Synthesis, characterisation and stability testing of graphene enhanced paraffin wax phase change material for energy storage

Non-conventional sources of thermal energy must be widely recognised for effective environmental protection. Solar thermal is an effective replacement for regular sources but due to its intermittent nature depends largely on environmental conditions. Passive heat storage mediums such as phase change material (PCM) stabilise the energy output of non-conventional sources. Paraffin wax is the most common PCM used in heat storage applications such as solar thermal energy storage. Paraffin wax suffers from low thermal conductivity which makes it sluggish in charging-discharging time. The current study has experimentally investigated the effect of graphene nanoplatelet in weight concentrations of 1wt%, 3wt% and 5wt% in paraffin wax as base PCM. The results indicated that after each successive addition of nanoplatelets, an increment in thermal conductivity of 20.17% (1wt%), 37.34% (3wt%), and 58.80% (5wt%) were measured respectively when compared to base PCM. At the same time, the latent heat decreased with the maximum dip observed in the 5wt% sample. A stability analysis was conducted for the effect of adding SDBS surfactant as a stabiliser on the NEPCMs' thermal conductivity after various cycles. A good hold on thermal conductivity with the SDBS sample was illustrated. © 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.