Microencapsulated binary carbonate salt mixture in silica shell with enhanced effective heat capacity for high temperature latent heat storage. (April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Hanfei; Shin, Donghyun; Santhanagopalan, Sunand
• Is Part Of: Renewable energy. Volume 134(2019)
• Page Start: 1156
• Page End: 1162
• Publication Date: 2019-04
• Subjects: Thermal energy storage -- Microencapsulation -- High temperature -- Binary salt system -- Concentrated solar power -- Phase change materials; Renewable energy sources -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Periodicals; Énergies renouvelables -- Périodiques; Ressources énergétiques -- Périodiques; 333.794
• DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.09.011
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-1481

Abstract

Abstract: Microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) with large active surface area can improve the system's effective heat capacity as a thermal storage medium. However, its usage in high temperature applications like concentrated solar power (CSP) has not yet been achieved due to the lack of a feasible microencapsulation method for high temperature compatible materials. This work reports novel process developed to achieve the first microencapsulation of a complex material system with high latent heat such like binary carbonate and its potential usage as a high temperature compatible thermal storage medium for CSP application. The MEPCM was demonstrated to be thermally stable up to 540 °C with a repeatable latent heat of 220 J/g. The MEPCM provides a 134.4% effective heat capacity enhancement for a temperature range from 400 °C to 540 °C compared to solar salt as a thermal storage medium. Finally, the proposed microencapsulation process was also shown to be applicable to other salt systems, showing its great potential for different application temperatures. Graphical abstract: Microencapsulated binary carbonate salt mixture for enhanced latent heat storage. Highlights: First reported microencapsulation of binary salt in thermally stable silica shell. Microcapsules have excellent thermal stability at high temperature up to 540 °C. The microencapsulation provides enhanced heat capacity of 134.4% compared to solar salt. The versatile process is shown to be capable of microencapsulating a variety of salt mixtures.