The Department of Chemical Engineering

University of the Philippines – Diliman

Cordially invites everyone to the oral presentation and defense of

Rommel N. Galvan

Entitled:

Synthesis, Characterization and Performance Testing of Lauric Acid Methyl Ester as

Phase Change Material for Low Temperature Energy Storage.

For the degree of

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering

On April 8, 2011, 9AM to 12NN

Beta Epsilon Multimedia Room
Melchor Hall, UP Diliman

Dr. Angela D. Escoto, Ph.D. (Panel Chairman)

Dr. Rizalinda L. de Leon, Ph.D. (Member, Thesis Adviser)
Dr. Maria Natalia R. Dimaano, Ph.D. (Member, Thesis Co-Adviser)

Abstract

Methyl Laurate (Lauric Acid Methyl Ester) was synthesized by means of acid catalyzed Fischer
esterification at an elevated temperature from Lauric Acid. The product is then characterized with FT-IR,
GC/MS and FT-NMR to determine and verify its purity. The methyl laurate product is then subjected to
120 continuous heating and cooling cycles using a fabricated Peltier-driven equilibrium cell reactor, after
which the thermodynamic properties were determined using DSC. Analysis shows that the ester form
exhibits a melting point of 5.15°C and a heat of fusion of 201.321 kJ/kg. The methyl laurate also exhibits
a near constant heat capacity on both the solid and liquid phase. The calculated heat energy based on the
results of the DSC and the temperature profile during charge and discharge processes shows that the
methyl laurate is a potential latent heat storage material for low temperature applications.