Mhike, WashingtonFocke, Walter WilhelmMackenzie, JodiMills, Edward J.Badenhorst, Heinrich2018-07-182018-05Mhike, W., Focke, W.W., Mackenzie, J. et al. 2018, 'Stearyl alcohol/palm triple pressed acid-graphite nanocomposites as phase change materials', Thermochimica Acta, vol. 663, pp. 77-84.0040-6031 (print)1872-762X (online)10.1016/j.tca.2018.03.014http://hdl.handle.net/2263/65773Mixtures of stearyl alcohol with palm triple pressed acid (essentially a mixture of palmitic and stearic acid derived from palm oil) were prepared and characterized to assess their phase change thermal energy storage utility. Unlike the other mixtures, the 35 mol% stearyl alcohol mixture showed a single crystallization exotherm peak, albeit with a small shoulder, in differential scanning calorimetry. The enthalpy associated with this phase change was 158 ± 5 kJ kg−1 and the crystallization peak temperature was 46 °C. Inclusion of 10 wt.% graphite nanoplatelets increased the solid state and melt state thermal conductivities by factors of approximately six and twelve respectively. This nanocomposite showed no deterioration in thermal properties after hundred heating and cooling cycles between the end-temperatures of 30 °C and 60 °C when scanned at a rate of 10 °C min−1. There was also no evidence of graphite platelet sedimentation in the molten liquid after two months at 80 °C.en© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Thermochimica Acta. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. A definitive version was subsequently published in Thermochimica Acta, vol. 663, pp. 77-84, 2018. doi : 10.1016/j.tca.2018.03.014.Phase changeThermal energy storageStearyl alcoholStearic acidGraphiteThermal conductivitySingle meltingCrystallizationPhase change material (PCM)Postprint Article