Paraffin solar thermal storage

Can paraffins be used for solar thermal energy storage?

Thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCMs) has received increasing attention since the last decades, due to its great potential for energy savings and energy management in the building sector. As one of the main categories of organic PCMs, paraffins exhibit favourable phase change temperatures for solar thermal energy storage.

Can paraffin-based PCM TES improve solar thermal energy storage?

5. Conclusions Paraffins, as one of the main categories of phase change materials, offer the favourable phase change temperatures for solar thermal energy storage. The application of paraffin-based PCM TES in buildings can effectively rationalise the utilisation of solar energy to overcome its intermittency.

Can paraffin wax be used for thermal energy storage?

A paraffin wax with the melting temperature of 58–62°C was used as PCM and filled into evacuated tubes for thermal energy storage by Abokersh et al. . The heat transfer between the water and PCM was achieved by different U-tube heat exchangers with and without fins inside the evacuated tubes, respectively.

How can paraffin help a solar water heating system?

For example, a study showed that paraffin with Tmpt = 55 °C filled in a jacketed shell-type tank can increase the stored thermal energy of the solar water heating system by up to 39%, increasing its efficiency by 16% and extending the solar heater hot water supply time by up to 25% .

Can a paraffin encapsulated cylinder be used as heat storage media?

A paraffin encapsulated in aluminium cylinders was used as the heat storage media by Padmaraju et al. for a DHW system. The comparative test results showed that the thermal energy stored in the paraffin-based PCM TES system far exceeded that stored in a sensible heat storage system of the same size of the storage tank.

Are paraffin PCMS stable?

Paraffin PCMs are found to be stable for over 3000 thermal cycles. The chemical compatibilities of PCMs with 17 different materials are reported. Properties from suppliers of commercial paraffins might not be accurate. Paraffins are useful as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage (TES) via their melting transition, Tmpt.