Types of Phase Change Materials and Encapsulated Methods for Microcapsules in Cold Storage: Review and One Case Study

Abstract

The preparation of phase change materials(PCMs) provides promising solutions for the technology implementation and popularization of renewable energy in both industries of thermal and refrigeration industries. This work focuses on the low temperature PCMs using in energy storage. The cutting-edge PCMs are expected to provide flexible temperature according to the preservation temperature of application systems. Moreover, the microencapsulated PCM (m-PCM) is potential to improve both the energy storage and refrigeration system performance by decreasing the leakage of the PCM and providing a better thermal conductivity.In this regard, this paper provides a guided technological tour on the materials selection and the preparation methods for the m-PCMs, which remains elusive in the field of low temperature energy storage. Based on the comparative analysis on the existing researches, the effects and potential of different materials and preparation methods on the thermal properties of m-PCMs were summarized and demonstrated. At last, a novel m-PCM with the ntetradecane as core and polystyrene as shell, as well as its corresponding efficient preparation method was preliminarily proposed and tested to verify its improvement.