concentrated more than 2 times, more than 5 times, more than 10 times, more than 50 times, more than 100 times, more than 200 times, or more than 500 times the concentration required for the final PCM composition. The latent heat storage material can be used at a dilution ratio of 1 to 2 or more, 1 to 5 or more, 1 to 10 or more, 1 to 50 or more, 1 to 100 or more, 1 to 200 or more, or 1 to 500 or more when producing the final PCM. In order to achieve such dilution ratios, one or more latent heat storage material precursors can also be used.

[0180] Non-limiting aspects of various kit components, and the types of latent heat storage materials that can be combined with them to produce PCMs, are shown in Table 3 below.

[0181]

Table 3-1

Table 3-2

Table 3-3

[0182] More specific and non-limiting aspects of various kit components, and the types of latent heat storage materials that can be combined with them to produce PCMs, are shown in Table 4A below.

[0183]

Table 4A-1

Table 4A-2

[0184] As part of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a PCM is disclosed, which method includes the following. · Provide the kit disclosed herein. · Provide a latent heat storage material. · Combine the components of the kit with the latent heat storage material.

[0185] The step of combining the kit (or components of the kit) with the latent heat storage material may include, for example, mixing or stirring the components and the material together. During and after combining the components of the kit with the latent heat storage material, optionally, the kit components and / or the latent heat storage material and / or their mixture may be stirred and / or heated. During and / or after mixing these materials, the mixture of the components of the kit and the latent heat storage material may be heated.

[0186] The latent heat storage material and / or its precursor preferably exists in a liquid phase. The latent heat storage material and / or its precursor may be heated and melted (for example, the latent heat storage material may be in a molten state).

[0187] As a further part of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a PCM is disclosed, which method includes the following. · Provide the kit disclosed herein. · Provide a precursor of the latent heat storage material. Here, the precursor is water and / or an acid or a base. · Combine the components of the kit with the precursor of the PCM. · For this mixture, salt; an acid when the precursor contains a base; a base when the precursor contains an acid; and / or water one or more of which are added.

[0188] By combining the kit with a precursor of the latent heat storage material, a PCM is produced.

[0189] In this embodiment, after one or more components of the kit are combined with a precursor of the latent heat storage material, such as an acid or a base, a base or an acid is then added thereto respectively, and the final PCM is obtained by neutralization. The final PCM can be defined as an energy storage material that is used without further modification. That is, by simultaneously incorporating one or more kit components to neutralize the precursor, most of the PCM (for example, bulk hydrated salt latent heat storage material) is formed.

[0190] Alternatively, one or more kit components may be added to the precursor water, and then an anhydrous salt and / or a salt with a lower degree of hydration than that required for the final PCM may be added. Thereby, the precursor (in this case water) is combined with the kit components and the solid (such as salt and / or hydrated salt) to form a PCM, and the final PCM is obtained.

[0191] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid PCM precursor may be water. In this case, the PCM is manufactured by combining such a PCM precursor with the components of the kit and a salt.

[0192] According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid PCM precursor may be an acid. In this case, the PCM is manufactured by combining such a PCM precursor with the components of the kit and a base.

[0193] According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid PCM precursor may be a base. In this case, the PCM is manufactured by combining such a PCM precursor with the components of the kit and an acid.

[0194] The use of the kits disclosed herein includes methods for simplifying the preparation of PCMs. When the operator is not a technician, it is desirable to avoid the need for accurate weighing and measurement. Providing parts of the additive stabilized in a macro form and the amounts of liquid additives that can be added can greatly simplify and speed up the process. This eliminates the need to accurately measure the ratios between additives and the ratio to the bulk of the latent heat storage material, and PCMs can be manufactured simply by counting the number of compressed additive parts. Also, by using compressed parts of the additive and / or liquid additives to prepare PCM samples, the risk of generation and dispersion of harmful dust can be reduced. A further advantage of this method is that the manufacture of the PCM additive can be separated from the manufacture of the entire PCM composition. This allows small-scale and bulk preparation processes to be carried out at different times, reducing complexity and imparting flexibility to the overall production process. Nucleating agents are usually potentially costly and require careful tolerances, but such nucleating agents can be prepared separately from the bulk latent heat storage material. This allows the additive to be accurately prepared at a convenient time and used as needed, enhancing the flexibility of the production process.

[0195] As disclosed herein, the components of the kit may be dispersed in a latent heat storage material (e.g., a liquid) by agitation, dissolution, abrasion, dilution, gas generation, phase transition, photochemical decomposition, or combinations thereof.

[0196] To facilitate the preparation of PCMs using the kits defined herein, it is preferred to adjust the sizes of these solid components (e.g., components that are compression and / or melt molded) so that PCMs can be manufactured using whole numbers of these components. Such a method can replace slow measurement (weighing) with a simple and rapid counting process.

[0197] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a method of manufacturing a PCM, the method comprising combining one or more of the kit components described herein with other PCM components (e.g., latent heat storage materials) within a thermal energy storage device. The thermal energy storage device may also be referred to as a heat or thermal store, bank, battery, buffer, or reservoir.

[0198] The thermal energy storage device may include one or more containers, within each of which · one or more heat exchangers, · one or more heat sources, · one or more cooling sources, · one or more ports for adding materials to or removing materials from the device may be disposed.

[0199] Further, the thermal energy storage device may include insulation, sensors, control electronics, and / or means for mixing the PCM.

[0200] Also, the thermal energy storage device may include a configuration for supplying materials to the containers that make up the device. Such configurations include funnels, pipes, cannulas, ports, or other means. These configurations may be removable from the device after use. A housing may also be included as a configuration for supplying materials to the containers of the thermal energy storage device. In this case, the kit components can be placed within such a housing during preparation.

[0201] When using the kit described herein, for example, one or more kit components may be placed within the thermal energy storage device and then other PCM components may be added. In this case, examples of other PCM components include latent heat storage materials.

[0202] For example, FIG. 4 shows various positions for arranging the components of the kit within the thermoelectric battery enclosure (401). The thermoelectric battery enclosure (401) is composed of internal thermoelectric battery components (402) such as, for example, a heat exchanger. The components of the kit can be arranged in various locations before being combined with other PCM components or their precursors. For example, one or more components of the kit can be arranged at the bottom (403) with respect to the storage container wall of the thermoelectric battery device, at a point (405) on the storage container wall, and / or at the top (404) of the thermoelectric battery components near the storage container wall. Also, the components of the kit can be arranged near the center of the thermoelectric battery at the bottom of the thermoelectric battery storage container (408), within the core of the internal thermoelectric battery components such as a heat exchanger (407), or on the upper surface (406) of the thermoelectric battery components. After arranging the components of the kit within the thermoelectric battery storage container or on the surface of the internal thermoelectric battery components, by introducing other PCM components or their precursors into the thermoelectric battery storage container (409), a PCM (410) containing the PCM additive forming the kit components can be obtained. When the kit components are liquid, in order to arrange the components at locations other than the bottom of the thermoelectric battery, a sufficient open volume is required within the structure of the internal components (402). If such volume is not available, the liquid components will preferentially flow downward and occupy the bottom of the thermoelectric battery until they are combined with other PCM components.

[0203] One or more components of the kit may be arranged and used within the container of the thermal energy storage device before being combined with the remaining components of the kit, or may be arranged and used in contact with one or more devices constituting the thermal energy storage device.

[0204] One or more kit components are preferably used by being brought into contact with one or more heat exchangers that supply heat and / or being disposed at a position in contact with one or more heat sources. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, one or more kit components may be disposed in contact with one or more heat sources such as heat exchange for supplying heat. Further, it is preferable to apply heat to one or more kit components using this heat source before and during the addition of the remaining one or more PCM components.

[0205] The latent heat storage material may be combined with one or more kit components in a liquid state (for example, in a molten state).

[0206] When adding one or more kit components to a thermal energy storage device, it is also preferable to dispose them on the path of the latent heat storage material so that the liquid latent heat storage material acts on the surfaces of these kit components when combining the latent heat storage materials.

[0207] A method for manufacturing a PCM using the kit described in this specification is schematically shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the thermoelectric battery storage container (501) stores an internal device that enables the use of the thermoelectric battery (502) and is used as a stage for arranging the kit components (503). According to (504), other PCM components (for example, latent heat storage materials or their precursors) are circulated on the surfaces of these kit components, so that the kit components are combined with other PCM components to obtain the PCM (506) in the thermoelectric battery device.

[0208] One or more kit components can be arranged on the upper surface of one or more heat exchangers, and the remaining PCM components can be flowed over the kit components and injected into the PCM container to be combined with the remaining PCM components.

[0209] Table 4B shows an example of a method of using the kit described in this specification.

[0210]

Table 4B-1

Table 4B-2

[0211] The method described in Table 4 may be carried out within a thermoelectric battery device.

Examples

[0212] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail in accordance with examples, but these examples are merely examples shown for convenience of explanation and the present invention is not limited to these examples in any sense.

[0213] Example 1 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit included magnesium nitrate and strontium nitrate as nucleating agents in the form of melt-molded parts. The melt-molded parts were strontium nitrate (50% by mass) and magnesium nitrate hexahydrate (50% by mass) and were composed of.

[0214] The melt-molded parts were prepared by the following procedure. First, magnesium nitrate hexahydrate was heated to a temperature above 89 °C and then mixed with strontium nitrate. After stirring the mixture by stirring or other means, it was poured into a mold and cooled to ambient temperature to solidify.

[0215] Next, the kit containing the melt-molded parts was used in combination with molten calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (above about 43 °C) such that the final concentrations of strontium nitrate and magnesium nitrate hexahydrate were each about 0.4% by weight. The mixture was stirred to dissolve and disperse the melt-molded additive parts.

[0216] Example 2 A PCM manufacturing kit containing sodium acetate trihydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit contained a compressed part of sodium dihydrogen phosphate dihydrate as a nucleating agent and a solution of sodium polymethacrylate as a stabilizer, respectively.

[0217] The nucleating agent was compressed into a disk shape with a diameter of about 5 cm and a height of about 1 cm, and a pressure of about 10 MPa was applied. Sodium polymethacrylate was dissolved in water to a concentration of about 40% by mass. These two parts were used as the components of the kit.

[0218] When using this kit, after adding the two components of the kit to water heated to over about 58 °C, anhydrous sodium acetate was added to prepare a PCM with the following composition. · 97% by mass sodium acetate trihydrate · 2% by mass disodium phosphate dihydrate · 1% by mass sodium polymethacrylate

[0219] Then, the PCM was mixed while maintaining a temperature above about 58 °C until the two additive components of the kit were completely dissolved and dispersed.

[0220] Example 3 A PCM manufacturing kit containing calcium chloride hexahydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit contained potassium chloride, sodium chloride, and strontium chloride hexahydrate as a nucleating agent.

[0221] Potassium chloride and sodium chloride were mixed at a mass ratio of 80:20 and compressed into a cube at a pressure of about 25 MPa to form a cube-shaped part.

[0222] Strontium chloride hexahydrate was formed into a melt-molded part by heating the solid to 61 °C or higher, pouring the material into a mold, and cooling it to room temperature for solidification.

[0223] These two solid parts were used as the components of the PCM kit.

[0224] When using this kit, after adding each component of this kit to water at a temperature exceeding about 28°C, calcium chloride dihydrate was added to prepare a PCM having the following composition. · 47% by mass calcium chloride · 46% by mass water · 4% by mass potassium chloride · 1% by mass sodium chloride · 2% by mass strontium chloride hexahydrate

[0225] Thereafter, the PCM was mixed while maintaining a temperature exceeding about 28°C until the two additive components of the kit were completely dissolved and dispersed.

[0226] Example 4 A PCM production kit containing a salt eutectic as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit · contained magnesium sulfate in a compressed form as a melting point depressant, · silver iodide in a compressed form as a nucleation additive, and · silicon dioxide in a compressed form as a nucleating agent, respectively.

[0227] For each PCM additive, a pressure of about 100 MPa was applied to compress it into a disk shape with a diameter of about 10 cm and a height of about 2 cm. These disks were used as components of the PCM production kit.

[0228] When forming the PCM, the kit was used as follows. First, the compressed disk of magnesium sulfate was added to water in an amount such that the mass loading of magnesium sulfate was about 19% by weight and mixed. Next, the disks of silver iodide and silicon dioxide were added such that the concentrations in the final mixture were about 0.1% by weight and 1% by weight, respectively.

[0229] Example 5 A PCM production kit containing magnesium nitrate hexahydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit · Lithium nitrate trihydrate as a melting point depressant, and · Benzotriazole as a corrosion inhibitor Each was included.

[0230] This kit consisted of a single component formed by mixing molten lithium nitrate trihydrate with a melting point of 30 °C or higher and about 0.08 wt% of benzotriazole. This mixture was frozen in a mold.

[0231] When using this kit, the components of the kit were heated to a temperature exceeding the melting point (30 °C) to melt, and the melted kit components were mixed and dispersed with melted magnesium nitrate hexahydrate at a temperature exceeding 89 °C.

[0232] Example 6 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing magnesium nitrate hexahydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit contained expanded natural graphite as a thermal conductivity improver suspended in poloxamer 407 as a stabilizer at a concentration of about 10 mass%.

[0233] When using this kit, this suspension was mixed and dispersed with melted magnesium nitrate hexahydrate at a temperature exceeding 89 °C.

[0234] Example 7 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing sodium acetate trihydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit · A liquid component in which disodium phosphate (5 wt%) and sodium polyacrylate (40 wt%) were dissolved in water (55 wt%), · A compressed solid component containing disodium phosphate dihydrate, and · A second liquid component containing acetic acid as a pH adjuster was included.

[0235] When using this kit, the components of the kit were added to water and heated to exceed 58 °C, and then anhydrous sodium acetate was added to prepare a PCM with the following composition. · 96.8 mass% sodium acetate trihydrate, · 2 mass% disodium phosphate dihydrate, · 1 mass% sodium polymethacrylate, and · 0.2 mass% acetic acid.

[0236] Thereafter, the PCM was mixed while maintaining a temperature above about 58 °C until the PCM addition components derived from the kit were completely dissolved and dispersed.

[0237] Example 8 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing sodium acetate trihydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit contained a compressed solid component in which layers of disodium phosphate (67 mass%) and sodium polyacrylate (33 mass%) were alternately laminated. This solid component was in the shape of a disk with a diameter of about 5 cm and a height of about 3 cm, and each layer had a height of about 0.2 cm.

[0238] This disk was produced by alternately arranging layers of a solid of disodium phosphate and a solid of sodium polyacrylate in a cylindrical mold with an inner diameter of 5 cm and compressing them at a pressure of about 150 MPa while arranging each material. The obtained composite compressed disk of the additive was used as a component of the kit.

[0239] When using this kit, a compressed disk and a liquid PCM precursor solution of sodium hydroxide (52 mass%) were used in combination and stirred to dissolve and disperse the kit components. Acetic acid was added while maintaining this mixture at 58 °C or higher to produce a PCM having the following final composition. · Approximately 97 wt% sodium acetate trihydrate · Approximately 2 wt% disodium phosphate dihydrate · Approximately 1 wt% sodium polymethacrylate

[0240] Example 9 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit It contained components of a single liquid in which magnesium nitrate and strontium nitrate were dissolved as nucleating agents in nitric acid. The composition of the liquid was as follows. · Approximately 10% by mass of magnesium nitrate hexahydrate · Approximately 10% by mass of strontium nitrate · Approximately 54% by mass of nitric acid · Approximately 26% by mass of water

[0241] When using the kit, pour the components of the kit into a mixing tank, · Water · Calcium carbonate anhydrous · Calcium nitrate anhydrous and add them in the order of, and adjust the final composition as follows. · Approximately 1% by mass of strontium nitrate · Approximately 1% by mass of magnesium nitrate hexahydrate · Approximately 98% by mass of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate

[0242] When adding calcium carbonate to the diluted kit components, mixing was carried out by utilizing the gas generation due to the combination of an acid and a metal carbonate. As a result, heat was also generated, and a complete liquid PCM sample was produced. Such a sample could be easily transferred to a secondary container such as a thermal battery.

[0243] Example 10 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing a salt eutectic as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit · Compressed magnesium nitrate as a melting point depressant, · Compressed silicon carbide as a nucleation additive, and · Compressed silicon dioxide as a nucleating agent respectively.

[0244] For each PCM additive, by applying a pressure of approximately 25 MPa, it was compressed into a disk shape with a diameter of approximately 10 cm and a height of approximately 2 cm. The obtained disks were used as components of the PCM manufacturing kit.

[0245] When using this kit, each compressed component was added to a thermoelectric device including a storage tank in which a heat exchanger was disposed. Each disk was placed above the heat exchanger and directly below the port for adding the material to the storage tank. By introducing the latent heat storage material (water) through this port and flowing it over the surface of the compressed disk, the material was melted and dispersed throughout the PCM. By adding water, the final PCM composition was adjusted as follows. · Magnesium nitrate: approximately 30% by mass · Silicon carbide: approximately 2% by mass · Silicon dioxide: approximately 2% by mass · Water: approximately 66% by mass

[0246] Example 11 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing magnesium nitrate hexahydrate as a latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit · Contained lithium nitrate trihydrate as a melting point depressant, · Expanded natural graphite as a thermal conductivity improver, and · Benzotriazole as a corrosion inhibitor respectively.

[0247] This kit consisted of a single component. This component was formed by mixing approximately 0.08% by weight of benzotriazole and approximately 5% by weight of expanded natural graphite with molten lithium nitrate trihydrate at a temperature above its melting point of 30°C. This composition was mixed until homogeneous and used as follows.

[0248] The component of this kit was transferred to a thermoelectric device. The thermoelectric device had a storage tank, inside which a heating element was disposed at the bottom of the storage tank and a heat exchanger was disposed above it. When the component of the kit was poured into the storage tank, it flowed downward and occupied the space around the heating element. Then, the component of the kit was frozen.

[0249] Next, magnesium nitrate hexahydrate, which is a latent heat storage material, was added to the storage container of the thermoelectric device as a molten liquid (e.g., above approximately 89°C).

[0250] To suitably disperse the components of the kit throughout the entire PCM, it was found effective to activate the electric heating element before adding the latent heat storage material in a molten state. As a result, the components of the kit can also be made liquid before being combined with the latent heat storage material.

[0251] Example 12 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing dimethyl adipate as the latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit included a suspension of titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide as nucleating agents in dimethyl adipate. As a result, the overall composition of the components of the kit was as follows. · 25% by mass titanium dioxide · 25% by mass silicon dioxide · 50% by mass dimethyl adipate

[0252] This suspension was used as the only component of the kit. This kit component can be considered a concentrated form of the PCM.

[0253] During use, the components of the kit were mixed with dimethyl adipate, which is the latent heat storage material, to dilute the nucleating agent, and the final PCM composition was as follows. · 0.5% by mass titanium dioxide · 0.5% by mass silicon dioxide · 99% by mass dimethyl adipate

[0254] Example 13 A kit for manufacturing a PCM containing calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as the latent heat storage material was prepared. This kit included magnesium nitrate and strontium nitrate as nucleating agents in the form of melt-molded parts. Such melt-molded parts · strontium nitrate (50% by mass), and · magnesium nitrate hexahydrate (50% by mass) and were prepared by the following procedure.

[0255] First, magnesium nitrate hexahydrate was heated above 89 °C, combined with strontium nitrate, mixed, and then poured into a mold and cooled to ambient temperature for solidification.

[0256] The kit was used according to the following procedure. One or more melt-molded parts were added at room temperature to a 50% by mass solution of calcium nitrate. Here, the loading amounts of magnesium nitrate hexahydrate and strontium nitrate were set to approximately 1.5% by mass. The resulting mixture was heated to above approximately 43 °C while stirring. The calcium nitrate concentration was adjusted to approximately 70% by mass by adding anhydrous calcium nitrate.

Claims

1. A kit for manufacturing a PCM, wherein the kit includes at least one PCM additive component, and the at least one PCM additive component is in a state of compressed solid, in a state of melt-molded solid, and / or in a state of liquid or suspension, and the kit is configured such that the PCM can be produced by combining the at least one PCM additive component with a latent heat storage material or its precursor.

2. The at least one PCM additive is selected from the list including a nucleating agent, a stabilizer, a melting point depressant, a corrosion inhibitor, a rheology modifier, a pH adjuster, a thermal conductivity improver, and / or a biocide, The kit according to claim 1.

3. The volume of the at least one compression part or melt-molded part is at least about 1 cm ３ , at least about 100 cm ３ , at least about 500 cm ３ , at least about 1,000 cm ３ , at least about 5,000 cm ３ , or at least about 10,000 cm ３ The kit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the volume is as described above. The kit includes at least one part of a PCM additive in a state of compressed solid and / or melt-molded solid,

4. The additive in a state of compressed solid and / or melt-molded state is spherical; is cubic; is ellipsoidal; is cylindrical; is conical; is star-shaped; is of any pyramidal shape; is of any sheet-like shape, is of any rod-like shape, and / or is of any bi-pyramidal shape and is compressed and / or melt-molded into one or more of these shapes. The kit according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The kit includes at least one part of a PCM additive in a state of compressed solid and / or melt-molded solid, and the at least one PCM additive part includes a single type of additive, or the at least one PCM additive part includes a plurality of types of additives. The kit according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The kit includes a plurality of parts of PCM additives in a state of compressed solid and / or melt-molded solid that are compressed and / or melt-molded, and optionally, the mass and / or dimensions of the plurality of parts are uniform or substantially uniform. The kit according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The PCM additive is in a state of liquid or suspension, and the PCM additive is a liquid and / or suspension under environmental temperature and pressure conditions, and / or the PCM additive is dissolved or suspended in a solvent, and / or one or more additives are dissolved or suspended in one or more other additives, and / or is liquefied by heating. The kit according to claim 1 or 2.

8. The kit according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 7, wherein one or more additive components are in a liquid state and the PCM additive is included in a state of being sufficiently dissolved in water.

9. The kit according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 7, wherein one or more additive components are in a liquid state and the PCM additive is included in a saturated state in water.

10. The kit according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 7, wherein one or more additive components are in a liquid state and the kit includes an aqueous suspension of the PCM additive.

11. The kit according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 7 to 10, wherein one or more liquid components include a mixture of one or more liquid additives and one or more additives dissolved or suspended in the liquid additive.

12. wherein the PCM additive component is at least one compressed and / or melt-molded solid part having a volume of at least about 0.1 cm ３ and the compressed part has been subjected to a compression of at least about 1 MPa And / or The PCM additive component is in a liquid or suspension state, and the PCM additive is liquid under environmental temperature and pressure conditions. And / or The PCM additive is dissolved or suspended in a solvent. And / or One or more additives are dissolved or suspended in one or more other additives. And / or The kit according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which can be liquefied by heating.

13. One or more components of the kit include a mixture of the PCM additive and a part of the latent heat storage material, and the components of the kit are configured to be diluted and used in combination with a further latent heat storage material or a precursor thereof. The kit according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A method for manufacturing a component of a compressed PCM additive for use in the kit according to any one of claims 1 to 13, The method includes placing a free powder containing one or more PCM additives in a rated pressure die and applying pressure to the rated pressure die. Optionally, the pressure is at least about 1 MPa, at least about 2.5 MPa, at least about 5 MPa, at least about 25 MPa, at least about 100 MPa, or at least about 250 MPa.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the pressure is applied in a uniaxial direction, or the pressure is applied in the direction of two axes, three axes, or more axes.

16. A method for manufacturing a component of a melt-molded PCM additive for use in the kit according to any one of claims 1 to 13, The method includes Providing a solid comprising one type of PCM additive material or a mixture of two or more types of PCM additive materials, Melting the one type or two or more types of PCM additive materials, Placing the melted additive material on a mold or surface, A method of obtaining one or two or more components by cooling and solidifying the PCM additive material on the mold or surface.

17. The melt-molded PCM additive comprises a mixture of multiple types of PCM additive materials, and The method is, Combining the multiple types of PCM additive materials in a free solid state, Optionally mixing, Heating the multiple types of PCM additives to at least the melting point of at least one of the multiple types of PCM additive materials, Optionally mixing, Cooling and solidifying the PCM additive or the composite of additives The method according to claim 16, comprising the above.

18. A method for producing a phase change material, the method comprising: Providing a kit according to any one of claims 1 to 17, Providing one type or two or more types of latent heat storage materials, Combining the components of the kit with the one type or two or more types of latent heat storage materials The method comprising the above.

19. A method for producing a phase change material, the method comprising: Providing a kit according to any one of claims 1 to 17, Providing one type or two or more types of liquid latent heat storage materials, Combining the components of the kit with the one type or two or more types of liquid latent heat storage materials The method comprising the above.

20. A method for producing a phase change material, the method comprising: Providing a kit according to any one of claims 1 to 17, Providing a precursor of a latent heat storage material, wherein the precursor is, Water, And / or, An acid or a base, Combining the components of the kit with the precursor of the latent heat storage material, A salt, An acid when the precursor contains a base, A base when the precursor contains an acid, And / or, Water Adding one or two or more of the above The method comprising the above.

21. The method for producing a phase change material according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the latent heat storage material and / or the precursor of the latent heat storage material is heated and provided in a liquid state before being combined with the components of the kit.

22. The method for producing a phase change material according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the latent heat storage material and / or the precursor of the latent heat storage material is stirred and / or heated after being combined with the components of the kit.

23. The method for producing a phase change material according to any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein a part formed by compression and / or melt molding of an integral number of additives is combined with the latent heat storage material and / or the latent heat storage material precursor described above.

24. A tank for combining the components of the kit with the one or more latent heat storage materials or liquid latent heat storage material precursors is a heat energy storage device, The heat energy storage device is One or more heat exchangers, One or more heat sources, One or more cooling sources, and / or One or more ports for adding materials to or removing materials from the device A method for producing a phase change material according to any one of claims 18 to 23, which is one or more containers for storing.

25. A tank for combining the components of the kit with the one or more latent heat storage materials or liquid latent heat storage material precursors is a heat energy storage device, The components of the kit are arranged in the heat energy storage device, and when the latent heat storage material and / or the latent heat storage material precursor are added, the latent heat storage material and / or the latent heat storage material precursor act on the components of the kit. A method for producing a phase change material according to any one of claims 18 to 24.

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