Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Bio-based phase change materials offer a promising solution for environmentally friendly thermal energy storage systems. Bio-phase-change materials exhibit desirable properties, such as high latent heat, low vapor pressure in the melt, chemical stability, safety, and cost-effectiveness. Unlike their petroleum-based counterparts, bio-phase change materials, being entirely hydrogenated, pose a significantly lower risk of oxidation even after multiple solidification and melting cycles. Moreover, their production can be scaled up using readily available, inexpensive, and biocompatible sources such as animal fat mixtures and oils. This paper provides an extensive review and analysis of studies on the development of bio-phase change materials (BPCMs), the design of bio-supported matrix configurations, phase change procedures, and their integrated use, manufacture, and application in thermal energy storage systems. Its purpose is to objectively examine the viability of different kinds of BPCMs in thermal energy storage applications, emphasizing their life-cycle impacts and prospective advantages, while recognizing existing problems and limitations. This work advances our understanding of how BPCMs can be used efficiently in various thermal energy storage systems.
Source: Journal of Thermal Engineering
DOI: 10.47481/jten.0098
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7202265686