Experimental Study of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and Thermal Energy Reclamation of Air Conditioning System

A thermal energy recovery system using phase change materials (PCMs) to store the rejected (sensible and condensation) heat from the compressor discharge gas of air conditioning system has been developed and studied, making up the shortage of other sensible heat storage system. Also, PCMs compliant for heat recovery of air condition system should be developed. Technical grade paraffin wax is discussed in this paper in order to develop a paraffin wax based PCM for the recovery of rejected heat from the compressor discharge gas. The thermal properties of technical grade paraffin wax and the mixtures of paraffin wax with lauric acid and with liquid paraffin (paraffin oil) are investigated, including volume expansion/contraction during phase change process, the freezing temperature and the fusion heat.