N-tetradecane/Water Emulsion as a Low-cost Phase Change Material for Efficient Packaging and Shipping of Vaccines

This study presents the preparation of n-tetradecane-in-water emulsions with different weight ratios of n-tetradecane and water, and their potential application in packaging and shipping vaccines. The size and distribution of the n-tetradecane droplets are characterized using optical microscopy and light scattering methods, respectively. The thermal properties of the emulsions are determined using the T-history method. In the results, the emulsions, which are comprised of 17 ~ 30 wt% oil, 3 wt% surfactant, and 67 ~ 80 wt% water, are stable and have droplet sizes in the range of 100 to 800 nm. The thermal properties demonstrate that subcooling is prevented through increasing the droplet size. The results indicate that the n-tetradecane/water emulsions containing 25 ~ 35 wt% n-tetradecane, with a melting point of $2{\sim}8^{\circ}C$ and a latent heat of $227.0{\sim}250.8kJ\;kg^{-1}$, are good candidate materials for packaging and shipping vaccines.