Development and Testing of Binary Organic Eutectic Mixture for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

The most efficient way to store thermal energy is the latent heat energy storage method because of its high energy storage density and almost constant freezing/melting temperature. The present study deals with the preparation and development of eutectic mixture phase change materials (PCMs). The mixture consists of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and myristic acid (MA) and is prepared in different mass fractions. The thermal properties such as melting point and latent heat were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique, and the changes in the chemical/functional group of the mixture were analysed by Fourier transform and infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) method. The DSC thermal analysis results show that the binary system of PEG-MA in the ratio of 60:40 wt%, 50:50 wt% and 40:60% forms the eutectic mixture with a melting temperature of 58.34, 60.3 and 59.07 ℃ and the latent heat of fusion is 187.21, 178.05 and 171 J/g, respectively. FT-IR results show that the material is chemically stable as there is not much changes in the functional group of the mixture irrespective of the weight %. These results make the eutectic mixture a potential candidate for heat storage in passive solar heating applications with respect to the climatic conditions.