Development of nano-enhanced phase change material from different biomasses for energy application

Abstract

A particularly effective and efficient method for thermal energy storage is the use of phase change materials (PCMs), which have a high latent heat storage capacity at low-temperature intervals. Nonetheless, the actual uses of PCMs are constrained poor heat conductivity. As a result, there is an urgent demand for form-stable phase change materials with excellent heat conductivity. This research is carried out for developing nano-enhanced PCM materials from different biomasses such as microalgae, corn cob, and pea shell. Different physico-chemical properties and characterization of nano-PCM materials such as proximate and ultimate analysis, BET surface areas, FTIR spectra, XRD spectra, Raman Spectra, and TGA profile were performed in this work. Thermal conductivity and heat flux were calculated based on Pool boiling experiments on developed nano-PCM materials. The Fixed carbon was found to be 16.6 wt%, 17.5 wt%, and 19.6 wt% for PCM-P, PCMC, and PCK-M respectively. The Ash content was found to be 9.8 wt%, 7.2 wt%, and 5.7 wt% for PCMP, PCMC, and PCK-M respectively. BET surface area was found to be 94.7 m2/g, 120.3 m2/g, and 146.4 m2/g, for PCMP, PCMC, and PCM-M, respectively. The thermal conductivity of PCMP, PCMC, and PCM-M were found to be 0.32 W/mK, 0.36 W/mK, and 0.41 W/mK, respectively. The results show that PCM-M has highest thermal conductivity and highest critical heat flux among all three PCMs which makes it more suitable for thermal energy storage. The XRD pattern shows the maximum crystal behavior in PCM-M and PCM-P.