Thermal Energy Storage using Phase Change Material Derived from Waste Cooking Oil: A Case Study

Abstract

There is a growing necessity for energy storage due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. A good alternative for energy storage is Phase Change Materials (PCM), which can store large amounts of energy at relatively small volumes at a constant temperature. In the thermal packaging industry, PCM are utilized as Thermal Energy Storage (TES) for the purpose of maintaining the temperature of a temperature-sensitive product within the desired temperature range during transportation. A possible source of PCM is lauric acid, a saturated free fatty acid which may be obtained from organic materials. Coconut oil, the most common cooking oil used in the Philippines, contains 50% lauric acid. Hence, a plant design case study was prepared to study the viability of creating thermal energy storage using phase change material derived from waste cooking oil. As a basis for calculations and the case study, data were obtained from literature and primary sources, and the Municipality of Los Banos in the Province of Laguna was used. The designed plant can produce up to 6,200 cubic meters of PCM or 477, 000 packs per year from four manufacturing lines. Each pack may be sold at PHP 1,500 and makes approximately PHP 700 million sales annually. To initiate the plant, the basic requirements include equipment, land and building cost, raw materials, office equipment, and several operating expenses. Return-of-investments and payback period were shown to be 25% and 2 years, respectively.