Phase change Materials (PCMs) are substances that absorb or release energy when they change state, like solid to liquid. PCMs absorb or release energy depending on conditions above or below their phase change temperature. They are effective to maintain the desired temperature because they are latent thermal energy storage solutions because they take advantage of both latent heat energy and sensible heat capacity. There are three main categories of PCM’s. Organic (paraffins, non-paraffins, fatty acids, biobased compounds); Inorganic (water, salt hydrates, metal based, molten salts); Eutectic (Mixture of at least two materials that can be organic-organic, organic-inorganic, and inorganic-inorganic).
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