Bio-based phase change materials: A sustainable revolution in thermal energy storage and management

Incorporation of phase change materials (PCM) in thermal energy storage (TES) systems is one of the methods used in reducing temporal disparity between energy generation and use of energy. PCMs are crucial in high efficiency TES solutions and sophisticated thermal management systems because of their considerable potential to absorb, store, and release significant amounts of latent heat during the phase transition processes. Although petroleum-based or inorganic PCMs are highly thermally conductive and stable and are employed in most conventional TES solutions, they pose a great challenge to long-term operational stability, environmental sustainability and recyclability because of the phase separation, sub cooling and the degradation of the thermal conductivity. Recent studies in PCM have focused on bio-based solutions as a reaction to the global urgency to change to renewable energy paradigms, which provides a sustainable and environmentally friendly way of using thermal energy. The present paper provides an in-depth discussion of the emerging area of bio-based PCMs (BPCMs) and points to the major improvements, novel materials development, and potential applications in the field of high-efficiency energy storage in industrial and electronics applications and passive cooling of buildings. The use of nanostructured thermal conductivity enhancers, microencapsulation, and composite PCM development are mentioned as the current state-of-the-art techniques of improving thermophysical performance and dependability. To maintain compatibility with the broad range of operating environments, new approaches to the seamless integration of bio-based PCMs into TES systems are also explored. Through critical analysis, this review has critically examined the technological process, material developments, and future research directions that are needed to accelerate the application of bio-based PCMs in thermal energy storage applications in a sustainable way.