Fatty acids as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage: A review

Thermal energy storage (TES) technologies in general and phase change materials (PCMs) in particular, have been topic in research for the last 20 years. Traditionally, available heat has been stored in the form of sensible heat (typically by raising temperature of water, rocks, etc). Latent heat storage on the other hand, is a novel and developing technology, which has found considerable interest due to its operational advantages of smaller temperature swing, smaller size, and lower weight per unit of storage capacity. The interest on thermal energy storage by using fatty acids as PCM has risen in recent times since they have desired thermodynamic and kinetic criteria for low temperature latent heat storage. An added advantage is that fatty acids are derived from the vegetable and animals oil that provides an assurance of continuous supply. This article will review the development of fatty acids as PCMs for solar thermal energy storage application.