State-of-the-Art Review of Organic Phase Change Materials for Low-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage Technology

Abstract

The demand for thermal comfort by increased population results in growing energy consumption worldwide, resulting in deterioration of the global climate caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The latent heat storage technique is efficient because it can be operated at a minimum range of temperature. Especially, Phase change materials (PCMs), which have a tendency for solid-liquid phase transformation, have become a topic of great research interest. Organic PCM may be utilized in many thermal storage system applications. But none of the organic PCM in its pure form possesses all of the required properties for usage in real applications. So, to use a particular PCM in a variety of applications, eutectic PCM may be designed. The thermal characteristics like phase transition temperature and enthalpy of fusion may easily be adjusted by adding at least two PCMs to prepare eutectics with a lower melting temperature and higher energy density than either of the individual PCMs. The optimal composition of PCMs in the eutectic material and the lowest melting point are computed using the Schroder-Van Laar model. Also, because of the poor heat conduction of eutectic PCM, it puts a barrier to utilization in real-world applications. Various materials can be added in order to optimize thermal conductivity of these eutectic PCMs. Therefore, eutectic PCMs have the potential to be utilized for low-temperature heat energy storage practical applications and will progressively be included in worldwide heat management solutions in the coming years, and their price should indicate that they are worth the investment.