Effect on the Thermal Performance of a Bio-based Phase Change Material with the Addition of Graphite with Surfactants

Abstract

This work presents an experimental investigation into how adding graphite with different surfactants to a bio-based phase change material (PCM) affects its cooling performance. Graphite-based phase change materials (GraPCMs) are prepared by stirring and sonicating graphite with different surfactants, including Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate (SDBS), and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS), in a liquid bio-based PCM. Based on the experiments, the thermal conductivity of the bio-based PCM is increased by 240% to 0.748 W/m⋅K and 218% to 0.70 W/m⋅K when mixed with graphite-SDBS and graphite-SDS, respectively, at a 5% mass fraction of graphite. The ratio of 1:3 graphite to surfactant at a 5% mass fraction of graphite results in the longest amount of time for GraPCM-SDBS and GraPCM-SDS to reach the reference temperature of 43 °C, with delays of 185 and 175 s, respectively. It is observed that increasing the concentration of surfactant leads to further delay in reaching the reference temperature in the case of GraPCM-SDS. The results agree with the literature, as the surfactants and graphite enhanced the thermal conductivity of the PCM.

Acknowledgments

Without the outstanding help of the late Professor Dr. Mohamed Gadalla, this paper and the research behind it would not have been possible. Also, we would like to express our gratitude to Ahmed Azmeer for his assistance and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yahya Sheikh

Yahya Sheikh graduated with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from American University of Sharjah (AUS). He is currently a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at AUS and doing research on the thermal performance of nano-enhanced bio-based phase change material composites.

Mehmet Fatih Orhan

Mehmet F. Orhan is currently a faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the American University of Sharjah (AUS). Prior to joining AUS, he held a teaching and research position at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Canada. He was an integral researcher in the multi-million dollar research project on hydrogen production from nuclear energy using thermochemical water splitting. This large-scale project is in contribution with the Ontario Research Excellence Fund (ORF), Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and some other partners. His research areas include renewable energy technologies, fuel cells and hydrogen systems, global warming and sustainable development, energy management and policy. He has published numerous research papers in scholarly journals and presented at international conferences. He has also participated and helped in the organization of many international conferences and technical exhibitions.

Mehmet Kanoglu

Mehmet Kanoglu is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from University of Nevada, Reno. His research areas include energy efficiency, refrigeration systems, gas liquefaction, hydrogen production, renewable energy systems, geothermal energy, and cogeneration. He has taught at University of Nevada, Reno, Ontario Tech University, and American University of Sharjah. He has published numerous research papers in scholarly journals and presented at international conferences. He is the coauthor of the books Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach (9th ed., 2019), Fundamentals and Applications of Renewable Energy (1st ed., 2020), Energy Efficiency and Management for Engineers (1st ed., 2020), all published by McGraw-Hill.

Muhammed Umair

Muhammed Umair graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from the American University of Sharjah. He is working professionally as a Project Engineer for MEP systems in high-rise towers. Alongside, he has also been executing research vested within the field of heat transfer.

Elmehaisi Mehaisi

Elmehaisi Mehaisi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from American University of Sharjah. He has an interest in the field of modeling and simulation using MATLAB as well as PCMs. Currently, he is working as a freelancer in his field.