Fatty acid ester-based commercial products as potential new phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage

Thermal energy storage applications require readily available commercial PCMs which offer suitable thermal properties desired for thermal applications. However, commercial PCMs in the market are restricted with few material groups which include mostly different paraffin waxes and salt hydrates. Therefore, three commercial products which have been currently used in cosmetics and personal care industry have been investigated from the perspective of thermal energy storage engineering. The presented commercial products have the main compositions of different high-chain mono- and diesters with the trade names of Cutina EGMS, Cutina AGS and Cutina CP. Thermal properties of the commercial products have been presented with necessary statistical calculations in terms of phase change temperature, enthalpy, specific heat capacity (C-p) values of liquid and solid states, thermal decomposition and thermal reliability after 1000 thermal cycles. The DSC analyses indicate that the melting temperatures are between 44 degrees C and 60 degrees C with phase change enthalpies above 180 kJ/kg. According to the presented results, Cutina EGMS has average whereas Cutina AGS and Cutina CP have fairly well thermal behaviors and properties for low temperature heat transfer applications. The research outcomes offer a new potential market to the investigated products. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.