Epoxy Phase-Change Materials Based on Paraffin Wax Stabilized by Asphaltenes.

The usual problem of meltable phase-change agents is the instability in their form upon heating, which can be solved by placing them into a continuous polymer matrix. Epoxy resin is a suitable medium for dispersing molten agents, but it is necessary to make the obtained droplets stable during the curing of the formed phase-change material. This work shows that molten paraffin wax forms a Pickering emulsion in an epoxy medium and in the presence of asphaltenes extracted from heavy crude oil.