ArticlePDF Available

Accelerated Thermal Cycling Test of Microencapsulated Paraffin Wax/Polyaniline Made by Simple Preparation Method for Solar Thermal Energy Storage

MDPI
Materials
Authors:

Abstract and Figures

Microencapsulated paraffin wax/polyaniline was prepared using a simple in situ polymerization technique, and its performance characteristics were investigated. Weight losses of samples were determined by Thermal Gravimetry Analysis (TGA). The microencapsulated samples with 23% and 49% paraffin showed less decomposition after 330 °C than with higher percentage of paraffin. These samples were then subjected to a thermal cycling test. Thermal properties of microencapsulated paraffin wax were evaluated by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Structure stability and compatibility of core and coating materials were also tested by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), and the surface morphology of the samples are shown by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). It has been found that the microencapsulated paraffin waxes show little change in the latent heat of fusion and melting temperature after one thousand thermal recycles. Besides, the chemical characteristics and structural profile remained constant after one thousand thermal cycling tests. Therefore, microencapsulated paraffin wax/polyaniline is a stable material that can be used for thermal energy storage systems.
Content may be subject to copyright.
Materials 2013, 6, 1608-1620; doi:10.3390/ma6051608
materials
ISSN 1996-1944
www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
Article
Accelerated Thermal Cycling Test of Microencapsulated
Paraffin Wax/Polyaniline Made by Simple Preparation Method
for Solar Thermal Energy Storage
Mahyar Silakhori 1,*, Mohammad Sajad Naghavi 1, Hendrik Simon Cornelis Metselaar 1,*,
Teuku Meurah Indra Mahlia 2,3, Hadi Fauzi 1 and Mohammad Mehrali 1
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering and Advanced Material Research Center, University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; E-Mails: msnaghavi@gmail.com (M.S.N.);
hadidoank@gmail.com (H.F.); mohamad.mehrali@siswa.um.edu.my (M.M.)
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang 43000, Selangor,
Malaysia; E-Mail: indra@uniten.edu.my
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed;
E-Mails: h.metselaar@um.edu.my (H.S.C.M.); silakhori.mahyar@gmail.com (M.S.);
Tel: +603-7967 4451 (H.S.C.M.); Fax: +603-7967 44 (H.S.C.M.).
Received: 14 February 2013; in revised form: 1 April 2013 / Accepted: 7 April 2013 /
Published: 29 April 2013
Abstract: Microencapsulated paraffin wax/polyaniline was prepared using a simple in situ
polymerization technique, and its performance characteristics were investigated. Weight
losses of samples were determined by Thermal Gravimetry Analysis (TGA). The
microencapsulated samples with 23% and 49% paraffin showed less decomposition after
330 °C than with higher percentage of paraffin. These samples were then subjected to a
thermal cycling test. Thermal properties of microencapsulated paraffin wax were evaluated
by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Structure stability and compatibility of core
and coating materials were also tested by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer
(FTIR), and the surface morphology of the samples are shown by Field Emission Scanning
Electron Microscopy (FESEM). It has been found that the microencapsulated paraffin
waxes show little change in the latent heat of fusion and melting temperature after one
thousand thermal recycles. Besides, the chemical characteristics and structural profile
remained constant after one thousand thermal cycling tests. Therefore, microencapsulated
paraffin wax/polyaniline is a stable material that can be used for thermal energy
storage systems.
OPEN ACCESS
Materials 2013, 6 1609
Keywords: Phase Change Materials (PCM); paraffin wax; energy storage;
thermal reliability
1. Introduction
One of the most significant discussions in energy storage is the use of the Phase Change Materials
(PCM) for thermal energy storage. PCMs are able to absorb and release large amounts of latent heat
according to the increase and decrease in the temperature of the surroundings. They are classified as
organic, inorganic and eutectic compounds [1–3]. Among PCMs, organic materials, such as paraffin
and fatty acids, are more suitable for thermal energy storage, because of their high energy storage
capability. Lifespan and the expenses regarding the use of storage material affect the economic
feasibility of thermal storage system. Thence, significant changes in the melting point, as well as the
latent heat fusion during the thermal cycling of phase change materials are not favorable. Commercial
PCMs are used for latent heat energy storage, because of their availability and low cost [4–7]. A solar
thermal system with latent heat storage undergoes one melt/freeze cycle per day. This might be called
a normal cycle, while a repeated melt/freeze cycle test, conducted in the laboratory with a hot plate or
similar system, is called an accelerated thermal cycle test [8]. Some issues regarding the use of these
materials include the instability of material properties and corrosion of container [2]. The choice of
PCM container is directly related to thermal stability of PCM material in such a way that it should be
able to repeat the cooling and heating cycles. Sharma et al. have measured the melting point, latent
heat of fusion and specific heat of stearic acid, acetamide and paraffin wax after cycling [9]. Paraffin
wax and acetamide were found to be more stable over the 300 thermal cycles. However, the
commercial grade of these materials has been measured after 1500 thermal cycles [10]. It has also been
outlined that there is no obvious change of the melting point during thermal cycling. Thus, paraffin
wax and acetamide have been considered to be promising PCM for some applications. Shukla et al.
studied the thermal cycling of organic and inorganic PCM. Thereby, organic PCM has been considered
more suitable than inorganic PCM for the purpose of thermal cycling tests [11]. On the other hand, the
compatibility of PCM with other materials has attracted great attention of some researchers, because it
directly affects the lifetime of encapsulation material, which covered the PCM. Some problems
regarding the material compatibility with PCM have been explained by Mehling et al. [12], such as
corrosion of the metal in contact with inorganic PCM, stability loss of plastics in contact with organic
PCM and migration of liquid or gas through plastic, which in turn affect the performance of contained
organic or inorganic PCM, as well as the outside environment. Thus, based on this feature, the PCM
must have a long life during the thermal cycling test. Besides, the changes in latent heat values and
phase transition temperature for a large number of melting and solidification processes must be as low
as possible [13]. PCM should be tested by an accelerated cycle to measure the change in melting point,
latent heat storage and specific heat, before being used in an actual thermal cycle. Uddin et al. studied
the operation cycling of microencapsulated paraffin [14]. They evaluated the chemical structure,
surface morphology and energy storage/release capacity after cycling test. Furthermore, Alkan et al.
also carried out a number of investigations into the thermal reliability of microencapsulated docosane
Materials 2013, 6 1610
with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) [15]. They found that there is no significant change in latent
heat and melting point after 1000, 3000 and 5000 cycles. In addition, Ahmet Sari et al. studied the
accelerated thermal cycling test for microencapsulated n-octacosane for 1000, 3000 and 5000 repeated
melting and freezing cycles [16]. They concluded that the chemical structures of microcapsules were
not affected by thermal cycling. In another study, Sude Ma et al. conducted the thermal cycling test of
microencapsulated paraffin wax/PMMA for 200, 500 and 1000 cycles [17]. They indicated that
microencapsulated paraffin wax has satisfactory thermal reliability.
In this study, we develop a facile method for the synthesis of paraffin wax/PAn microcapsules with
different ratios of paraffin wax to polyaniline. Paraffin wax is used as latent heat storage material, and
Polyaniline is used as the shell of this paraffin wax. The thermal reliability of the microencapsulated
paraffin wax was distinguished by Thermal Gravimetry Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning
Calorimeter (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) and Field Emission Scanning
Electron Microscopy (FESEM) devices.
2. Experimental Method
2.1. Materials and Method
Paraffin wax with a melting point of 53–57 °C and aniline (C6H7N) were used as core and shell
materials, respectively. Ammonium persulfate (APS, (NH4)2S2O8) was used as the oxidant and silicon
oil for a uniform heating rate during polymerization. All chemicals were used as received without
further purification. Water purification was done through distillation followed by deionization with the
aid of ion-exchange resins.
Paraffin wax/PAn microcapsules were synthesized via in situ polymerization of adsorbed aniline
monomer on the surface of paraffin wax. In the first step, paraffin wax was melted in deionized water
(150 mL) in a 300 mL beaker at 75 °C, and then aniline was added as a monomer to the beaker,
followed by stringing for 1 h at the speed of 700 RPM in various ratios of Paraffin wax/PAn 0.1/0.9,
0.2/0.8, 0.3/0.7, 0.7/0.3 g, that is named S1, S2, S3, S4, respectively. The beaker should be kept in
silicon oil for a uniform heating rate. In the second step, 2.28 g of APS was dissolved in deionized
water (100 mL) in the 300 mL beaker at the same condition of the paraffin wax and was added
drop-wise to the beaker. Finally, the reaction proceeds by the chemical oxidation of aniline monomers
with APS. Moreover, the color of the solution started to change gradually from the first hours. Initially,
it was green, and after 2 h, the color changed to red. For the third hour, the red color became darker.
Ultimately, when the polymerization was completed, it became almost black.
2.2. Experimental Setup and Procedure
The experimental setup included a strip heater (24VDC), deep cooler (12VDC), PCM storage box,
thermocouple, temperature controller (ACS-13A-R/M-Shinko), communication converter
(IF-400-Shinko) and a PC for data acquisition system. The PCMs are kept in a rectangular box that is
made of copper. The width length and height of the box are 12 mm, 6 mm and 35 mm, respectively.
The box was filled with 1 g of PCM. The stainless steel strip heater was glued to the outside of the
copper box and its flux voltage set to 80 W and 24 V, respectively. The deep cooler consisted of a heat
Materials 2013, 6 1611
pipe heat sink to cool the storage box. The copper surface of the cooler was attached on the other side
of the storage box. K-Type thermocouples were used in this experiment, which has temperature range
of 0–1260 °C and a limited error of ±0.7%. Figure 1 shows the image and schematic of the thermal
cycling setup [18].
Figure 1. (a) Image of repeated thermal cycling test; (b) schematic of repeated thermal
cycling test [18].
Materials 2013, 6 1612
2.3. Characterization of Phase Change Material
A Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) (model: METTLER TOLEDO 820C-Error ±0.5–1 °C)
was used to analyze the thermodynamic characteristics of the microencapsulated paraffin wax. In this
evaluation, DSC was used to measure latent heat, heat capacity and melting temperature of the
samples. Moreover, the chemical structure stability of microencapsulated was examined using a
Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (model: PerkinElmer Spectrum 400). With TGA (model:
METTLER TOLEDO SDTA 851-Error ±5 µg ), the microencapsulated paraffin wax was generally
heated at a constant rate of 10 °C per minute, and the resulting temperatures and the degradation rate
were measured as a function of time or temperature. FESEM was used to study the morphology of the
samples. Sample capsules were mounted on copper stubs with dark double-sided carbon tape and
vacuum-coated with a platinum film (Ion Sputtering Device) and then examined by FESEM (model:
Zeiss Auriqa).
3. Results and Discussions
3.1. Thermogravimetry Test
Microencapsulated paraffin wax was subjected to heating and cooling cycling test. The TGA and
Differential Thermal Gravimetry (DTG) result of the capsules are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Thermal Gravimetry Analysis (TGA) and Differential Thermal Gravimetry
(DTG) results of microencapsulated S1, S2, S3, S4 and paraffin wax.
Materials 2013, 6 1613
The TGA result shows the weight loss of microencapsulated paraffin wax in terms of temperature.
The rates of weight loss are 55%, 60%, 75%, 80% and 100% for S1, S2, S3, S4 and paraffin wax,
respectively. This can be explained by the fact that the weight loss of the microencapsulated paraffin
wax depends on the encapsulation ratios of paraffin wax to the microencapsulation [19]. In other
words, the rate of decomposition of the paraffin wax is decreased due to the increase in coating
material. This implies that the shell structures of microencapsulated paraffin wax provided a better
protection and prevented the paraffin wax from leaking out of the capsules. In addition, Differential
Thermal Gravimetry (DTG) tests for the capsules show the rate of weight loss with temperature. As
can be seen, the paraffin wax degrades in one step, while paraffin wax/polyaniline microcapsules
degrade in two steps. The degradation of paraffin wax begins at around 280 °C, and the degradation of
paraffin/Polyaniline is around 280 °C and 330 °C, with the second step belonging to polyaniline. This
means that the degradation of the polyaniline is at higher temperature than that of paraffin wax.
Therefore, polyaniline can protect the paraffin wax as a core material. The recent reports show that the
decomposition temperature of polyaniline depended on the polymerization condition of aniline
monomer [20]. From the figure, it is clear that encapsulated paraffin wax, S1 and S2, are more stable
than S3 and S4, due to a better encapsulation. It means that the high ratio of polyaniline can cover most
of the paraffin wax during polymerization. Although the latent heats of capsules S1 and S2 are
expected to be less, due to the low content of paraffin wax, these two capsules could be applied in
thermal energy storage systems with less failure and more longevity. Hence, microencapsulated
paraffin wax, S1 and S2, can be chosen to be put in thermal cycling tests due to their high
thermal stability.
3.2. Repeated Thermal Cycling Test
Microencapsulated paraffin waxes were analyzed in the repeated cyclic state. The set-up is
displayed in Figure 1. The history of temperature-time for a few cycles is shown in Figure 3
Microencapsulated paraffin wax was tested through 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 cycles.
Figure 3. Thermal cycling operation of hot plate heating and cooling temperature
with time.
M
3
4
T
b
s
d
N
w
M
aterials 2
0
3
.3. Therm
a
Figures
4
4
00, 600, 8
0
T
he meltin
g
b
etween 46
.
s
olidifying
t
Fi
ur
(a) he
a
Based o
n
d
uring the c
y
N
o superco
o
w
as not see
n
0
13, 6
a
l Propertie
s
4
and 5 sho
w
0
0 and 100
0
g
points o
f
.
4 °C and
4
t
emperatur
e
e
4. Differ
e
a
ting; (b) c
o
Fi
g
ure 5.
D
n
these res
u
y
cling test.
o
ling was
o
n
. Tables 1
s
of
M
icroe
w
the DSC
0
cycles, re
f
the capsu
4
5.4 °C for
e
of S2 are
a
e
ntial Scan
n
o
oling.
D
SC curves
u
lts, phase
c
Congruent
o
bserved, n
o
and 2, sho
w
ncapsulate
d
result of t
h
spectively.
les, S1, h
a
the coolin
g
a
round 53.4
n
ing Calori
m
of differen
t
c
hange tem
p
melting w
a
o
significa
n
w
the laten
t
d
Phase Ch
h
e microen
c
DSC curv
e
a
ve change
d
g
process a
f
53.8 °C a
n
m
eter (DSC
t
cycling te
s
p
eratures o
a
s distingui
s
n
t change i
n
t
heat of he
ange Mate
r
c
apsulated
p
e
s show the
d
53.2–53.
5
f
ter repeat
e
n
d 44–46 °
C
) curves of
s
ts for S2:
(
f the caps
u
s
hed by its
c
n
volume t
o
a
ting and f
r
r
ial (MEP
CM
p
araffin wa
melting te
m
5
°C for t
h
e
d thermal
c
C
, respectiv
different c
y
(
a) heating;
u
les have a
c
onstant p
h
o
ok place a
n
r
eezing of
c
CM
)
x, S1 and
S
m
perature
o
h
e melting
c
ycles. The
ely.
y
cling tests
(b) coolin
g
good ther
m
h
ase change
nd
materia
l
c
apsules S1
16
1
S
2, after 20
0
o
f S1 and S
2
process a
n
melting a
n
for S1:
g
.
m
al reliabili
t
temperatu
r
l
degradati
o
and S2 aft
e
1
4
0
,
2
.
nd
n
d
t
y
r
e.
o
n
e
r
Materials 2013, 6 1615
different recycles. The average change in the specific enthalpies of heating and cooling are around 30
to 32 J/g and 60 to 65 J/g for S1 and S2, respectively. Moreover, the latent heat of microencapsulated
S1 has a variation of 1.2%, 3.2%, 2.2%, 3.2% and 1.6% for melting and 3.3%, 3.3%, 6.1%, 5.8% and
5.8% for the freezing process after 200 to 1000 cycles, respectively, compared with zero cycles.
Besides, capsules S2 have shown variation of 4.6%, 6.2%, 6.2%, 6.2% and 7% during their melting
process and 4.3%, 6.6%, 6.6%, 7.8% and 8.1% during their solidification process for the same range of
cycles (200–1000). This might stem from the moisture content in the samples, as they absorb moisture
from the surroundings, or the quality of core materials. This kind of variation is also observable in pure
material [10]. It is clear that there is no significant change in the latent heat capacity and temperature
of melting and freezing after thermal cycling, and increasing the number of cycling did not lead to any
degradation or change in the chemical structure of the paraffin wax. Therefore, the heat storage
material could form the first crystal structure (in a fresh state of PCM) during the solidification period
of the repeated thermal cycling. Low impurity or having no impurity at all can be the cause of no
degradation in the PCM during thermal cycling. The reason might be that there was no chemical
reaction during thermal energy storage, as well as the release process within the material itself.
Besides, no chemical reaction occurred in the coating material (polyaniline) or with the holding
container. Both samples displayed their reproducibility in thermal performance and melting and
solidifying behavior. They also exhibited an acceptable thermal reliability of the capsules being heated
by the hotplate. They are able to guarantee a long-term performance of heat storage.
Table 1. DSC result of the microencapsulated paraffin wax, S1.
Cycling
number
Melting temperature
(°C)
Melting latent heat
(J/g)
Freezing temperature
(ºC)
Freezing latent
heat (J/g)
0 53.2 31.0 46.4 32.6
200 53.2 30.6 44.9 31.5
400 53.3 30.0 45.2 31.5
600 53.3 30.3 45.1 30.6
800 53.5 30.6 45.5 30.7
1000 53.4 30.5 45.4 30.7
Table 2. DSC result of the microencapsulated paraffin wax, S2.
Cycling
number
Melting temperature
(°C)
Melting latent heat
(J/g)
Freezing temperature
(ºC)
Freezing latent heat
(J/g)
0 53.8 65.1 44.9 66.4
200 53.2 62.1 44 63.5
400 53.3 61 44.1 62
600 53.3 61 44 62
800 53.3 61 44.2 61.2
1000 53.4 60.5 46.1 61
Here, two important parameters used to analyze the phase change properties of paraffin wax (using
DSC measurements) would be introduced. One is the encapsulation ratio (R) and the other is
encapsulation efficiency (E) denoted by the following equations [21,22]:
Materials 2013, 6 1616
∆,
∆,
100% (1)
∆, ∆
,
∆, ∆
,
100% (2)
where ∆, and ∆, indicate the fusion heat and crystallization enthalpy of the bulk paraffin
wax, respectively; ∆, and ∆, designate the fusion heat and crystallization
enthalpy of the microencapsulated one, respectively. Effective encapsulation for paraffin wax within
the microcapsules is specified by encapsulation ratio, whereas the loading content (10% and 20% for
S1 and S2, respectively) is determined by the dry weight percent of the core material. By this notation,
the encapsulation ratio signifies the effective performance of paraffin wax inside capsules for heat
energy storage and thermal regulation. Besides, both melting and crystallization enthalpies influence
the value of encapsulation efficiency.
The encapsulation ratio and encapsulation efficiency of the microencapsulated paraffin wax
obtained by DSC measurement, as well as calculations are manifested in Table 3. It can be noted that
these two parameters are proportional to the paraffin wax/polyaniline weight ratio that dominates the
core material loading. However, upon the synthesis of microcapsules S1 and S2, a compact shell is
achieved that engenders an effective encapsulation, preventing any leakage from capsules. Moreover,
the monomer polymerization was not performed completely, resulting in washing out of some of the
monomers from the product. This led to a high encapsulation ratio and encapsulation efficiency for the
samples, S1 and S2.
Table 3. The phase change behavior and performance of microencapsulated paraffin wax.
Sample Name ∆󰇛
󰇜 ∆󰇛
󰇜
Paraffin wax
loading (%)
Encapsulation
ratio (%)
Encapsulation
efficiency (%)
Paraffin wax 131.92 132.31
S1 31 32.6 10 23.4 24.0
S2 65.1 66.4 20 49.3 49.7
3.4. Structure Stability of MEPCM
According to the FTIR result of Sample 1 (S1), the characteristic peaks of the paraffin wax and
polyaniline can be observed after 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1,000 cycles (Figure 6). The peaks around
2960–2850 cm1 and 1465 cm1 show carbon hydrogen stretching and bending absorption,
respectively. The symmetric C–H bending absorption of the CH3 group at 1381 cm1 and the CH2
rocking absorption band at 729 cm1 confirm the linear saturated aliphatic structure of the paraffin
wax [23]. From the IR spectrum, six major absorptions can be observed: at 1592, 1503, 1307, 1220,
1155 and 824 cm1, of which 1592 and 1503 cm1 belong to stretching vibrations of C–C ring and the
peaks at 1220 and 1370 cm1 are related to N–H bending, as well as the C–N (or C–C) stretching. The
peaks at 1155 and 824 cm1 are also assigned to the in-plane and out-of-plane C–H bending modes.
The bands of the polyaniline salt are also shown at 1498, 1462, 1306, 1274, 1074 and 789 cm1.
Besides, the spectrum for the polyaniline salt demonstrates peaks around 3264, 1653 and 634 cm1.
The band of 3264 cm1 is assigned to the NH2 stretching mode and the 1653 cm1 peak to the NH2
Materials 2013, 6 1617
bending vibration. Finally, the 634 cm1 is related to NH2 wagging. In addition, FTIR results shows
that with increasing the number of cycles, the change in all peaks is negligible. Figure 6 also indicates
that the characteristics of microencapsulated paraffin wax remain stable after 1000 cycles. It means
that the compatibility of the coating material and core remain in good conditions after repeated thermal
recycles. Moreover, the FTIR results do not show any new peak in comparison with the FTIR of S1
and S2 before the cycling test. Consequently, the results confirm that the reaction between
encapsulation materials and the environment is not significant. The low tendency of polyaniline to
react with paraffin wax and the high stability of polyaniline can also be considered as two strong
reasons behind the ability of polyaniline as a suitable coating for encapsulation of paraffin wax.
Figure 6. Structure stability of microencapsulated S1 after different cycling tests.
3.5. Surface Morphology of MEPCM
Figure 7 shows the surface morphology of microcapsules S1, S2 after 0 and 1000 cycles. Physical
properties of the capsules can be analyzed by their shape and size. In other words, the comparison of
Materials 2013, 6 1618
FESEM results for the microcapsules before and after cycling can show the stability, solubility and
chemical reactivity of the sample. As noted from this figure, the paraffin wax was encapsulated by
polyaniline. S1 and S2 formed globular capsules with average sizes within the range of 300 to 500 nm.
This shape remained stable after 1000 cycles. The FESEM results confirm that the flexibility of
polyaniline is acceptable, because no cracks were observed on the surface of the polyaniline coating
after 1000 cycles. The results of DSC, FTIR and FESEM confirm that the polyaniline is a suitable
coating for the purpose of microencapsulating paraffin wax.
Figure 7. (a) Microcapsules S1 after 0 cycle; (b) microcapsules S1 after 1000 cycles;
(c) microcapsules S2 after 0 cycle; and (d) microcapsules S2 after 1000 cycles.
4. Conclusions
In a word, a facile method has been used for the preparation of microencapsulated paraffin
wax/polyaniline by an in situ polymerization method. TGA results show that the thermal stability of
the microencapsulated paraffin wax/polyaniline with the ratio of (1:9) and (2:8) is better than that of
(3:7) and (7:3). To investigate the thermal reliability of the capsules, microencapsulated paraffin
waxes, S1 and S2, were tested by thermal cycling. DSC results indicated that the average latent heats
of melting and freezing of the microencapsulated paraffin wax/polyaniline were around 30–32 J/g and
60–65 J/g for S1 and S2, respectively. These imply that the microencapsulated paraffin
wax/polyaniline were reliable in terms of the thermal cycling test. Furthermore, the FTIR spectroscopy
results indicated that the accelerated thermal cycling does not cause any degradation in the chemical
Materials 2013, 6 1619
structure of the PCM. This means that the reaction between encapsulation materials and environment is
not significant. FESEM analysis also showed that the microcapsules prepared by in situ polymerization
were globular in shape. Besides, the surface morphologies of the capsules with the ratio of (1:9) and
(2:8) are homogenous after 1000 cycling test. This indicated that the coating materials were suitable
for encapsulation of PCM in thermal energy storage at high temperatures. Based on all these results,
accelerated thermal cycling tests of microencapsulated paraffin wax/polyaniline reveal that the change
in the melting and freezing temperatures have negligible magnitudes for latent thermal energy storage
(LHTES) applications, and the Microencapsulated Phase Change Material (MEPCM) has good
long-term reliability.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge University of Malaya for financial support. This research
was carried under the high impact research grant with project No. UM.C/HIR/MOHE/ENG/
21-(D000021-16001) and University of Malaya research grant No. UMRG RP021-2012A.
References
1. Abhat, A. Low temperature latent heat thermal energy storage: Heat storage materials. Solar
Energy 1983, 30, 313–332.
2. Zalba, B.; Marín, J.M.; Cabeza, L.F.; Mehling, H. Review on thermal energy storage with phase
change: Materials, heat transfer analysis and applications. Appl. Therm. Eng. 2003, 23, 251–283.
3. Kaygusuz, K.; Sari, A. Thermal energy storage system using a technical grade paraffin wax as
latent heat energy storage material. Energy Sources 2005, 27, 1535–1546.
4. Farid, M.M.; Kim, Y.; Kansawa, A. Thermal Performance of a Heat Storage Module using PCM’s
with Different Melting Temperature: Experimental. J. Solar Energy Eng. 1990, 112, 125–131.
5. Farid, M.M.; Kanzawa, A. Thermal Performance of a Heat Storage Module using PCM’s with
Different Melting Temperatures: Mathematical Modeling. J. Solar Energy Eng. 1989, 111,
152–157.
6. Farid, M.M.; Mohamed, A.K. Effect of natural convection on the process of melting and
solidification of paraffin wax. Chem. Eng. Commun. 1987, 57, 297–316.
7. Himran, S.; Suwono, A.; Mansoori, G.A. Characterization of Alkanes and Paraffin Waxes for
Application as Phase Change Energy Storage Medium. Energy Sources 1994, 16, 117–128.
8. Tyagi, V.V.; Buddhi, D. Thermal cycle testing of calcium chloride hexahydrate as a possible
PCM for latent heat storage. Solar Energy Mater. Solar Cells 2008, 92, 891–899.
9. Sharma, S.D.; Buddhi, D.; Sawhney, R.L. Accelerated thermal cycle test of latent heat-storage
materials. Solar Energy 1999, 66, 483–490.
10. Sharma, A.; Sharma, S.D.; Buddhi, D. Accelerated thermal cycle test of acetamide, stearic acid
and paraffin wax for solar thermal latent heat storage applications. Energy Convers. Manag. 2002,
43, 1923–1930.
11. Shukla, A.; Buddhi, D.; Sawhney, R. Thermal cycling test of few selected inorganic and organic
phase change materials. Renew. Energy 2008, 33, 2606–2614.
Materials 2013, 6 1620
12. Mehling, H.; Cabeza, L. Phase change material and therir basic properties. In Thermal Energy
Storage for Sustainable Energy Consumption; Paksoy, H., Ed.; Springer: Dordrecht,
the Netherlands, 2007; Volume 234, pp. 257–277.
13. Sari, A.; Kaygusuz, K. Thermal performance of palmitic acid as a phase change energy storage
material. Energy Convers. Manag. 2002, 43, 863–876.
14. Uddin, M.S.; Zhu, H.J.; Hawlader, M.N.A. Effects of cyclic operation on the characteristics of a
microencapsulated PCM storage material. Int. J. Solar Energy 2002, 22, 105–114.
15. Alkan, C.; Kaya, K.; SarI, A. Preparation, thermal properties and thermal reliability of form-stable
paraffin/polypropylene composite for thermal energy storage. J. Polym. Environ. 2009, 17,
254–258.
16. Sari, A.; Alkan, C.; Karaipekli, A.; Uzun, O. Microencapsulated n-octacosane as phase change
material for thermal energy storage. Solar Energy 2009, 83, 1757–1763.
17. Ma, S.D.; Song, G.L.; Miao, Z.C.; Wang, D.W. Preparation and characterization of
paraffin/PMMA core/shell structured microcapsules. Mater. Adv. Res. 2011, 239–242, 524–527.
18. Mehrali, M.; Latibari, S.T.; Mehrali, M.; Metselaar, H.S.C.; Silakhori, M. Shape-stabilized phase
change materials with high thermal conductivity based on paraffin/graphene oxide composite.
Energy Convers. Manag. 2013, 67, 275–282.
19. Pan, L.; Tao, Q.; Zhang, S.; Wang, S.; Zhang, J.; Wang, Z.; Zhang, Z. Preparation,
characterization and thermal properties of micro-encapsulated phase change materials. Solar
Energy Mater. Solar Cells 2011, 98, 66–70.
20. Gemeay, A.H.; Mansour, I.A.; El-Sharkawy, R.G.; Zaki, A.B. Preparation and characterization of
polyaniline/manganese dioxide composites via oxidative polymerization: Effect of acids. Eur.
Polym. J. 2005, 41, 2575–2583.
21. Zhang, G.H.; Bon, S.A.F.; Zhao, C.Y. Synthesis, characterization and thermal properties of novel
nanoencapsulated phase change materials for thermal energy storage. Solar Energy 2012, 86,
1149–1154.
22. Zhang, H.; Wang, X.; Wu, D. Silica encapsulation of n-octadecane via sol-gel process: A novel
microencapsulated phase-change material with enhanced thermal conductivity and performance.
J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2010, 343, 246–255.
23. Fallahi, E.; Barmar, M.; Kish, M.H. Preparation of phase-change material microcapsules with
paraffin or camel fat cores: Application to fabrics. Iran. Polym. J. 2010, 19, 277–286.
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
... The PCM wall board properties are given in Table 4, and Figure 3 shows the PCM layer at different integration positions within the wall structure. The wall board consists of microencapsulated paraffins, which are able to store large amounts of thermal energy and release them when the room temperature starts to decrease [62]. This microencapsulated PCM can be added directly to building materials with a large surface area for improving heat transfer rates, and also possesses good sealing properties [63]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Phase change materials (PCMs) can improve the thermal performance of building facades. The integration position of a PCM in the facades is influenced by multiple factors including the material properties of the PCM, building types, and the internal and external conditions of a building. However, this has not been a focus within the UK dwelling stock, where many dwellings are not thermally protected. This paper, therefore, presents a numerical study with the aid of building simulation that comparatively analysed the thermal performance between four typical UK dwelling types (semi-detached house, terraced house, detached house, and apartment) situated in North East England. The PCM was implemented into the external wall of the dwellings with the positions altered to determine the most effective position. It was determined that the PCM positioned internally was the most effective for all the dwelling types. These results demonstrated that the PCM being implemented in the apartment, semi-detached, and terraced houses had only marginal heat loss reductions (by 8%, 14%, and 8%, respectively) in comparison with that of the detached house (by 30%). It was also found that the large external wall area of the detached house acted as significant thermal energy storage, which was capable of offsetting heat transmission and stabilising indoor thermal conditions. In summary, this paper contributes to the matters concerning the effect of PCMs on indoor thermal performance in dwellings of different typologies in the UK.
... Negative permeability [11] and physical properties of giant magnetoresistance [12] have been studied for Poly-ANI. As a result of the exceptional qualities that it has, it has applications in a variety of fields, including electrochromic lenses [13], solar cell applications [14], lightemitting machines [15], optical, thermal, and bio-sensors [16,17], super-capacitors [18], neural prosthesis/bioticabiotic interfaces [19], pigments [11], distribution systems [20][21][22], separating membrane gases [23][24][25] and medicine [12]. ...
Article
Full-text available
The compound polyaniline (Poly-ANI) with different concentrations of (H2SO4) sulfuric acid has been synthesized by the chemical polymerization method. The prepared compounds have been characterized using number of techniques including FTIR, FE-SEM, EDS and DSC. Additionally, UV–Vis spectroscopy employed for studying the linear optical properties of polymer with different acid concentrations. Third order optical nonlinearity was characterized using Z-scan at 532 nm. The results showed that the nonlinear refractive index has a negative sign. It was observed that the nonlinear refractive index changes in different ratios of H2SO4. The high value of nonlinear refractive index (n2n2n_{2}) obtained along Z-axis is 74.62×10-774.62×10774.62 \times 10^{ - 7} cm²/W, and the corresponding χ3χ3\chi^{3} is 21.5 × 10⁻⁵ esu. Also, the Poly-ANI film shows the response to NH3 gas sensing in the range 20 ppm-250 ppm and can be used for NH3 sensing application.
Article
Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials (MEPCMs) represent a breakthrough in the realm of thermal energy storage (TES), providing enhanced stability and expanding the scope of applications across diverse industries. Encapsulating phase change materials within microcapsules, significantly improved the thermal, chemical, and physical properties, thereby increasing the efficiency and reliability of TES systems. Integrating these microencapsulated PCMs into systems from domestic heating and cooling to industrial waste heat recovery can significantly curtail energy usage and improve thermal management. This review delves into the classification of PCMs, including inorganic, organic, and eutectic varieties, and examines the critical requirements for shell materials used in microencapsulation. Various encapsulation techniques, including chemical, physicochemical, and physico-mechanical methods, and characterization techniques for performance evaluation are discussed. The economic aspects of MEPCM-based TES systems are also considered, along with recent advances in microencapsulation techniques, highlighting the wide-ranging applications of MEPCMs in sectors such as solar energy storage, packaging, textiles, electronics, and building, underscoring their role in advancing sustainable energy solutions. This review will serve as a comprehensive resource for researchers and industry professionals, offering valuable insights into the development, characterization, and application of MEPCMs, and guiding future innovations in thermal energy storage technologies.
Article
Full-text available
We employ state-of-the-art quantum chemistry methods to study the structure-to-property relationship in polyanilines (PANIs) of different lengths and oxidation states. Specifically, we focus on leucoemeraldine, emeraldine, and pernigraniline in their tetramer and octamer forms. We scrutinize their structural properties, HOMO and LUMO energies, HOMO–LUMO gaps, and vibrational and electronic spectroscopy using various Density Functional Approximations (DFAs). Furthermore, the accuracy of DFAs is assessed by comparing them to experimental and wavefunction-based reference data. We perform large-scale orbital-optimized pair-Coupled Cluster Doubles (oo-pCCD) calculations for ground and electronically excited states and conventional Configuration Interaction Singles (CIS) calculations for electronically excited states in all investigated systems. The EOM-pCCD+S approach with pCCD-optimized orbitals allows us to unambiguously identify charge transfer and local transitions across the investigated PANI systems—an analysis not possible within a delocalized canonical molecular orbital basis obtained, for instance, by DFAs. We show that the low-lying part of the emeraldine and pernigraniline spectrum is dominated by charge transfer excitations and that polymer elongation changes the character of the leading transitions. Furthermore, we augment our study with a quantum informational analysis of orbital correlations in various forms of PANIs.
Article
Full-text available
Evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector as a passive solar water heating system is a simple, reliable, and cost-effective way to capture the sun’s thermal energy to supply hot water to homes. In the proposed system, the manifold is reshaped to a tank and filled with phase change materials (PCM) and porous media, which the PCM acts as a latent heat thermal energy storage medium. In order to increase the heat flux from the heat pipe to the PCM and overcome the low thermal conductivity of the PCM, porous media is used. The porous media is connected to the heat pipe condenser to collect the heat and distribute it uniformly throughout the PCM filling the pores. This design of the manifold acts as a heat storage tank or thermal battery. Another pipe in the tank transfers heat from the PCM to the water. Experiments were conducted in 2 modes: charging/discharging and periodic draw-off. The results demonstrated that this thermal battery design could provide homes with the hot water they require on sunny days, while it needs an auxiliary heater or larger solar collector to provide enough hot water on rainy/cloudy days. Considering the solar radiation fluctuation, the efficiency of the thermal battery is 50% ± 9.3%. The thermal battery can warm up the cold water higher than the operating temperature on a sunny day (more than 120 L per day at 38 °C). Using porous media provides better heat distribution in the PCM.
Article
Full-text available
Microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) was successfully prepared by using paraffin as the core material and PMMA as shell material. Both raw materials are innocuous, cheap and rich in resource. The influences of the key factors (i.e. emulsifier, stabilizer, concentration of the oil phase) on synthesis reaction were systematically evaluated. Conditions of synthesis reaction were also optimized. The relevant research results indicate that the prepared microcapsules are regular spheres with smooth and compact surface. The diameter of these spheres ranges from 1 to 2 mm. No obvious overcooling or overheating phenomena can be observed even when the content of paraffin of MEPCM reaches approximately 50 wt%. TGA analyses indicate that the heat resistance of the microcapsule increases by 10 °C compared to the pure paraffin. Accelerated thermal cycling tests also verify that the MEPCM displays good thermal reliability. The MEPCMs synthesized in the current study have potentials for thermal energy storage purposes such as PCM slurries, textiles and building materials.
Article
Full-text available
S amples of phase-change materials (PCM) microcapsules containing solid paraffin or camel fat as core materials were synthesized by in situ poly-merization using melamine-formaldehyde as shell material. The microcapsules were made in two consecutive steps, emulsification of PCMs in water and then, encapsulation. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and particle size analysis were used to characterize the microcapsules. A simple test method was devised to visually examine the oil seepage and leaking from microcapsules. For paraffin microcapsules the effect of agitation speed, through a limited range, was examined on the size of microcapsules during the formation of pre-polymer. The microcapsules were prepared from camel fat by the similar procedure used for the paraffin microcapsules. The microcapsules were spherical in shape with harsh surfaces as observed by SEM. The average diameter of camel fat microcapsules with 95% confidence limits is 1515±199 nm and that of paraffin is 1600±341 nm. The shell resin was strong and stable enough to prevent the liquid oils from seepage and leaching at 80°C. The effect of prepared camel fat microcapsules on the delay of heat was determined through examining a covered polyester/viscose-fibre fabric. The loaded fabric samples with 10% (w/w) camel fat microcapsules delayed the rise of temperature of the covered thermometer when exposed to heat at 50°C oven. Newton's law of cool-ing was applied to determine the delay in temperature change.
Article
Full-text available
Latent thermal energy storage is one of the favorable kinds of thermal energy storage methods considered for renewable energy source utilization, as in solar photothermal systems. Heat is stored mostly by means of the latent heat of phase change of the medium. The temperature of the medium remains more or less constant during the phase transition. A large number of materials have been identified for low, intermediate, and high operating temperatures for application as latent thermal energy storage media. In the present paper a method for characterization of alkanes (C[sub 1]--C[sub 100]) and paraffin waxes for application as the low-temperature (298--323 K) phase change energy storage medium is introduced. A computational technique is introduced by which the alkanes and paraffin waxes could be evaluated, and possibly upgraded, as the phase change energy storage media. It is demonstrated that the family of n-alkanes has a large spectrum of latent heats, melting points, densities, and specific heats so that the heat storage designer has a good choice of n-alkanes as storage materials for any particular low-temperature thermal energy storage application. As an example of the proposed method, a particular paraffin wax for which appropriate experimental data are available is analyzed and the results of the analysis are presented.
Article
Full-text available
A latent heat storage module was constructed, consisting of 45 cylindrical capsules fixed vertically in 15 rows. The capsules, made of 0.335-m long copper tubes having external diameters of 31.8 mm, were fixed in an insulated rectangular duct. Three commercial waxes having melting temperatures of 44{degrees}C, 53{degrees}C, and 64{degrees}C were selected. Each of the three sets of 15 tubes was filled with different wax. For comparison purposes, experiments were also done with a single commercial wax, having a melting temperature of 53{degrees}C, in all the tubes. During heat charge, hot air flowed across the capsules such that the melting temperature of the waxes decreased in the flow direction. Air flow direction was reversed during heat discharge. This paper reports that experimental measurements showed some improvement in the heat transfer rates during both heat charge and discharge when three types of PCM's were used.
Chapter
This section is an introduction into materials that can be used as Phase Change Materials (PCM) for heat and cold storage and their basic properties. At the beginning, the basic thermodynamics of the use of PCM and general physical and technical requirements on perspective materials are presented. Following that, the most important classes of materials that have been investigated and typical examples of materials to be used as PCM are discussed. These materials usually do not fulfill all requirements. Therefore, solution strategies and ways to improve certain material properties have been developed. The section closes with an up to date market review of commercial PCM, PCM composites and encapsulation methods.
Article
In order to study the changes in latent heat of fusion and melting temperature of calcium chloride hexahydrate (CaCl2·6H2O) inorganic salt as a latent heat storage material, a thousand accelerated thermal cycle tests have been conducted. The effect of thermal cycling and the reliability in terms of the changing of the melting temperature using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) is determined. It has been noticed that the CaCl2·6H2O melts between a stable range of temperature and has shown small variations in the latent heat of fusion during the thermal cycling process. Thus, it can be a promising phase change material (PCM) for heating and cooling applications for various building/storage systems.
Article
1500 accelerated thermal cycle tests have been conducted to study the changes in latent heat of fusion and melting temperature of commercial grade acetamide, stearic acid and paraffin wax. It has been noticed that the stearic acid melts over a wide range of temperature, has shown two melting points and has large variations in latent heat of fusion. Paraffin wax and acetamide have shown reasonably good thermal stability for melting temperature and variations in latent heat of fusion during the cycling process.
Article
The performance of a heat storage unit consisting of number of vertical cylindrical capsules filled with phase change materials, with air flowing across them for heat exchange has been analyzed. Earlier theoretical models did not consider temperature distribution in the radial direction within the capsules, an assumption that limits their applications for small diameter capsules. The mathematical model developed in this work is based on solving the heat conduction equation in both melt and solid phases in cylindrical coordinates, taking into account the radial temperature distribution in both phases. Heat flux was then evaluated at the surface of the first row of the capsules to determine the temperature of the air leaving that row by a simple heat balance. It was found that such computation may be carried out for every few rows rather than for a single row to minimize computer time. The simulation study showed a significant improvement in the rate of heat transfer during heat charge and discharge when phase change materials with different melting temperatures were used.
Article
In this paper, nanocapsules containing n-octadecane with an average 50 nm thick shell of poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and a core/shell weight ratio of 80/20 were synthesized by the direct miniemulsion method, respectively. The average size of the capsules is 140 nm and 119 nm, respectively. The chemical structure of the sample was analyzed using Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Crystallography of nanocapsules was investigated by X-ray diffractometer. The surface morphology was studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The thermal properties and thermal stability of the sample were obtained from Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The temperatures and latent heats of melting and crystallizing of PEMA nanocapsule were determined as 32.7 and 29.8 °C, 198.5 and −197.1 kJ/kg, respectively. TGA analysis indicated that PEMA/octadecane nanocapsule had good thermal stability. The nanocapsules prepared in this work had a much higher encapsulation ratio (89.5%) and encapsulation efficiency (89.5%). Therefore, the findings of the work lead to the conclusion that the present work provides a novel method for fabricating nanoencapsulated phase change material, and it has a better potential for thermal energy storage.