IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v152y2015icp183-188.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Electro/photo to heat conversion system based on polyurethane embedded graphite foam

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Renjie
  • Yao, Ruimin
  • Xia, Wei
  • Zou, Ruqiang

Abstract

Organic phase change materials (PCMs) have exhibited many promising potentials for thermal energy conversion and storage, but they are still confronted with many technical bottlenecks for practical application, such as low conductivity, leakage during phase transition process, and lack of functionality. In this article, a highly-efficient electro/photo to heat conversion system of polyurethane@graphite foam (PU@GF) phase change composites was successfully fabricated through in situ polymerization of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in GF. The obtained PU presents solid–solid phase transition behavior that is different from the solid–liquid phase change of original PEG, which can prevent PU from leakage even if it was loaded in micrometer pores in the GF during application. On the other side, PU can improve the thermal stability and decrease the overcooling degree of the composites in effect. Excellent conductive network was provided by the GF, with which the light absorption and thermal conductivity of the composites were enhanced dramatically. Consequently, the solid–solid phase change composites can effectively store electricity or sunlight energy. The electro-heat storage efficiency of the composites can exceed 80% at 1.2 or 1.4V, meanwhile, the photo-heat storage efficiency can close to 67% under simulated solar illumination. This result presents the highest efficiency for electro-to-heat conversion by PCMs techniques driven by a quite low voltage up to now, and will give rise to a new expectation of functional PCM application for energy conversion and storage.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Renjie & Yao, Ruimin & Xia, Wei & Zou, Ruqiang, 2015. "Electro/photo to heat conversion system based on polyurethane embedded graphite foam," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 183-188.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:152:y:2015:i:c:p:183-188
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261915000288
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li, Min & Chen, Meirong & Wu, Zhishen, 2014. "Enhancement in thermal property and mechanical property of phase change microcapsule with modified carbon nanotube," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 166-171.
    2. Waqas, Adeel & Ud Din, Zia, 2013. "Phase change material (PCM) storage for free cooling of buildings—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 607-625.
    3. Ye, Hong & Long, Linshuang & Zhang, Haitao & Zou, Ruqiang, 2014. "The performance evaluation of shape-stabilized phase change materials in building applications using energy saving index," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1118-1126.
    4. Li, Min, 2013. "A nano-graphite/paraffin phase change material with high thermal conductivity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 25-30.
    5. Zhang, Zhengguo & Zhang, Ni & Peng, Jing & Fang, Xiaoming & Gao, Xuenong & Fang, Yutang, 2012. "Preparation and thermal energy storage properties of paraffin/expanded graphite composite phase change material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 426-431.
    6. Tyagi, V.V. & Panwar, N.L. & Rahim, N.A. & Kothari, Richa, 2012. "Review on solar air heating system with and without thermal energy storage system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 2289-2303.
    7. Xiao, X. & Zhang, P. & Li, M., 2013. "Preparation and thermal characterization of paraffin/metal foam composite phase change material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1357-1366.
    8. Yu, Shiyu & Wang, Xiaodong & Wu, Dezhen, 2014. "Microencapsulation of n-octadecane phase change material with calcium carbonate shell for enhancement of thermal conductivity and serving durability: Synthesis, microstructure, and performance evaluat," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 632-643.
    9. Wang, Yunming & Tang, Bingtao & Zhang, Shufen, 2014. "Organic, cross-linking, and shape-stabilized solar thermal energy storage materials: A reversible phase transition driven by broadband visible light," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 59-66.
    10. Tian, Y. & Zhao, C.Y., 2013. "A review of solar collectors and thermal energy storage in solar thermal applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 538-553.
    11. Fan, Li-Wu & Fang, Xin & Wang, Xiao & Zeng, Yi & Xiao, Yu-Qi & Yu, Zi-Tao & Xu, Xu & Hu, Ya-Cai & Cen, Ke-Fa, 2013. "Effects of various carbon nanofillers on the thermal conductivity and energy storage properties of paraffin-based nanocomposite phase change materials," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 163-172.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wu, Wenhao & Huang, Xinyu & Li, Kai & Yao, Ruimin & Chen, Renjie & Zou, Ruqiang, 2017. "A functional form-stable phase change composite with high efficiency electro-to-thermal energy conversion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 474-480.
    2. Zuo, Hongyang & Zhou, Yuan & Wu, Mingyang & Zeng, Kuo & Chang, Zheshao & Chen, Sheng & Lu, Wang & Flamant, Gilles, 2021. "Development and numerical investigation of parallel combined sensible-latent heat storage unit with intermittent flow for concentrated solar power plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 29-43.
    3. Li, Jiyan & Long, Yong & Jing, Yanju & Zhang, Jiaqing & Du, Silu & Jiao, Rui & Sun, Hanxue & Zhu, Zhaoqi & Liang, Weidong & Li, An, 2024. "Superhydrophobic multi-shell hollow microsphere confined phase change materials for solar photothermal conversion and energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).
    4. Luo, Qingyang & Liu, Xianglei & Wang, Haolei & Xu, Qiao & Tian, Yang & Liang, Ting & Liu, Qibin & Liu, Zhan & Yang, Xiaohu & Xuan, Yimin & Li, Yongliang & Ding, Yulong, 2022. "Synergetic enhancement of heat storage density and heat transport ability of phase change materials inlaid in 3D hierarchical ceramics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PA).
    5. B. Kalidasan & A. K. Pandey & Saidur Rahman & Aman Yadav & M. Samykano & V. V. Tyagi, 2022. "Graphene–Silver Hybrid Nanoparticle based Organic Phase Change Materials for Enhanced Thermal Energy Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Zhang, P. & Xiao, X. & Ma, Z.W., 2016. "A review of the composite phase change materials: Fabrication, characterization, mathematical modeling and application to performance enhancement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 472-510.
    7. Zhang, Xialan & Lin, Qilang & Luo, Huijun & Luo, Shiyuan, 2020. "Three-dimensional graphitic hierarchical porous carbon/stearic acid composite as shape-stabilized phase change material for thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    8. Li, Ang & Wang, Jingjing & Dong, Cheng & Dong, Wenjun & Atinafu, Dimberu G. & Chen, Xiao & Gao, Hongyi & Wang, Ge, 2018. "Core-sheath structural carbon materials for integrated enhancement of thermal conductivity and capacity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 369-376.
    9. Chen, Renjie & Huang, Xinyu & Deng, Weibin & Zheng, Ruizhi & Aftab, Waseem & Shi, Jinmin & Xie, Delong & Zou, Ruqiang & Mei, Yi, 2020. "Facile preparation of flexible eicosane/SWCNTs phase change films via colloid aggregation for thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    10. Wei, Gaosheng & Wang, Gang & Xu, Chao & Ju, Xing & Xing, Lijing & Du, Xiaoze & Yang, Yongping, 2018. "Selection principles and thermophysical properties of high temperature phase change materials for thermal energy storage: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 1771-1786.
    11. Cheng, Gong & Wang, Zhangzhou & Wang, Xinzhi & He, Yurong, 2022. "All-climate thermal management structure for batteries based on expanded graphite/polymer composite phase change material with a high thermal and electrical conductivity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhu, Yejun & Huang, Baoling & Wu, Jingshen, 2014. "Optimization of filler distribution for organic phase change material composites: Numerical investigation and entropy analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 543-550.
    2. Lin, Yaxue & Jia, Yuting & Alva, Guruprasad & Fang, Guiyin, 2018. "Review on thermal conductivity enhancement, thermal properties and applications of phase change materials in thermal energy storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2730-2742.
    3. Amaral, C. & Vicente, R. & Marques, P.A.A.P. & Barros-Timmons, A., 2017. "Phase change materials and carbon nanostructures for thermal energy storage: A literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1212-1228.
    4. Nomura, Takahiro & Tabuchi, Kazuki & Zhu, Chunyu & Sheng, Nan & Wang, Shuangfeng & Akiyama, Tomohiro, 2015. "High thermal conductivity phase change composite with percolating carbon fiber network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 678-685.
    5. Cao, Lei & Su, Di & Tang, Yaojie & Fang, Guiyin & Tang, Fang, 2015. "Properties evaluation and applications of thermal energystorage materials in buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 500-522.
    6. Chinnasamy, Veerakumar & Heo, Jaehyeok & Jung, Sungyong & Lee, Hoseong & Cho, Honghyun, 2023. "Shape stabilized phase change materials based on different support structures for thermal energy storage applications–A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    7. Zhang, Long & Zhou, Kechao & Wei, Quiping & Ma, Li & Ye, Wentao & Li, Haichao & Zhou, Bo & Yu, Zhiming & Lin, Cheng-Te & Luo, Jingting & Gan, Xueping, 2019. "Thermal conductivity enhancement of phase change materials with 3D porous diamond foam for thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 208-219.
    8. Ahmed Hassan & Mohammad Shakeel Laghari & Yasir Rashid, 2016. "Micro-Encapsulated Phase Change Materials: A Review of Encapsulation, Safety and Thermal Characteristics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-32, October.
    9. Han, Rui & Gao, Jihui & Wei, Siyu & Su, Yanlin & Sun, Fei & Zhao, Guangbo & Qin, Yukun, 2018. "Strongly coupled calcium carbonate/antioxidative graphite nanosheets composites with high cycling stability for thermochemical energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 412-422.
    10. O’Connor, William E. & Warzoha, Ronald & Weigand, Rebecca & Fleischer, Amy S. & Wemhoff, Aaron P., 2014. "Thermal property prediction and measurement of organic phase change materials in the liquid phase near the melting point," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 496-506.
    11. Nourani, Moloud & Hamdami, Nasser & Keramat, Javad & Moheb, Ahmad & Shahedi, Mohammad, 2016. "Thermal behavior of paraffin-nano-Al2O3 stabilized by sodium stearoyl lactylate as a stable phase change material with high thermal conductivity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 474-482.
    12. Yao, Haichen & Liu, Xianglei & Luo, Qingyang & Xu, Qiao & Tian, Yang & Ren, Tianze & Zheng, Hangbin & Gao, Ke & Dang, Chunzhuo & Xuan, Yimin & Liu, Zhan & Yang, Xiaohu & Ding, Yulong, 2022. "Experimental and numerical investigations of solar charging performances of 3D porous skeleton based latent heat storage devices," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    13. Liu, Yang & Zheng, Ruowei & Li, Ji, 2022. "High latent heat phase change materials (PCMs) with low melting temperature for thermal management and storage of electronic devices and power batteries: Critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    14. Ma, Zhenjun & Lin, Wenye & Sohel, M. Imroz, 2016. "Nano-enhanced phase change materials for improved building performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1256-1268.
    15. Li, Liping & Wang, Gang & Guo, Chuigen, 2016. "Influence of intumescent flame retardant on thermal and flame retardancy of eutectic mixed paraffin/polypropylene form-stable phase change materials," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 428-434.
    16. Mandal, Swaroop Kumar & Kumar, Samarjeet & Singh, Purushottam Kumar & Mishra, Santosh Kumar & Singh, D.K., 2020. "Performance investigation of nanocomposite based solar water heater," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    17. Huang, Zhaowen & Gao, Xuenong & Xu, Tao & Fang, Yutang & Zhang, Zhengguo, 2014. "Thermal property measurement and heat storage analysis of LiNO3/KCl – expanded graphite composite phase change material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 265-271.
    18. Hamidi, E. & Ganesan, P.B. & Sharma, R.K. & Yong, K.W., 2023. "Computational study of heat transfer enhancement using porous foams with phase change materials: A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    19. Yang, Xiaohu & Feng, Shangsheng & Zhang, Qunli & Chai, Yue & Jin, Liwen & Lu, Tian Jian, 2017. "The role of porous metal foam on the unidirectional solidification of saturating fluid for cold storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 508-521.
    20. Wang, Tingyu & Wang, Shuangfeng & Luo, Ruilian & Zhu, Chunyu & Akiyama, Tomohiro & Zhang, Zhengguo, 2016. "Microencapsulation of phase change materials with binary cores and calcium carbonate shell for thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 113-119.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:152:y:2015:i:c:p:183-188. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.