ARS | Publication request: Latent heat characteristics of biobased oleochemical carbonates

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 1, 2011
Publication Date: May 4, 2011
Citation: Kenar, J.A. 2011. Latent heat characteristics of biobased oleochemical carbonates.

Technical Abstract: Oleochemical carbonates represent biobased materials that can be readily prepared through a carbonate interchange reaction between renewably available C10-C18 fatty alcohols. Although these carbonates have commercial use in cosmetics and lubricant applications, they have not been examined as phase change materials (PCM) for thermal energy storage (TES) applications to store and release heat to their surroundings. In this work, the latent heats of melting and freezing for a series of oleochemical carbonates were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) to develop a fundamental understanding of the solid-liquid transitions of these materials for utilization in TES applications. Decyl, dodecyl, tetradecyl, hexadecyl, and octadecyl carbonates had peak melting and freezing points of -2.2, 19.3, 33.7, 44.9, 51.6 and -6.3, 14.3, 28.7, 40.3, and 46.9 oC, respectively. These carbonates exhibited sharp phase transitions and good latent heat properties. The latent heats of melting and freezing for decyl, dodecyl, tetradecyl, hexadecyl, and octadecyl carbonates were 144, 200, 227, 219, 223 J/g and 146, 199, 229, 215, and 215 J/g, respectively. Data for eutectic mixtures of these carbonates will also be presented. These renewable carbonates represent PCM chemicals that compliment fatty acids and fatty acid esters and provide potentially valuable biobased alternatives to paraffin wax and salt hydrate PCM currently dominating the PCM market.