Title:
Evaluation of the Effects of Cooling Rates on the Energy Capacity of Vegetable Oils as Phase Change Materials (PCMs)
Author(s):
Guedes, M.N., Soares, R.V., Lira, L.F.L., Silveira, E.A., Monteiro e Silva, S., Oliveira, T.F., Brasil Junior, A.C.P.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
In the field of energy, there is a growing interest in phase change materials that can store thermal energy during transitions, especially between the solid and liquid phases. The cooling rates during the transition from liquid to solid phase play a crucial role in determining the thermal properties of these materials. In this study, T- history methodology was employed to investigate the effect of cooling rates on the liquid-solid transitions of coconut oil. Two cooling rates were examined, namely 0.8 and 0.2 degrees Celsius per minute. Coconut oil was chosen as the focus due to its solid-liquid transition characteristics under ambient conditions and because it is commonly studied. The findings revealed that at a lower cooling rate, coconut oil exhibited the ability to store nearly 70% of the thermal energy that the reference material could store. In such cases, the solidification process occurred within multiple temperature ranges, indicating variations in crystal formation and nucleation. Conversely, at the faster cooling rate, the crystallization steps were not evident, resulting in the material storing only 20% of the thermal energy compared to the reference material. In conclusion, the results of this study emphasize the critical importance of cooling rates in the application of vegetable oils as bio-based phase change materials. Coconut oil emerges as a viable candidate for use as a bio PCM, but its energy storage capacity varies depending on the temperature fluctuations in the environment. To enable the usage of vegetable oils in different applications, it is necessary to understand how the energy storage capacity changes according to the external environment and to verify that the desired properties will not lose effectiveness during multiple thermal cycles
Keywords:
coconut, renewable energies, biobased products, vegetable oil
Topic:
Biomass, Bio-Based Products and Bioenergy Integration
Subtopic:
Strategies for bio-based products in the chemical industry
Event:
31st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
3CV.8.4
Pages:
566 - 569
ISBN:
978-88-89407-23-3
Paper DOI:
10.5071/31stEUBCE2023-3CV.8.4
Price:
FREE
