Utilization of Carbonized Sugarcane Leaves for Effective Encapsulation and Thermal Storage Enhancement of Phase Change Materials

Abstract

The application of phase change material (PCM) energy storage technology in the smart field has attracted a lot of attention. One of the important directions for the further development of energy storage technology is the development of shape-stabilized organic composite phase change materials. In this study, we developed a green stable composite phase change material (SCPCM) using carbonized sugarcane leaves (CSL) as a substrate. Sugarcane leaves is a thermolysis at 450 °C under three preparation conditions: aerobic unactivated (YONA), anaerobic unactivated (NONA), and anaerobic activated (NOYA), and subsequently combined with paraffin (PA) to produce paraffin/carbonized sugarcane leaves-stabilized composite phase change materials (PA/CSL SCPCM) for highly efficient thermal energy storage applications. All SCPCM had high thermal stability, good thermal properties, and good chemical compatibility of the composites, and the phase transition temperatures were controlled within the range of 24–34 °C. The support structure, specific surface area, active functional groups and high mesopore content of the activation-processed carbonized sugarcane leaves as the composite framework enhanced the capillary force of SCPCM adsorption on the CSL. The NOYACSL SCPCM had the largest latent heat storage capacity of 136.43 J/g. In contrast, the YONACSL SCPCM and NONACSL SCPCM had lower latent heat storage capacity of 108.9 J/g and 122.25 J/g. This study provides an economical and environmentally friendly method for the synthesis of shape-stabilized phase change materials based on biomass materials, which has potential applications in residual heat recovery and recycling.