Experimental analysis on thermal energy storage performance of micro-encapsulated stearic acid and stearyl alcohol PCM slurries; A comparative study

This study examined the thermal performance of a slurry containing micro-encapsulated phase change materials (me-PCMs) for thermal energy storage (TES) applications such as solar thermal or PVT systems. Specifically, the study focused on stearic acid (SAC) and stearyl alcohol (SAL) as the phase change materials, dispersed within an ethylene glycol aqueous solution. The research revealed that increasing the concentration of PCM in the slurry led to improved latent heat energies for both micro-encapsulated stearic acid (me-SAC) and micro-encapsulated stearyl alcohol (me-SAL) slurries during melting and solidification processes. Moreover, me-SAL slurries exhibited higher latent heat energies compared to me-SAC slurries at the same concentrations. The addition of CTAB surfactant positively influenced the stability of the slurry dispersion, ensuring a more even distribution of me-PCMs within the base fluid. These findings highlight the potential of me-SAC and me-SAL slurries as effective materials for TES applications. Significantly, me-SAL slurries outperformed me-SAC slurries in TES performance due to their greater latent heat energies during melting and solidification.