Shape stabilized attapulgite/myristic-palmitic acid composite PCM for thermal energy storage implementations in buildings

Depletion of energy resources and increasingly serious environmental problems due to increasing population and technological developments has led researchers to develop advanced energy storage techniques. The latent heat thermal energy storage method, in which phase change materials (PCMs) are used, is one of the most promising methods to overcome such problems. Fatty acids have been preferred mostly as solid–liquid PCMs for different thermal energy storage (TES) applications. However, the leakage difficulty of these PCMs significantly limits their utilizations in TES systems. This study is focused on eliminating this disadvantage of myristic acid (M)-palmitic acid (P) eutectic mixture (MPEM) with proper phase transition temperatures for thermal management of buildings. The developed eutectic mixture was then incorporated with attapulgite clay (ATC) to achieve shape-stabilized composite which does not allow liquid PCM leakage. FT-IR and SEM findings indicated the existence of good physicochemical compatibility between the ATC and MPEM. DSC analysis revealed that the composite had phase change temperature of 44–45 °C and latent heat of fusion of about 74 J/g, respectively. TGA test results showed that the fabricated composite has good thermal durability and stability. It can be inferred from the results that the produced ATC/MPEM composite had noteworthy potential as new admixture material with TES ability which can be used for energy saving and indoor thermal comfort improvement in buildings.