Paraffin wax characterization
Paraffin wax characterization
Paraffin waxes are saturated hydrocarbon mixtures that usually consist of a mixture of different alkanes. They are characterized by straight or branched carbon chains with generic formula CnH2n+2, the crystallization of the (CH3) – chain release a large amount of latent heat. Both the melting point and latent heat of fusion increase with chain length, thus it has melting temperatures ranging from 23 to 67 °C. They are white, semi-transparent, tasteless and odorless solids with common properties such as smooth texture, water repellency, low toxicity, safe, reliable, predictable and non-corrosive. They are combustible and have good dielectric properties. They are soluble in benzene, ligroin, warm alcohol, chloroform and carbon disulfide but insoluble in water and acids. They have commercially available, ecologically harmless, readily available and inexpensive. Their specific heat capacity is about 2.1 kJ/(kg* K), and their enthalpy lies between 180 and 230 kJ/kg, quite high for organic materials. The combination of these two value results in an excellent energy storage density. They have chemical stability, show little volume changes on melting and have the low vapor pressure in the melt form. Moreover, they have low thermal conductivity and large volume change during a phase transition. Because of these desirable characteristics of paraffin waxes, it is used as PCMs in latent heat storage systems. The application of phase change materials has found importance in various systems from energy storage to thermal protection.
