I spent the last two weekends in Zürich. Pictures can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075055&id=40804674&l=1b4528f950
Last Saturday I went to Zürich by myself to do some shopping. Mostly did window shopping, since everything was really expensive! But it was still a fun day. I bought a manga that was translated into German and a skirt. I also went into a few different churches and took a boat ride up and down the river.
On Sunday Mom, Dad, Grandma Nancy, and Grandpa Bill got here. I met them at the airport rather than at the hotel like we planned. Which was a good thing because Dad thought the airport train station was the main station and didn't know what train to take. Then we missed the stop closest to their hotel and had to get off and back on the train going the other direction. Hooray for unlimited train passes! We took a walk around the hotel neighborhood (they stayed at the Movenpick in Regensdorf) and had dinner at a cafe. Went to bed early because everyone was really tired (me included since I never really fell asleep after Charles called and told me what happened to Gus on Saturday night).
Monday they came to visit me at PSI so I could show them the solar furnace. We had lunch at the OASE and then I met them in Baden for dinner. Tuesday and Wednesday we did experiments, one with cryolite and a tungsten cathode, and one trying to make Mg from MgO. We are hopeful about making Mg but won't know for sure until this next week.
Friday Dr. Palumbo took us to the hot springs and my family came with. It was so relaxing! The water was warm, but not too warm. They had lots of different jets to massage you. There was also a steam room with menthol or something. It felt weird at first but then really nice to breathe it in. Friday night I went back to Regensdorf to spend the weekend with my family.
We were going to visit the Ballenberg open air museum on Saturday, but it was going to rain and we decided to go to Zürich instead. I had been there the previous weekend, so I showed them some of the cool things I found. Grandma bought an accordion at the antique flea market place. Dad and Grandpa and I climbed up the tower of the Grossmünster, which was really neat. You could see the whole city! We did some shopping, and Dad bought me a Swiss Army Knife (the Climber). I was going to get one anyways so I'm glad he got one for me. The place we ate dinner was pretty cool. Lots of weapons on the walls, including an anti-aircraft gun over the entrance!
This morning I said goodbye to my family at the airport. I really wanted to get on the plane with them. Don't get me wrong, I'm having a great time here, but I also really miss home. Especially Wade. After they went to security I went to the Swiss National Museum. That was pretty cool. I couldn't take any pictures though. They had an exhibit about the history of knives and the Swiss Army Knife, stuff about the history of Switzerland, and old military uniforms and weapons, among other things. After I found some lunch I tried to go to a bird sanctuary, but it wasn't open. But while I was there I found out that the Ironman Switzerland was going on today, so there were tons of people around and a bunch of stands selling food and stuff. And there was a cool percussion group by the race route that I stopped and listened to for a while.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
RIP Symbol of Honor (aka Gus) July 28, 2001 to July 17, 2010
I know this isn't related to my travels at all but it is my main way of communicating with family at home so I want to say it here.
Gus, one of my horses, passed away yesterday. Charles found him out in the field when he went to let him and
Shiloh in. Tammy said he probably had a heart attack, since there weren't any marks on him and there was no sign that he had thrashed around on the ground. So at least he went quickly. Someone is going to come and take him away to be buried. They saved a lock of his mane for me.
Shiloh seems to be okay. He was a little spooked when Charles found him but he's calmed down now. Tammy is going to keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't too agitated by losing Gus.
Gus, one of my horses, passed away yesterday. Charles found him out in the field when he went to let him and
Shiloh in. Tammy said he probably had a heart attack, since there weren't any marks on him and there was no sign that he had thrashed around on the ground. So at least he went quickly. Someone is going to come and take him away to be buried. They saved a lock of his mane for me.
Shiloh seems to be okay. He was a little spooked when Charles found him but he's calmed down now. Tammy is going to keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't too agitated by losing Gus.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Pictures of Me (for Mom)
Mom requested more pictures of "my smiling face" and Nick happened to have a bunch.
Getting water from a fountain.
This oh so flattering picture is me cleaning the black stuff off the aperture.
I fell asleep when we were visiting Brugg.
Grocery shopping in Villigen on our first day here. Carol was helping me pick out some cheese.
I just think it's so cool that you can get safe drinking water from pretty much any tap or fountain.
At the top of Mt. Rigi.
At work monitoring an experiment.
Getting crepes at Jugendfest.
Eating cherries we bought on a hike. Only 6 francs for 1 kg!
Eating lunch on our hike down Mt. Rigi.
More hiking.
In St. Gallen.
About to go into the library.
Grindelwald and Luzern Details
On Saturday we took a trip to Grindelwald. We left at 6 am because we wanted to get up in the mountains and spend time there before the clouds came in. That was an early morning, but worth it!
Once in Grindelwald, we took a cable car up to First, which is one of the mountains in the area. The cable car was pretty neat. I was a little nervous since I'm a bit afraid of heights, but it was still a lot of fun.
We stopped and had coffee and pastries at a restaurant before continuing on. We hiked along the ridge to two beautiful lakes, where we stopped and had lunch. We had sandwiches, apples, hard boiled eggs, and cookies.
After taking the cable car back down, we looked around in some shops in Grindelwald before taking the train to Interlaken. In Interlaken we took a boat ride all the way to Thun. On the way there a storm came up, and it was pretty cool being on the boat in it. It got a little rocky at one point but then calmed down. The waves were so bad that later on in the trip we saw a few rowboats that had sunk in the water a little bit. From Thun we took the train back to PSI.
On Sunday we visited Luzern. We spent some time wandering around looking at buildings in the Old Town area. They were very beautiful. For lunch I had a pretzel sandwich with smoked salmon, lettuce, onions, and horseradish on it. It was super tasty!
After lunch we walked along the lake to the transportation museum. That was way cool. They had separate sections for train, auto, bus, and plane. Plus there were many interactive exhibits that made it even more fun.
Once in Grindelwald, we took a cable car up to First, which is one of the mountains in the area. The cable car was pretty neat. I was a little nervous since I'm a bit afraid of heights, but it was still a lot of fun.
We stopped and had coffee and pastries at a restaurant before continuing on. We hiked along the ridge to two beautiful lakes, where we stopped and had lunch. We had sandwiches, apples, hard boiled eggs, and cookies.
After taking the cable car back down, we looked around in some shops in Grindelwald before taking the train to Interlaken. In Interlaken we took a boat ride all the way to Thun. On the way there a storm came up, and it was pretty cool being on the boat in it. It got a little rocky at one point but then calmed down. The waves were so bad that later on in the trip we saw a few rowboats that had sunk in the water a little bit. From Thun we took the train back to PSI.
On Sunday we visited Luzern. We spent some time wandering around looking at buildings in the Old Town area. They were very beautiful. For lunch I had a pretzel sandwich with smoked salmon, lettuce, onions, and horseradish on it. It was super tasty!
After lunch we walked along the lake to the transportation museum. That was way cool. They had separate sections for train, auto, bus, and plane. Plus there were many interactive exhibits that made it even more fun.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Pictures from Grindelwald and Luzern
Here are some pictures from my travels to Grindelwald on Saturday and the transportation museum in Luzern on Sunday. Enjoy! Longer post about it to come later, brain is too tired right now.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074361&id=40804674&l=f05acc914c
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074361&id=40804674&l=f05acc914c
Monday, July 5, 2010
St. Gallen
Today we took a trip to St. Gallen. The main place we visited there was the Abbey of St. Gall.
We went to the library there first. It was gorgeous! They didn't allow cameras in though, so no pictures from me. Here's one on Wikipedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/BibliothekSG.jpg There were many very old books that were on display in special cases, but it is also a working library.
After lunch we went inside the abbey cathedral. Wow, was that ornate! Probably the fanciest church I've been in. It is a baroque cathedral. Lots of pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073961&id=40804674&l=9dcc609f8d
We headed back to PSI early today because we were all pretty tired from getting back late yesterday.
We hope to do our first experiment tomorrow if the weather cooperates.
We went to the library there first. It was gorgeous! They didn't allow cameras in though, so no pictures from me. Here's one on Wikipedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/BibliothekSG.jpg There were many very old books that were on display in special cases, but it is also a working library.
After lunch we went inside the abbey cathedral. Wow, was that ornate! Probably the fanciest church I've been in. It is a baroque cathedral. Lots of pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073961&id=40804674&l=9dcc609f8d
We headed back to PSI early today because we were all pretty tired from getting back late yesterday.
We hope to do our first experiment tomorrow if the weather cooperates.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Visit to Mt. Rigi
Today we visited Mt. Rigi. We left early and took a train to Arth-Goldau. From there we took the Rigi-Bahn (a privately run train) to the top of the mountain. Some very cool views to be seen.
All pictures can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073925&id=40804674&l=c9756e38c5
We then hiked 600 meters down the mountain (altitude-wise). On the way down we stopped and had sandwiches for lunch. After the hike we took the train the rest of the way down to Vitznau. In Vitznau we took a boat around Lake Lucerne to Flüelen. That was a neat trip.
On the boat we saw some people playing alphorns at one of the docks. A couple asked us what instruments those were, and we had a nice conversation with them. They have lived in Germany for two years but were originally from India. They are working in Germany doing biochem research.
In Flüelen we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I had tortellini al gorgonzola, which was really good. After dinner we came back to PSI.
Tomorrow we are headed to St. Gallen.
All pictures can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073925&id=40804674&l=c9756e38c5
We then hiked 600 meters down the mountain (altitude-wise). On the way down we stopped and had sandwiches for lunch. After the hike we took the train the rest of the way down to Vitznau. In Vitznau we took a boat around Lake Lucerne to Flüelen. That was a neat trip.
On the boat we saw some people playing alphorns at one of the docks. A couple asked us what instruments those were, and we had a nice conversation with them. They have lived in Germany for two years but were originally from India. They are working in Germany doing biochem research.
In Flüelen we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I had tortellini al gorgonzola, which was really good. After dinner we came back to PSI.
Tomorrow we are headed to St. Gallen.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Jugendfest!
Yesterday we went to Jugendfest in Brugg. Jugendfest is a festival celebrating the end of the school year. It is a local holiday so most shops are closed.
For pictures go here (there were too many to put in the blog): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073879&id=40804674&l=fbcc67bc5a
The day started off with a parade. All of the schoolkids and teachers are in it, plus some bands.
After the parade we walked around and saw a church from the 1300s. It was very beautiful, and huge inside! It was before they had arch technology, so the church is very long and narrow. We also saw a lot of Roman ruins, as Brugg was once an encampment of the Roman Legion.
After we finished touring the ruins, we bought some sandwiches and had lunch by the Aare River. The food in Switzerland is just fantastic. Everything is high quality. On a sandwich you can expect really good bread, meat, and cheese, and they're usually topped with a slice of egg, tomato, and pickle, with butter.
After lunch we hiked up a trail to a spot where we could see most of Brugg. It was really neat to look down and see all of the places we had just visited. I also took an unintentional nap for 15 minutes or so. I was so tired I fell asleep sitting on the bench! It was very hot yesterday (around 87) so walking for the whole day took a lot out of me.
Coming down from the trail, we went and watched some other Jugendfest activities. There was a soapbox derby, and the fire department was doing a strange game. They had milk crates that you had to stack up, and keep climbing up as they handed you crates. You just kept climbing until the crates fell. But they had you in a harness coming off of the fire truck ladder so you wouldn't hurt yourself.
For dinner we had bratwurst. What they call bratwurst here isn't like brats at home in WI. They are a white sausage and not as spicy as brats. Very good though! And you don't get a bun, just a piece of bread to eat with it.
After dinner we listened to some music. The first band we saw was a rock band that sang children's songs. They were very cool. Lots of energy. Later on we found a concert band and a drumline so we listened to them for a while.
At the end of the night there is a lantern parade and fireworks, but it gets dark really late here (not until 10 pm or so) and we were all really tired. So we ended up not staying for that.
Tomorrow we are off to the Rigi Mountain!
For pictures go here (there were too many to put in the blog): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073879&id=40804674&l=fbcc67bc5a
The day started off with a parade. All of the schoolkids and teachers are in it, plus some bands.
After the parade we walked around and saw a church from the 1300s. It was very beautiful, and huge inside! It was before they had arch technology, so the church is very long and narrow. We also saw a lot of Roman ruins, as Brugg was once an encampment of the Roman Legion.
After we finished touring the ruins, we bought some sandwiches and had lunch by the Aare River. The food in Switzerland is just fantastic. Everything is high quality. On a sandwich you can expect really good bread, meat, and cheese, and they're usually topped with a slice of egg, tomato, and pickle, with butter.
After lunch we hiked up a trail to a spot where we could see most of Brugg. It was really neat to look down and see all of the places we had just visited. I also took an unintentional nap for 15 minutes or so. I was so tired I fell asleep sitting on the bench! It was very hot yesterday (around 87) so walking for the whole day took a lot out of me.
Coming down from the trail, we went and watched some other Jugendfest activities. There was a soapbox derby, and the fire department was doing a strange game. They had milk crates that you had to stack up, and keep climbing up as they handed you crates. You just kept climbing until the crates fell. But they had you in a harness coming off of the fire truck ladder so you wouldn't hurt yourself.
For dinner we had bratwurst. What they call bratwurst here isn't like brats at home in WI. They are a white sausage and not as spicy as brats. Very good though! And you don't get a bun, just a piece of bread to eat with it.
After dinner we listened to some music. The first band we saw was a rock band that sang children's songs. They were very cool. Lots of energy. Later on we found a concert band and a drumline so we listened to them for a while.
At the end of the night there is a lantern parade and fireworks, but it gets dark really late here (not until 10 pm or so) and we were all really tired. So we ended up not staying for that.
Tomorrow we are off to the Rigi Mountain!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Flight and First Day
We flew Swiss Air direct from O'Hare to Zurich. If you ever get a chance to fly this airline, do it! Definitely worth the little extra we paid. The service was excellent and they kept us well fed throughout the journey. As you may know I get crabby when I'm hungry, so that was a very good thing for me.
^Our plane.
The aircraft we flew on was an A330-300. Pretty new looking inside with a 2-4-2 seating configuration. I had an aisle seat in the middle section. Once we took off, the crew brought us small bags of chex mix and came around with drinks. About two hours after takeoff came dinner. There was either chicken or pasta. I had the chicken, which came with vegetables and mashed potatoes, and it was good. The pasta was tortellini, which Nick and Will had. In addition to the main course, we also got a small salad, a piece of cheese, a roll, and a brownie. After dinner they brought around coffee for dessert. Another nice thing was that they had free wine, so I had a glass with dinner.
I tried to sleep some, and was somewhat successful. I couldn't seem to fall asleep unless I was listening to music, so every once in a while a song would be louder than the previous one and wake me up. But I think I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep off and on throughout the flight. About 2 hours before we landed, the crew brought us hot towels to wipe our hands and faces. That felt wonderful after being on the plane for about 7 hours at that point. Then they brought breakfast, which consisted of orange juice, yogurt, a croissant, and a drink.
When we finally landed in Zurich, the first thing I noticed was how quiet the airport was compared to O'Hare. It wasn't super busy, but it still seemed very quiet for the amount of people there. Our luggage came quickly, and we didn't even get stopped in customs. I guess if you have nothing to declare they don't usually stop you.
^A view from the train at the airport station.
We took a train from the airport to Brugg, a city near where we are staying. There we stopped and had lunch at an outdoor restaurant. I had some kind of sausage that I forgot the name of, and the team all shared a plate of french fries. After lunch we took the bus from Brugg to Villigen, which is the village PSI is in.
^The Guesthouse
Arriving at PSI, we checked into the guesthouse where we are staying. My room is on the third floor. It's pretty simple, but good enough. There is a sink and vanity in the entryway, and then the room opens up a little and has a bed, nightstand, shelves, refrigerator, closet, and desk.
^Coming into the room.
^Sink and vanity.
^Looking into the rest of the room.
^Shelves, fridge, and closet.
^Bed and nightstand.
Being on the top floor, my room gets a little warm. It was pretty hot yesterday, but today it's a bit better in here. It helps to have the door open to get the air moving since there is no fan. Dr. Palumbo says it is normally cooler than this, so hopefully the weather will get more normal soon.
Last night we went grocery shopping. There is a small grocery store in Villigen so we went there. Normally we will go to Brugg since there is more of a selection, but this was enough to get us food for the week. For dinner we went to one of the cafeterias at PSI. There is a larger one on the east side of the river and a small one on the west side (where we work). We went to the east side one last night, called the Oase. I had the salad bar, which was really good because they have a bunch of different meats and cheeses to try.
^The crate our reactor is in.
Today we started our first day of work. Learned about safety, got introduced to the people working in the solar furnace, opened up the crate to make sure nothing broke in transit, set up the data acquisition system, and started building up the platform to put the reactor on. We had lunch at the smaller cafeteria. I had a salad and a corn cream soup, which was tasty. Tonight we are going to a pizza place that Dr. Palumbo always takes the team to on the first day, but we couldn't go last night because they are closed on Mondays.
I hope you are enjoying reading, and I appreciate reading all of your comments!
--Leanne
The aircraft we flew on was an A330-300. Pretty new looking inside with a 2-4-2 seating configuration. I had an aisle seat in the middle section. Once we took off, the crew brought us small bags of chex mix and came around with drinks. About two hours after takeoff came dinner. There was either chicken or pasta. I had the chicken, which came with vegetables and mashed potatoes, and it was good. The pasta was tortellini, which Nick and Will had. In addition to the main course, we also got a small salad, a piece of cheese, a roll, and a brownie. After dinner they brought around coffee for dessert. Another nice thing was that they had free wine, so I had a glass with dinner.
I tried to sleep some, and was somewhat successful. I couldn't seem to fall asleep unless I was listening to music, so every once in a while a song would be louder than the previous one and wake me up. But I think I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep off and on throughout the flight. About 2 hours before we landed, the crew brought us hot towels to wipe our hands and faces. That felt wonderful after being on the plane for about 7 hours at that point. Then they brought breakfast, which consisted of orange juice, yogurt, a croissant, and a drink.
When we finally landed in Zurich, the first thing I noticed was how quiet the airport was compared to O'Hare. It wasn't super busy, but it still seemed very quiet for the amount of people there. Our luggage came quickly, and we didn't even get stopped in customs. I guess if you have nothing to declare they don't usually stop you.
We took a train from the airport to Brugg, a city near where we are staying. There we stopped and had lunch at an outdoor restaurant. I had some kind of sausage that I forgot the name of, and the team all shared a plate of french fries. After lunch we took the bus from Brugg to Villigen, which is the village PSI is in.
Arriving at PSI, we checked into the guesthouse where we are staying. My room is on the third floor. It's pretty simple, but good enough. There is a sink and vanity in the entryway, and then the room opens up a little and has a bed, nightstand, shelves, refrigerator, closet, and desk.
^Coming into the room.
^^Sink and vanity.
^
Being on the top floor, my room gets a little warm. It was pretty hot yesterday, but today it's a bit better in here. It helps to have the door open to get the air moving since there is no fan. Dr. Palumbo says it is normally cooler than this, so hopefully the weather will get more normal soon.
Last night we went grocery shopping. There is a small grocery store in Villigen so we went there. Normally we will go to Brugg since there is more of a selection, but this was enough to get us food for the week. For dinner we went to one of the cafeterias at PSI. There is a larger one on the east side of the river and a small one on the west side (where we work). We went to the east side one last night, called the Oase. I had the salad bar, which was really good because they have a bunch of different meats and cheeses to try.
Today we started our first day of work. Learned about safety, got introduced to the people working in the solar furnace, opened up the crate to make sure nothing broke in transit, set up the data acquisition system, and started building up the platform to put the reactor on. We had lunch at the smaller cafeteria. I had a salad and a corn cream soup, which was tasty. Tonight we are going to a pizza place that Dr. Palumbo always takes the team to on the first day, but we couldn't go last night because they are closed on Mondays.
I hope you are enjoying reading, and I appreciate reading all of your comments!
--Leanne
Sunday, June 27, 2010
An Introduction
Hello to all reading and welcome to my first blog post! I'm making this blog so that friends and family back home can all keep up on my adventures in Switzerland.
An introduction to STEP
I'm working as a research assistant this summer on the Solar Thermal Electrolysis Project, or STEP, at Valparaiso University. I've been working on the project with Dr. Palumbo since September 2008. This past school year I also worked on it as my senior design project.
So what exactly is STEP? In a nutshell, we are studying the production of zinc from zinc oxide using solar energy. Why do we want to do that? Currently zinc is produced industrially by burning a lot of fossil fuels, which creates pollution and is also nonrenewable. We want to show that substituting solar energy for the fossil fuels is a feasible way of creating zinc. In addition to being used as a commodity (to galvanize steel, etc.), zinc can also be used as a fuel, either as is in a zinc-air fuel cell or by reacting it with water to produce hydrogen. The best thing about either of those methods is that you get zinc oxide back as a byproduct, which you can put back in the solar reactor to get zinc again.
With STEP we are working at very high temperatures, ranging from 1700 to 2800 degrees F. The reason we work with high temperatures is this: in order for the zinc oxide to split into zinc and oxygen, a little electricity is needed. As the temperature of the reaction increases, the amount of electricity that needs to be supplied decreases. In fact, at just over 3600 degrees F the reaction can occur with no electricity whatsoever. However, we stay down below 2800 degrees because of material restrictions. As the temperature gets higher, it becomes more difficult to find materials that can withstand it.
To study the process, we built a solar reactor. The reactor itself has gone through several iterations as we discovered various problems while running experiments. The solar reactor operates as follows: sunlight passes through a window at the front of the reactor and enters a small hole called the aperture. It heats up a large graphite block that we call the core and melts the electrolyte/zinc oxide mixture in our crucible. A small amount of electricity is supplied by the electrodes, and the zinc and oxygen flow up chimneys and through a cooling system. The zinc collects on copper water cooling coils and in filters attached to the cooling system.
Our goal for the project is to study how changing different design and operating variables affect how the reactor performs. Variables we can change include electrolyte composition, electrode material, crucible material, operating temperature, current density, and how much ZnO we mix in with the electrolyte. The two performance parameters we look at are the back work ratio and the substituted solar fraction. The back work ratio is a measure of how much electricity we put in to get zinc versus how much we would get out if we reacted the zinc with air in a fuel cell at room temperature. The substituted solar fraction tells us basically how well we are using the sun's energy.
So what does this have to do with Switzerland?
In order for the reactor to reach high temperatures, the sunlight must be concentrated by a parabolic mirror called a concentrator. Paired with the concentrator is an array of flat mirrors called the heliostat that tracks the sun as it moves across the sky and directs sunlight into the concentrator. Our reactor sits at the focus of the concentrator. The heliostat-concentrator pairing is called a solar furnace.
We are traveling to Switzerland because Valparaiso University doesn't yet have a solar furnace. We are going to be working at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Villigen, Switzerland. Here's a picture of their solar furnace facility:
(Image Source: http://solar.web.psi.ch/data/facilities/?tasc)
VU will eventually have a solar furnace facility; one is being planned to coincide with construction of the new addition to Gellersen. Another team of students is working with Dr. Duncan and Dr. Nudehi this summer to finish designing the heliostat and concentrator and begin building them.
When are you leaving!?
Everyone's favorite question! I am leaving tomorrow for Zurich, flying direct from O'Hare. Our flight leaves at 7:20 pm central time, and we will arrive in Zurich on Monday at 11 am local time. I'll return to the US on August 6.
I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about what I'm working on. If you have any questions please ask!
--Leanne
*Edit: I made it so you can post comments without having an account. Just make sure you let me know who you are!*
An introduction to STEP
I'm working as a research assistant this summer on the Solar Thermal Electrolysis Project, or STEP, at Valparaiso University. I've been working on the project with Dr. Palumbo since September 2008. This past school year I also worked on it as my senior design project.
So what exactly is STEP? In a nutshell, we are studying the production of zinc from zinc oxide using solar energy. Why do we want to do that? Currently zinc is produced industrially by burning a lot of fossil fuels, which creates pollution and is also nonrenewable. We want to show that substituting solar energy for the fossil fuels is a feasible way of creating zinc. In addition to being used as a commodity (to galvanize steel, etc.), zinc can also be used as a fuel, either as is in a zinc-air fuel cell or by reacting it with water to produce hydrogen. The best thing about either of those methods is that you get zinc oxide back as a byproduct, which you can put back in the solar reactor to get zinc again.
With STEP we are working at very high temperatures, ranging from 1700 to 2800 degrees F. The reason we work with high temperatures is this: in order for the zinc oxide to split into zinc and oxygen, a little electricity is needed. As the temperature of the reaction increases, the amount of electricity that needs to be supplied decreases. In fact, at just over 3600 degrees F the reaction can occur with no electricity whatsoever. However, we stay down below 2800 degrees because of material restrictions. As the temperature gets higher, it becomes more difficult to find materials that can withstand it.
To study the process, we built a solar reactor. The reactor itself has gone through several iterations as we discovered various problems while running experiments. The solar reactor operates as follows: sunlight passes through a window at the front of the reactor and enters a small hole called the aperture. It heats up a large graphite block that we call the core and melts the electrolyte/zinc oxide mixture in our crucible. A small amount of electricity is supplied by the electrodes, and the zinc and oxygen flow up chimneys and through a cooling system. The zinc collects on copper water cooling coils and in filters attached to the cooling system.
Our goal for the project is to study how changing different design and operating variables affect how the reactor performs. Variables we can change include electrolyte composition, electrode material, crucible material, operating temperature, current density, and how much ZnO we mix in with the electrolyte. The two performance parameters we look at are the back work ratio and the substituted solar fraction. The back work ratio is a measure of how much electricity we put in to get zinc versus how much we would get out if we reacted the zinc with air in a fuel cell at room temperature. The substituted solar fraction tells us basically how well we are using the sun's energy.
So what does this have to do with Switzerland?
In order for the reactor to reach high temperatures, the sunlight must be concentrated by a parabolic mirror called a concentrator. Paired with the concentrator is an array of flat mirrors called the heliostat that tracks the sun as it moves across the sky and directs sunlight into the concentrator. Our reactor sits at the focus of the concentrator. The heliostat-concentrator pairing is called a solar furnace.
We are traveling to Switzerland because Valparaiso University doesn't yet have a solar furnace. We are going to be working at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Villigen, Switzerland. Here's a picture of their solar furnace facility:
VU will eventually have a solar furnace facility; one is being planned to coincide with construction of the new addition to Gellersen. Another team of students is working with Dr. Duncan and Dr. Nudehi this summer to finish designing the heliostat and concentrator and begin building them.
When are you leaving!?
Everyone's favorite question! I am leaving tomorrow for Zurich, flying direct from O'Hare. Our flight leaves at 7:20 pm central time, and we will arrive in Zurich on Monday at 11 am local time. I'll return to the US on August 6.
I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about what I'm working on. If you have any questions please ask!
--Leanne
*Edit: I made it so you can post comments without having an account. Just make sure you let me know who you are!*
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