Polyethylene Glycol/Rice Husk Ash Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Materials: Recovery of Thermal Energy Storage Efficacy via Engineering Porous Support Structure.

This study focuses on modifying the porous structure of acid-treated rice husk ash (ARHA) to enhance the thermal energy storage capacity of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) confined within shape-stabilized phase change materials. The modification process involved a cost-effective sol-gel method in which ARHA was initially dissolved in an alkaline solution and subsequently precipitated in an acidic environment. ARHA, being a mesoporous SiO-based material with a high surface area but low pore volume, had limited capacity to adsorb PEG (50%).