Experimental analysis of hydroquinone used as phase change material (PCM) to be applied in solar cooling refrigeration

• Hydroquinone is used as phase change material (PCM) for solar cooling applications.
• Different thermal energy storage (TES) tanks are experimental evaluated.
• The inclusion of fins in the tubes bundle of the PCM storage tank is evaluated.
• From experimental results a 5 Tn PCM storage tank was designed and built.

This present paper is focused on the study of high temperature thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCM) to be applied on cooling and refrigeration systems by solar cooling. Thus, a pilot plant with a working temperature range between 150 and 200 °C was designed and built at the University of Lleida (Spain). Hydroquinone was selected for the specific application from different PCM candidates as the most suitable material after a literature review and a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. This PCM has a phase change temperature range between 166 °C and 173 °C and a melting enthalpy of 225 kJ kg−1. Two storage configurations were evaluated using the same PCM to have preliminary results before the final storage tank design. From the pilot plant results and experience, a 5 Tn PCM storage tank was designed and built to work in a real solar cooling installation in Seville (Spain).