Electrospun heat management polymeric materials of interest in food refrigeration and packaging

The use of latent heat storage materials using phase change materials (PCMs) is an effective way of buffering thermal fluctuations and has the advantages of high‐energy storage density and the isothermal nature of the storage process. The aim of this work was to develop slabs with energy storage capacity for their application in refrigerated foods. To this end, polycaprolactone (PCL) and polystyrene (PS) were used as encapsulating matrices of a PCM, specifically RT5 (a paraffin which has a transition temperature at 5°C), by using electrohydrodynamic processing. The effect of storage temperature (4°C and 25°C) and time on the morphology and thermal characteristics of the PCL/RT5 and PS/RT5 slabs was evaluated. Results showed that RT5 can be properly encapsulated inside both polymers, although PCL provided better encapsulation efficiency. Encapsulation efficiency was affected not only by the polymer matrix but also by storage time at 25°C. The greatest encapsulation efficiency (98.6%) and optimum heat management performance was achieved for PCL/PCM slabs stored at 4°C, corresponding to materials composed of ∼44 wt % of PCM (core material) and ∼56 wt % of the PCL shell material. These temperature buffering materials can be of great interest to preserve the quality of packaged foods and to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption in refrigeration equipment.