Effect of Polyethylene Glycol and Activated Carbon Macroparticles on Thermal Conductivity of Paraffin Wax for Thermal Storage Applications

Lwin Phone Myat; Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad; Indra Neel Pulidindi; Hamed Algarni; Laveet Kumar; Abul Kalam; S Wageh; Adarsh Kumar Pandey; Altaf Akbar; Jeyraj Selvaraj

doi:10.3390/polym14194181

Effect of Polyethylene Glycol and Activated Carbon Macroparticles on Thermal Conductivity of Paraffin Wax for Thermal Storage Applications

Polymers (Basel). 2022 Oct 5;14(19):4181. doi: 10.3390/polym14194181.

Authors

Lwin Phone Myat¹, Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad¹, Indra Neel Pulidindi², Hamed Algarni^{3

4}, Laveet Kumar⁵, Abul Kalam^{5

6}, S Wageh^{7

8}, Adarsh Kumar Pandey⁹, Altaf Akbar¹⁰, Jeyraj Selvaraj¹

Affiliations

¹ Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE), UM Power Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre (UMPEDAC), Level 4, Wisma R&D, University of Malaya, Jalan Pantai Baharu, Kuala Lumpur 59990, Malaysia.
² Jesus's Scientific Consultancy of Industrial and Academic Research (JSCIAR), Chennai 600 113, India.
³ Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76090, Pakistan.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Physics and Engineering Mathematics Department, Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Menoufia University, Menouf 32952, Egypt.
⁹ Research Center for Nano-Materials and Energy Technology (RCNMET), School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya 47500, Malaysia.
¹⁰ Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.

Abstract

Low thermal conductivity is the major obstacle for the wide range utilization of phase change materials (PCMs), especially organic PCMs, for most practical applications in thermal engineering. This study investigates the potential of enhancing the charging and discharging rates of organic PCM (RT44HC) by introducing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and activated carbon macroparticles (ACMPs). Different concentrations of PEG and ACMPs ranging from 0.3 wt% to 2 wt% were tested separately. The optimized concentrations found were used as dual reinforcements to attain the highest possible thermal conductivity. The specimens were tested for a complete charging-discharging cycle using an improvised thermal apparatus. Use of ACMP alone resulted in a minimal reduction in complete charging-discharging time due to the settlement of ACMPs at the bottom after 2-3 heating-cooling cycles. However, the addition of PEG with ACMPs exhibited a reduction in charging-discharging time due to the formation of a stable dispersion. PEG served as a stabilizing agent for ACMPs. The lowest charging-discharging time of 180 min was exhibited by specimens containing 1 wt% PEG and 0.5 wt% ACMPs which is 25% lower compared to bare PCM.

Keywords: activated carbon macroparticles (ACMPs); organic PCM (RT44HC); phase hange materials (PCM); polyethylene glycol (PEG).

Grants and funding

This research was funded by King Khalid University through Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS) and Japan International Cooperation Agency for AUN/SEED-Net on Collaboration Education Program UM CEP 1901, Japan ASEAN Collaborative Education Program (JACEP) under grant no: RCAMS/KKU/0010/21 and UM CEP 1901. And The APC was funded by King Khalid University and Jesus’s Scientific Consultancy of Industrial and Academic Research.