Effects of cyclic operation on the characteristics of a microencapsulated PCM storage material

Abstract

Microencapsulated paraffin, a novel solar storage material, was prepared by simple coacervation technique and its performance characteristics, when subjected to cyclic operation, were evaluated in terms of structure and particle profile using SEM and FTIR, and the energy storage and release capacity expressed by DSC. The microencapsulated paraffin has shown large energy storage and release capacity (56∼58 J/g) during its phase change, and maintains its energy storage and release capacity, chemical characteristics and structural profile even after one thousand thermal recycles.