Preparation, properties and characterisation of microemulsion PCM slurry

Abstract

The provisions and applications of renewable energy have great supply-demand gap problem, and thermal energy storage (TES) is a very promising solution to fully utilise the renewable energy and covers off-peak periods. The application of solid-liquid phase change material (PCM) is an effective way of TES based on the techniques of encapsulation and emulsion, but the capsules are easily broken and the emulsions are easily phase separated as they were phase changed for many times, so some other techniques should be developed. The microemulsion PCM slurry was prepared by the combination uses of emulsifiers (i.e. sorbitan monooleate 80 and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate 80), coemulsifier (i.e. butanol), distilled water, purified paraffin and inorganic salts (i.e. potassium chloride). The average particle size in the slurry was about 50 nm, and the slurry was homogeneous after centrifugal acceleration of 1800g (i.e. 'g' is the gravity acceleration) for 5 min and phase change cycles for 1000 times. The latent heat of the slurry was 72.25 J g −1 and the paraffin content in the microemulsion was 43.8 wt %. The slurry can overcome the shortcomings of some other techniques and be expected to be widely applied in the TES.

Effect of hydrophobically modified PEO polymers (PEO-dodecyl) on oil/water microemulsion properties: in vitro and in silico investigations

“…28,29 Compared to a conventional emulsion, a microemulsion is a better vector for the active agents because it consists of nanodroplets that allow better penetration of these active agents. [30][31][32] It also has the advantage of being prepared cold, [33][34][35] which on the one hand reduces energy consumption during its preparation, and on the other hand, it uses heat-sensitive active ingredients. Thus, in comparison with micellar solutions, microemulsions can solubilize a greater quantity of active agents due to their greater stability partly due to the presence of a greater quantity of surfactant, which can, on the other hand, constitute an obstacle to their use for reasons of cost and/or toxicity.…”

A comprehensive review of heat transfer intensification methods for latent heat storage units

“…129 Their thermal stability, even after many phase change cycles, make them suitable for LHTES systems. Micro-emulsion PCM slurry was prepared and characterized by Wang et al 130 The microemulsion PCM slurry was a transparent light-yellow liquid with certain viscosity, and the average particle size of dispersed phase in the slurry was about 50 nm and most of which was smaller than 100 nm. The latent heat of the micro-emulsion PCM slurry was 72.25 kJ/kg with a paraffin content of 43.8 wt%.…”

A novel method for producing bi-component thermo-regulating alginate fiber from phase change material microemulsion

“…The reported PCM microemulsions are mainly applied in building materials and for electrospinning technology. Wang et al 27 reported PCM construction slurry, in which a coemulsifier (sorbitan monooleate 80 and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate 80) was applied. The PCM microemulsion had a size of around 50 nm with latent heat capacity of 74 J/g.…”