Comprehensive analysis of thermophysical properties of a binary stearyl alcohol and benzamide eutectic phase change material and determination of thermal performance of a solar dryer integrated with phase change material

A thermal energy storage system must integrate with a solar thermal collector for continuous energy delivery. This article focuses on the identification, preparation, thermo-physical characteristic studies, and experimental investigation of a novel eutectic hot storage material for solar dryer applications. The identified organic novel eutectic mixture comprises stearyl alcohol and benzamide (SA-B) with a molar ratio of 70:30. From the differential scanning calorimetry analysis, the melting point and enthalpy of the developed eutectic mixture were found to be 54. 26? and 157.45 kJ kg(-1) respectively. The melting temperature of the eutectic phase-change material (PCM) fits the drying application. The corrosion analysis test confirms that the prepared eutectic mixture is compact with stainless steel (SS 316) heat exchanger material. Further, the eutectic PCM were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermo-gravimetric analysis, which confirms the material is chemically and thermally stable. The thermal reliability of the eutectic PCM was evaluated through 1000 thermal charge and discharge cycling. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the identified material was found to be 0.18 W m(-1) K-1. Thus, the specified material ascertained its suitability for thermal application. Further, 5 kg of eutectic PCM-filled rectangular heat exchanger was integrated into the solar dryer. The use of eutectic PCM extended the drying time by more than 4 h, which can be helpful to run continuously on intermittent solar days and in the evening after sunset. Hence, the prepared eutectic SA-B material is irresistible for hot storage dryer application.