Scientists Develop New Refrigeration Method

Ionocaloric cooling is a new technology that could change how we cool things. It might replace current methods with an approach that is safer and better for the environment.

Traditional refrigerators use a fluid to move heat away by turning it into gas, then back into liquid. However, some refrigerants harm the environment.

In 2023, researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, developed a new method. It uses how energy is stored or released when a material changes phase, such as ice melting into water.

This technique uses ions, which are charged particles, to make ice melt without heating it. When ice melts, it absorbs heat and cools its surroundings. The ionocaloric cycle uses salt to cause this change and cool things down.

According to mechanical engineer Drew Lilley, finding a refrigerant that is efficient, safe, and eco-friendly is an unsolved problem. He believes ionocaloric cooling could meet these goals. A small electric current helps move ions, changing the material’s melting point and causing a temperature change.

Experiments with salt and a common solvent showed a temperature drop of 25 °C with less than one volt of charge. This is more effective than other cooling methods.

Countries that signed the Kigali Amendment aim to reduce harmful gases, and ionocaloric cooling could help this goal. Now, researchers are working to make the technology usable in everyday systems. Different salts are being tested to find the best combinations for heat removal. Results of these studies were published in the journal Science.

How much do you know?

What technology could change how we cool things?

Electrocaloric cooling

Ionocaloric cooling

Thermal cooling

Magnetocaloric cooling

Which research institutions developed the ionocaloric cooling method?

Harvard University and MIT

Stanford University and UC Santa Barbara

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley

California Institute of Technology and Stanford University

What is used to make ice melt in the ionocaloric cooling technique?

Electricity

Water

Ions

Gas

How much did the temperature drop in experiments with salt?

10 °C

20 °C

25 °C

30 °C

What is the main disadvantage of traditional refrigerators?

They are too expensive

They require too much electricity

Some refrigerants harm the environment

They do not cool effectively

What is the goal of the Kigali Amendment?

To promote ionocaloric cooling

To reduce harmful gases

To improve energy efficiency

To increase refrigeration capacity

Ionocaloric cooling replaces traditional cooling methods entirely.

True False

The ionocaloric cycle causes a material to change its melting point.

True False

Drew Lilley believes that finding an eco-friendly refrigerant is a solved problem.

True False

Ionocaloric cooling does not require any electric current.

True False

The results of the ionocaloric cooling studies were published in the journal Science.

True False

Countries that signed the Kigali Amendment aim to increase harmful gas emissions.

True False

Ionocaloric cooling could replace current methods with an approach that is safer and better for the .

Traditional refrigerators turn gas back into to move heat away.

This technique uses to make ice melt without heating it.

Experiments showed a temperature drop of °C with less than one volt of charge.

Researchers are testing different to find the best combinations for heat removal.

The ionocaloric cycle helps in the process of and cooling down.

This question is required