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A shape‐stabilized composite phase change material (SS‐CPCM) with paraffin (PA) and biological porous carbon (BPC) was prepared. Freeze‐dried biological‐cellulose include abandoned pomelo peel (APP) and tangerine peel (ATP) were carbonized in vacuum at 800 °C to obtain BPC to be used as a matrix material to prevent PA leakage and enhance thermal conductivity. A vacuum impregnation process was utilized to obtain the SS‐CPCM. Scanning electron microscopy showed that BPC (carbonized APP is subsequently referred to as BPC1 and carbonized ATP as BPC2) has a porous, honeycomb‐like structure, and that the paraffin encapsulated by the pores is evenly distributed. The SS‐CPCM2 (made from ATP) had the highest thermal conductivity (2.10 W/m K), which is 1.89 and 10 times that of the SS‐CPCM1 (made using APP) and pure PA, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermo‐gravimetric analysis were applied to determine the thermal performance and thermal reliability of the SS‐CPCM. Therefore, the prepared SS‐CPCM has potential in the field of energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase‐change materials (PCMs) have been widely investigated as candidates for thermal energy storage and solar thermal energy conversion. However, low thermal conductivity and poor shape stability during phase transition processes are detrimental to their practical applications. In this study, we designed composite PCMs based on carbon foam (CF) via the vacuum impregnation method to overcome these problems. CF with 3D interconnected microporous structures and good compressive strength was fabricated from phenolic resin (PF) using a combined process of carbonization and sacrificial template techniques. The developer material is considered a promising support material for PCMs. The as‐prepared polyethylene glycol/CF composite (PCC) exhibited a high energy‐storage density with a melting enthalpy of 135.7 J/g, and the thermal conductivity was enhanced by 109.8% compared to that of pure polyethylene glycol. In addition, the PCC showed excellent thermal stability and leakage‐proof performance after 100 heating/cooling cycles and good compressive strength. Because of the simple preparation process and low cost, PCC is a promising material for various thermal energy storage applications, especially in building energy storage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]