Differential scanning calorimetry-based investigations of erythritol - sodium chloride phase change composites for thermal energy storage

Low thermal conductivity of organic phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage systems induces the necessity to apply suitable heat transfer enhancement techniques for these materials. The purpose of this study was to improve thermal conductivity of a PCM erythritol by using sodium chloride as an additive, such that the material can be applied for steam cooking systems when integrated with solar parabolic trough collectors. In this study, erythritol-NaCl composites were synthesized by using the melting method, and the key physicochemical properties of the composites were estimated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) coupled with thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The observations indicate that there has been a significant improvement in the thermal conductivity of erythritol supplemented with NaCl. Further, thermal behaviour of the material indicates that it is suitable for steam cooking applications. Furthermore, mathematical models based on the experimental observations can be potentially utilized for further studies of erythritol-NaCl composites.