Thermo-Chemical Characterization of Organic Phase Change Materials (PCMs) Obtained from Lost Wax Casting Industry

Antonella Sarcinella, Sandra Cunha, José Aguiar and Mariaenrica Frigione ()
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Antonella Sarcinella: Innovation Engineering Department, University of Salento, Prov. le Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Sandra Cunha: Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction (CTAC), Department of Civil Engineering, Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
José Aguiar: Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction (CTAC), Department of Civil Engineering, Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Mariaenrica Frigione: Innovation Engineering Department, University of Salento, Prov. le Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-17

Abstract: The high global energy demand drives the search for sustainable alternatives for energy production and storage. Among the most effective solutions are phase change materials (PCMs). In particular, organic PCMs offer a high capacity to store and release thermal energy in response to external thermal variations, even over a wide temperature range. They find profitable applications in various sectors, from construction to electronics, offering flexibility and considerable energy storage according to need. In the search for new and effective PCMs, reusing by-products from different industries would offer both economic and environmental benefits. With this goal in mind, several organic PCMs with different characteristics and origins were analyzed in the present study. Two of them were by-products of the lost wax casting industry. In fact, we wanted to verify whether this waste could be employed as an effective, low-cost PCM. For comparison purposes, two commercial PCMs were selected, namely a paraffin and a microencapsulated PCM. Finally, a PCM blend was produced by mixing a commercial PCM and a waxy by-product. The five selected or developed PCMs were subjected to different tests to investigate their chemical composition, thermal characteristics, and thermal stability before and after repeated (i.e., 100) cycles of melting and crystallization processes. The results demonstrated that the durability of the non-commercial PCMs with regard to thermal loads was not inferior, and was in some cases even superior, to commercial PCMs. This study therefore proposes an innovative path to reuse the by-products of different production processes to support the environment.

Keywords: phase change material (PCM); sustainable energy storage; energy savings; organic PCMs; blended PCMs; by-product reuse; lost wax casting industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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