Caprylic acid based PCM composite with potential for thermal buffering and packaging applications

Form stable phase change material (FSPCM) composites were prepared using caprylic acid (15.64 degrees C; 140 kJ kg(-1)) and lightweight support materials e.g. bentonite clay, natural clay, diatomaceous earth, expanded perlite, activated charcoal and silica gel following direct impregnation method. Phase change thermal properties of each composite were obtained from DSC measurements, while thermal stabilities were understood from TGA measurements. Elemental composition of each support matrix was evaluated from EDAX while morphology and PCM-support interactions in composites were obtained from FESEM and FTIR respectively. PCM could be successfully loaded in support matrix which also minimized the inherent supercooling behavior of PCM. DSC analysis of PCM-EP composite showed highest enthalpy content of 81.0 kJ kg(-1), which was estimated to be 58.6% loading of PCM. Although, PCM-SG exhibited rapid charging and discharging phenomena, but its lower enthalpy content made it inferior to PCM-EP. 200 g of PCM-EP composite placed inside a TCP box exhibited thermal buffering of 349 min by maintaining temperature of 360 g chocolate below 25 degrees C. Therefore, PCM-EP composite with high energy storage capacity shows potential to be used in food packaging and thermal buffering applications.