Effect on the Thermal Performance of a Bio-based Phase Change Material with the Addition of Graphite with Surfactants

Abstract

This work presents an experimental investigation into how adding graphite with different surfactants to a bio-based phase change material (PCM) affects its cooling performance. Graphite-based phase change materials (GraPCMs) are prepared by stirring and sonicating graphite with different surfactants, including Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate (SDBS), and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS), in a liquid bio-based PCM. Based on the experiments, the thermal conductivity of the bio-based PCM is increased by 240% to 0.748 W/m⋅K and 218% to 0.70 W/m⋅K when mixed with graphite-SDBS and graphite-SDS, respectively, at a 5% mass fraction of graphite. The ratio of 1:3 graphite to surfactant at a 5% mass fraction of graphite results in the longest amount of time for GraPCM-SDBS and GraPCM-SDS to reach the reference temperature of 43 °C, with delays of 185 and 175 s, respectively. It is observed that increasing the concentration of surfactant leads to further delay in reaching the reference temperature in the case of GraPCM-SDS. The results agree with the literature, as the surfactants and graphite enhanced the thermal conductivity of the PCM.