Impregnation of Activated Carbon with Organic Phase-Change Material

• Published in: Materials Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 67
• Main Authors: Bae, Jiyeol, Kim, Suho, Kim, Kwangsoo, Baek, Soyoung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22.12.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Activated carbon; Adsorption; Alternative energy sources; Charcoal; Cooling; Dodecane; Electric properties; Energy resources; energy storage; Ethanol; Fossil fuels; Heat conductivity; Heating; Latent heat; Material properties; Melt temperature; Phase change materials; Phase transitions; phase-change material; Porous media; Powders; Temperature; Tetradecane; Thermal conductivity; Thermal storage; South Korea; United States > US; activated carbon; energy storage; phase-change material; latent heat
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma17010067

In this study, we developed a thermal storage medium comprising porous activated carbon filled with organic phase-change materials (PCMs) that utilizes the latent heat of phase-change to absorb heat during heating and release heat during cooling. For the activated carbon, we used both charcoal-based powdered activated carbon (250-350 mesh) and granular activated carbon. The organic phase-change materials used in the experiments were dodecane, tridecane, tetradecane, and pentadecane. Material properties such as thermal conductivity, latent heat, and melting temperature range were evaluated experimentally and theoretically, with the results observed to be consistent. The cyclic thermal performance of the proposed medium was also evaluated. Notably, filling the activated carbon with a mixture of organic PCMs resulted in the highest temperature-moderating effect. The procedure and results presented in this study are expected to aid in further improvement in the performance of thermal storage media containing PCM where stable temperatures are required, including building heating and cooling.