TY - JOUR
T1 - Stabilization of Low-Cost Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage Applications
T2 - Article No. 107175
AU - Akamo, Damilola
AU - Kumar, Navin
AU - Li, Yuzhan
AU - Pekol, Collin
AU - Li, Kai
AU - Goswami, Monojoy
AU - Hirschey, Jason
AU - LaClair, Tim
AU - Keffer, David
AU - Rios, Orlando
AU - Gluesenkamp, Kyle
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Sodium sulfate decahydrate (Na2SO4.10H2O, SSD), a low-cost phase change material (PCM), can store thermal energy. However, phase separation and unstable energy storage capacity (ESC) limit its use. To address these concerns, eight polymer additives - sodium polyacrylate (SPA), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), Fumed silica (SiO2), potassium polyacrylate (PPA), cellulose nanofiber (CNF), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) - were used to explore several stabilization mechanisms. The ESC of PCMs deteriorated when thickeners, SPA, PPA, and CNF, were added. DSS-modified PCMs exhibited greater stability up to 150 cycles. Rheology measurements indicated that DSS did not impact SSD viscosity significantly during stabilization. Dynamic light scattering showed that DSS reduces SSD particle size and electrostatically suspends salt particles in a stable homogeneous solution, avoiding phase separation. This study proposes a promising method to improve the thermal stability of salt hydrate PCMs by utilizing polyelectrolyte-salt hydrate mixture for thermal energy storage applications.
AB - Sodium sulfate decahydrate (Na2SO4.10H2O, SSD), a low-cost phase change material (PCM), can store thermal energy. However, phase separation and unstable energy storage capacity (ESC) limit its use. To address these concerns, eight polymer additives - sodium polyacrylate (SPA), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), Fumed silica (SiO2), potassium polyacrylate (PPA), cellulose nanofiber (CNF), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) - were used to explore several stabilization mechanisms. The ESC of PCMs deteriorated when thickeners, SPA, PPA, and CNF, were added. DSS-modified PCMs exhibited greater stability up to 150 cycles. Rheology measurements indicated that DSS did not impact SSD viscosity significantly during stabilization. Dynamic light scattering showed that DSS reduces SSD particle size and electrostatically suspends salt particles in a stable homogeneous solution, avoiding phase separation. This study proposes a promising method to improve the thermal stability of salt hydrate PCMs by utilizing polyelectrolyte-salt hydrate mixture for thermal energy storage applications.
KW - dextran sulfate sodium
KW - PCM
KW - phase change material
KW - sodium sulfate decahydrate
KW - stability
KW - thermal energy storage
U2 - 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107175
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107175
M3 - Article
SN - 2589-0042
VL - 26
JO - iScience
JF - iScience
IS - 7
ER -