The Valparaiso University Solar Research team with their solar reactor. Left to Right: Katie Krueger VU '08, Peter Krenzke VU '08, Professor Bob Palumbo, and Nate Leonard VU '08.
A research team from Valparaiso University’s College of Engineering is working to turn concentrated sunlight into metallic zinc – an effort that may one day help make large-scale storage and transportation of the sun’s energy practical and provide possibilities for enabling sunlight to play a more significant role in the world economy.
2008 Valpo Mechanical Engineering graduates Peter Krenzke, Katie Krueger, and Nate Leonard spent last summer at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland working alongside Valpo Professor of Mechanical Engineering Bob Palumbo. With assistance from Mechanical Engineering Professor Scott Duncan, the team tested a solar reactor they designed and built from scratch to study high-temperature solar electrolysis in hopes of turning concentrated sunlight into metallic zinc, an important process because zinc could be used in fuel cells to produce electric power.
During the tests, sunlight was collected, focused, and directed into the solar reactor, a cylindrical device about three-feet long. Inside the reactor, a crucible containing the chemicals involved in the electrolysis process were heated to between 1,700 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature range where they began electrolysis for separating zinc oxide into oxygen and metallic zinc. The team successfully produced zinc.
“It was a very good summer,” said Dr. Palumbo. “From a scientific point of view, it was fabulous. We were able to do those things we set out to do, and the three students had a great experience.”
The team continues to work on the reactor, making improvements to allow for the production of larger amounts of zinc. They were also recently notified that an article describing some of their work, “Solar Thermal Electrolytic Process for the Production of Zn from ZnO: An ionic conductivity study” will be published in the ASME Transactions Journal of Solar Energy Engineering.
The solar energy research endeavor was made possible through a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and a $75,000 contribution from the Dean’s Annual Fund, a fund established through the generosity of College of Engineering alumni. 2008 marked the third year for the Valparaiso University solar energy research program.
With additional solar research endeavors on the horizon, Valpo is rapidly becoming a “hot spot” for solar energy research. Through the leadership of Professors Scott Duncan and Bob Palumbo, the Valparaiso University Solar Team is also designing its own solar furnace. Thanks to a very generous donation, Valpo will soon likely be the only university in the country with an experimental tool capable of using sunlight to drive chemical reactions at temperatures near 4000 degrees Fahrenheit and thereby create fuels from sunlight.
Learn more about Valpo’s College of Engineering.
