Towards Sustainable Building Materials: Review and Numerical Study of composite wall with Bio-Based Phase Change Materials under the Climate of Fez

The increase in global energy demand and reliance on fossil fuels exacerbate environmental problems, reinforcing the need to adopt sustainable solutions. Biobased phase change materials (BPCMs) offer an eco-friendly alternative to conventional PCMs due to their ability to store and release thermal energy in the form of latent heat. This study combines a comprehensive literature review with a numerical simulation developed in Python, applied to the climatic conditions of Fez (Morocco). The results show that integrating RT20 and CaCl₂·6H₂O into building walls can reduce indoor thermal fluctuations by approximately 28%, increase the thermal lag by 3.4 hours, and decrease cooling demand by around 7%. These performances confirm the high potential of biobased BPCMs to improve thermal comfort, reduce energy consumption, and support the transition to sustainable buildings adapted to hot and dry climates.