Experimental Characterization of Erythritol for Latent Heat Storage in Solar Cookers using the T-History Method
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Abstract
Phase change materials (PCMs) effectively store thermal energy in solar cookers, enhancing their efficiency after sunset and during cloudy conditions. To choose the appropriate PCM, it is necessary to determine its thermophysical properties. These properties are typically characterized in specialized laboratories using costly equipment, such as Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). In this work, we present an experimental characterization of commercial erythritol (available in the market as a sugar substitute), obtained to be used as PCM for latent heat storage in a solar cooker developed by the Research Unit for Renewable Energies in the Saharan Region (URERMS) in Adrar. The variation of PCM enthalpy was measured as a function of temperature using the T-history method, which allows the determination of the thermophysical properties of phase change materials. For this purpose, a test platform was created using locally available means in the laboratory of the Thermal and Thermodynamics Conversion Division (URERMS, Adrar), where experiments were conducted according to a simple experimental protocol using cylindrical copper capsules for erythritol samples and oil (TORADA TC46) as a reference material, in addition to a laboratory oven (Memmert UNE 400). Our experimental data processing determined the thermophysical properties of erythritol: a latent heat of fusion of 341.3 ± 2.3 kJ/kg and a melting point of 118°C. These measurements are consistent with those reported for pure erythritol in specialized references. These results demonstrate that erythritol is a suitable material for storing thermal energy in solar cooking applications after sunset. This is due to its high capacity to store 100 Wh/kg of heat in a temperature range of 100°C to 123°C.
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