黑料福利网

Phase change materials (PCMs) are an effective technology for thermal energy storage. Their mechanism relies on the absorption and release of solar energy during a temperature-induced phase change. A solid-liquid phase change is facilitated by heat generated by solar power, while the reverse liquid-solid phase change is promoted at lower temperatures in the absence of solar power. Thus, PCMs are added to building materials or integrated heat pump systems, through which a short-term energy storage can occur during a day/night cycle. Long-term energy storage with PCMs has also been proposed, but in this case, chemicals with enhanced heat conductivity need to be added to the PCM composition, to facilitate the transfer of energy to an integrated heat storage facility (i.e. a battery).
Paraffin waxes have traditionally been a strong base component for PCMs, due to their high latent heat and adequate melting ranges. Nonetheless, the sustainability of such materials is low, since they rely on fossil fuels for production. Moreover, paraffin-based PCMs often consist of complex mixtures, whose co-crystallization mechanism is not fully understood. Therefore, gaps arise when computationally-predicted heat storage performance, based on simplistic mixtures, is compared against experimental results, based on the real, complex mixture. For this purpose, HeatScopy proposes a novel experimental workflow to predict heat storage performance, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and inverse gas chromatography (iGC). The integrated methodology will assess the change of structural features during crystallization at nano- and micro- scale and will create a link with heat storage performance measured by traditional thermodynamic techniques (DSC, T-history). The experimental approach is particularly suitable for the transition from paraffins to sustainable plant waxes (coconut/soy wax), which have a complex chemical composition. The effect of heat-conducting fillers on co-crystallization and the resulting long-term heat storage performance is also being assessed
This project is supported by the European Commission through the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship programme.