Cold chain solution for prefabricated foods enabled by highly scalable, low-cost and high-performance NaCl@Na2SO4 eutectic brine phase change cold storage gels

Cold chain transportation of prefabricated foods mainly relies on sustained mechanical refrigeration with high power consumption and high cost. In this study, a green, safe, efficient and low-cost solution for prefabricated food cold chain based on NaCl@Na 2 SO 4 eutectic brine phase change cold storage gel (BPCCSG) is proposed. BPCCSG is prepared by liquid homogenization, polymer cross-linking and thermal conductive filler dispersion. The phase transition temperature of BPCCSGs is −21.73 °C, which is suitable for refrigeration temperature of a typical type of prefabricated food (shrimp meat). The phase change latent heat and thermal conductivity are as high as 167.64 Jg -1 and 0.856 Wm −1 K −1 , respectively. Gel packaging avoids the leakage of BPCCSGs and its harm to the integrity of prefabricated foods. By optimizing the distribution of BPCCSGs in the cold storage equipment, the temperature uniformity inside the equipment can be effectively improved. The economic benefit of BPCCSG is as low as 5.36 × 10 −4 $J −1 . By introducing 5G sensors, temperature and position of cold storage equipment are monitored in real time. Finally, BPCCSGs are successfully applied in cold chain of shrimp prefabricated foods to effectively guarantee the quality. This work provides forward-looking guidance for next generation of state-of-the-art cold chain solutions for prefabricated foods.