Experimental analysis of a low cost phase change material emulsion for its use as thermal storage system

• Published in: Energy conversion and management Vol. 106; pp. 201 - 212
• Main Authors: Delgado, Mónica, Lázaro, Ana, Mazo, Javier, Peñalosa, Conchita, Dolado, Pablo, Zalba, Belén
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2015
• Subjects: Natural convection heat transfer; PCM; Phase change material emulsion; Phase change material slurry; Thermal energy storage density; Thermal energy storage density; Phase change material emulsion; Natural convection heat transfer; PCM; Phase change material slurry
• ISSN: 0196-8904; 1879-2227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2015.09.033

[Display omitted] •A low cost PCM emulsion has been analyzed as thermal energy storage system.•Its thermophysical and rheological properties have been determined.•The system shows advantages in terms of energy density and heat transfer rate.•The PCM emulsion system has been compared to other thermal energy storage systems. A 46l commercial tank with a helical coil heat exchanger and containing a low cost phase change material emulsion has been experimentally analyzed as a thermal energy storage system in terms of volumetric energy density and heat transfer rate, for its subsequent comparison with other thermal energy storage systems. This phase change material emulsion shows a phase change temperature range between 30 and 50°C, its solids content is about 60% with an average particle size of 1μm. The low cost phase change material emulsion shows a thermal storage capacity by mass 50% higher than water and an increase in viscosity up to 2–5 orders of magnitude. The results have shown that the global heat transfer coefficient of the phase change material emulsion tank is around 2–6 times higher than for conventional latent systems previously analyzed in literature, although 5 times lower than if it contains water. The phase change material emulsion tank presents an energy density 34% higher than the water tank, which makes it a promising solution. Measures to improve its performance are also studied in this work.