Thermal properties and reliabilities of myristic acid-paraffin wax binary eutectic mixture as a phase change material for solar energy storage

In this work, a myristic acid (MA)-paraffin wax (PW) binary eutectic phase change material (PCM) was prepared by a melt-solution blending method. The eutectic point of the MA-PW binary system was determined to be 62 wt% MA-38 wt% PW using a cooling curve. In addition, the phase transition properties and thermal stability of MA-PW binary eutectic PCM were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG) analysis. The melting temperature and latent heat as well as starting temperature of decomposition for MA-PW binary eutectic PCM were 41.99 degrees C, 171.43 J g(-1) and 137.86 degrees C, respectively. Besides, analysis of the chemical and crystal structures of MA, PW and MA-PW revealed no chemical reaction between MA and PW to produce a new molecular structure and no change in the crystal structure. Finally, MA-PW binary eutectic PCM still has good thermal properties and chemical stability after 500 cold-hot cycles.