A building material that combines coconut, lemon and engineered wood may one day be enough to heat and cool your home.The three renewable energy sources were developed by researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. We provide key components for wood composite thermal batteries.
The researchers reported the development in the scientific journal Small. Peter Olsén, a researcher in KTH’s Biocomposites Division, says the material can store both heat and cold. When used in house construction, the researchers say that 100 kilograms of material can save him about 2.5 kWh of heating or cooling per day if the ambient temperature is 24°C.
KTH researcher Céline Montanari says the battery can be charged by heat sources other than sunlight. “The key is that the temperature fluctuates around her transition temperature of 24°C, which of course can be adjusted depending on the application and location,” she says.
The process begins by removing lignin from wood. This creates open pores in the wood’s cell walls and removes the color. The wood structure is then filled with limonene acrylate, a citrus-based molecule, and coconut-based molecules. When heated, limonene acrylate transforms into a bio-based polymer that restores wood’s strength and allows light to pass through. When this happens, coconut molecules become trapped within the material, allowing it to store and release energy.
“The elegance is that coconut molecules can transition from a solid to a liquid absorbing energy, or from a liquid to a solid releasing energy, much like water freezes and melts,” says Montanari. However, in transparent wood, that transition occurs at a more comfortable temperature of 24°C.
“This transition allows us to heat or cool the surroundings as needed,” says Olsén.
Olsén said potential applications include exterior and interior building materials for both transparency and energy efficiency. The first use of the product is to regulate the temperature of the indoor space around 24°C for cooling and heating. Further research is needed to develop it for exterior use.
And it’s not just houses and buildings. “What do you think of the material of the future for greenhouses?” he says. “When the sun hits the tree, it becomes transparent and stores energy, but at night it becomes cloudy and releases the heat stored during the day. can.”
Original: Coconut and lemon enable thermal wood for indoor heating and cooling
Than: KTH Royal Institute of Technology
