Biomimetic and bio-derived composite Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage applications: A thorough analysis and future research directions

Phase change heat storage has gained a lot of interest lately due to its high energy storage density. However, during the phase shift process, Phase Change Materials (PCMs) experience issues such as low thermal conductivity, stability, leaking, and low energy-storing capacity. Materials that mimic or derive from nature can effectively offset the shortcomings attributed. This work presents a methodical overview of the synthesis, thermo-physical properties, comparison and Thermal Energy Storage (TES) applications of bio-derived and biomimetic composite PCMs (BD/BM-CPCMs). Several studies have observed increase in thermal conductivity up to 950–1250 % for BD/BM-CPCMs, as well as great thermal stability with no matrix leakage at an average temperature of 150–250 °C. These types of composites have a relative enthalpy efficiency of up to 98.1 % and can endure 200–1000 heating-cooling cycles on average. Additionally, enviro-economic aspects, numerical approaches to heat transfer during phase change and multivariate and multi-objective optimizations from a technical, financial and environmental standpoint using machine learning techniques with underlying scopes of BD/BM-CPCM are presented. It is necessary to fabricate adaptable BD/BM-CPCM for multifunctional energy harvesting and storage in future. With regard to the advancement in substance functionalism, it is necessary to show and research the use of bio-derived composite with innovative effects like versatility, light to thermal conversion, electro-thermal conversion, and anti-bacterial qualities in real-world systems.