Vegetable oils: liquid coolants for solar heating and cooling applications

It has been proposed that vegetable oils, renewable byproducts of agriculture processes, be investigated for possible use as liquid coolants. The major thrust of the project was to investigate several thermophysical properties of the four vegetable oils selected. Vapor pressures, specific heat, viscosity, density, and thermal conductivity were determined over a range of temperatures for corn, soybean, peanut, and cottonseed oil. ASTM standard methods were used for these determinations. In addition, chemical analyses were performed on samples of each oil. The samples were collected before and after each experiment so that any changes in composition could be noted. The tests included iodine number, fatty acid, and moisture content determination. (MHR