Study of eutectic organic phase change materials with enhanced thermal properties

Abstract

Power shortage is a multifaceted problem of the developing nations. Due to the energy crisis, India, one of the Asia’s key economies is experiencing power shortages. During the recent years, electricity demand has gone up while there is a crunch in coal inventory at the thermal power plants. Therefore augmenting resources from solar energy to nuclear and fossil fuels helps to meet the energy demand. Thermal energy storage [TES] is an enabling technology which improves reliability, integrate generation sources and also help reduce environmental impacts. Phase change materials (PCMs) have been favourable in accumulation of energy in the form of latent heat. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) is preferred over sensible heat thermal energy storage (SHTES) due to thermal stability and higher storage density. This paper impart cognizance on methods to enhance thermal properties by introducing organic eutectic phase change materials (EO-PCMs) and nano-enhanced PCMs. Outcome of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal reliability and thermal conductivity tests for various eutectic mixtures have been examined. Though practical application of PCMs is limited due to formidable challenges such as discharge during phase transformation and low thermal conductivity, eutectic PCMs & nano-enhanced PCMs address the aforementioned challenges due to congruent melting, stability under thermal cycling and significant sorption capacity. Finally, it deliberates some emerging research topics and challenges involved in developing EO-PCMs and nano-enhanced PCMs.