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COBEM 2023
27th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
Evaluation of Energy Storage Capacity of Vegetable Oils for Applications as Bio-PCMs
Submission Author:
Matheus Guedes , DF
Co-Authors:
Matheus Guedes, Raquel Soares, Maedson Silva, Lucas Lira, Taygoara Oliveira, Simone Monteiro, Antonio Brasil Junior
Presenter: Matheus Guedes
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2023.COB2023-0854
Abstract
Phase change materials (PCMs) gained relevance when the improvement of heating and cooling efficiencies in building applications was in evidence in the 1940s. Since then, new materials have been researched as potential candidates to store energy as latent heat. This type of energy is preferred due to its elevated capacity to store energy within a specific temperature range (compared to sensible heat), when the phase transition occurs within the solid-liquid phases. In the context of new material and aiming to reduce the dependency on derivatives from fossil fuels, there is an interest to substitute the commonly employed paraffin-based PCMs. Considering their availability in nature, their renewable origin, and the broad range of components within their compositions , vegetable oils (VOs) are strong candidates. The variability of components implies a broad-range phase transition, sometimes stated as a disadvantage. In fact, such behavior is indeed an advantage because it enables the attainment of tailor-made PCMs. Thus, the objective of the current work is to investigate the possibility of using VOs in building applications through the examination of the energy storage capacity of coconut oil (CO) by T-history methodology. The accuracy and reproducibility of the experimental apparatus were validated using n-eicosane as standard. CO was submitted to different cooling rates (mimicking variations of environmental conditions) to analyze the capacity of energy storage. Moreover, to check possible loss of performance, CO was also exposed to more than 8 cycles of cooling/heating processes, corresponding 24-hour span. According to the results, the material's storage capacity was greater at slower cooling rates, because of different crystallization kinetics during the liquid-solid transition. Furthermore, there is no variation in thermal properties even when the material is exposed to successive heating and cooling processes. The results obtained corroborate CO may be considered in the applications of PCM to maintain thermal inertia within buildings.
Keywords
Bio-PCM, Vegetable oils, T-history
