Patent Title: PHASE-CHANGE MATERIAL FOR STORING THERMAL ENERGY, MANUFACTURING METHOD AND USES OF SUCH A MATERIAL

 Number/Link:  WO2017/198933 (French)

Applicant/Assignee:  UNIV CERGY-PONTOIS

Publication date: 23 november 2017

“Gist”: A crosslinked PEG-HMDI elastomer can be used as phase change material.

Why it is interesting: Phase change materials, used to dampen temperature cycles in buildings, are well known. Most organic phase change materials (e.g. paraffines) show solid-liquid phase transitions and therefore need to be macro- or micro-encapsulated. This invention is about polyurethane PCMs with a solid to solid phase transition, and therefore need not be encapsulated. The PU PCM is prepared by reacting a polyethylene glycol with a diisocyanate like HMDI together with a crosslinker like glycerol. The solid elastomer is then ground into powder which can be used in construction materials like plaster or cement. The transition temperature and the latent heat of the PCM is controlled through the mole weight of the PEG (e.g. 1000 to 2000 Da) and the degree of crosslinking.
Solid-solid PU PCMs are not new, see WO2011/089061 (Huntsman), which (in my opinion) presents a more elegant and flexible solution to the problem.

Temperature damping by PCM (Wikimedia Commons)