Study on Phase Change Materials' Heat Transfer Characteristics of Medium Temperature Solar Energy Collection System

Within the next five years, renewable energy is expected to account for approximately 80% of the new global power generation capacity, with solar power contributing to more than half of this growth. However, the intermittent nature of solar energy remains a significant challenge to fully realizing i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials 2024-10, Vol.17 (21), p.5159
Main Authors: Wang, Tianqi, Jin, Yingai, Alam, Firoz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy sources
Barium hydroxide
Carbon
Electric power production
Electric properties
Energy consumption
Energy storage
Exergy
Force and energy
Green technology
Heat conductivity
Heat storage
Heat transfer
Industrial plant emissions
Low cost
Phase change materials
Phase transitions
Power plants
Product development
Renewable energy
Renewable resources
Solar energy
Storage capacity
Storage tanks
Temperature
Thermal conductivity
Thermal energy
Thermal storage
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Summary:Within the next five years, renewable energy is expected to account for approximately 80% of the new global power generation capacity, with solar power contributing to more than half of this growth. However, the intermittent nature of solar energy remains a significant challenge to fully realizing its potential. Thus, efficient energy storage is crucial for optimizing the effectiveness and dependability of renewable energy. Phase-change materials (PCMs) can play an important role in solar energy storage due to their low cost and high volumetric energy storage density. The low thermal conductivity of PCMs restricts their use for energy storage, despite their immense potential. Hence, the primary goal of this study is to experimentally investigate the energy storage capacity of two blended phase-change materials (paraffin and barium hydroxide octahydrate) through integration with a medium-temperature solar heat collection system. The experimental findings reveal that the blended PCMs possess the highest cumulative charge fraction (0.59), energy capacity, and low energy loss compared to each PCM alone. Furthermore, the phase change storage tank achieves higher heat storage (27%) and exergy storage efficiency (18%) compared to the stored tank water without any PCMs. The blended PCMs enhanced their performance, exhibiting improved interaction and excellent thermal storage properties across a range of temperatures, offering an opportunity for the design of an energy-efficient, low-cost storage system.
ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma17215159