A New Material for Microencapsulation of Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) serve as energy storage materials that can effectively reduce the heating and cooling load. To overcome the issue of leakage in practical applications, there has been a growing significance in conducting research on microencapsulation and composite production. In this study, humic acid, which has an organic structure, was used for the microencapsulation of PCMs. To evaluate the morphological, thermal, and chemical properties of the synthesized composite materials, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were utilized. The thermal resistance of the composites was tested at a temperature of 70 °C. DSC analysis revealed that the paraffin composite had a melting point of 38.79 °C and a latent heat storage capacity of 52.56 J/g. Based on these comprehensive analyses, it can be concluded that the microcapsules obtained demonstrate remarkable potential as energy storage materials.