Dr. Luke Venstrom was awarded the Prize for Excellence in Research and Creative Work by the Committee for Creative Work and Research. Venstrom is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering.
The award committee consists of the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, the Director of Sponsored Research and Student Research, the Assistant Director of Student Research, and eight faculty members.
The Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Research and Creative Work is designed to recognize professors who have achieved remarkable achievements in their field of study and is endowed with $ 3,000 in prize money. Past winners include Carmine Polito and Shahin Nudehi, both members of the College of Engineering.
Professor Venstrom was nominated by Scott Duncan, his chair, for his research efforts while at Valpo.
“He [Duncan] I think what you have achieved here in your eight years so far is really incredible and the service essentially for the quality and quantity of work I have been able to do, ”said Venstrom.
Venstrom had the opportunity to do research at the German Aerospace Center Abroad in Cologne. During the year he spent there, he focused on a project to improve solar energy.
“A project we’ve been working on for a long time [is] Generating hydrogen from water with concentrated sunlight… ”said Venstrom. “One of the real challenges that has not yet been resolved is figuring out how to move energy to store excess energy that is available in summer and use it in winter.”
Other aspects of the research were the storage of hydrogen. However, the main focus of Venstrom was on the extraction of hydrogen from water molecules.
The hydrogen is obtained from brackish water, water that is not clean enough to drink. This prevents the use of clean water, which could help sustain communities in need.
“We have to strip off the oxygen atom and join the two hydrogen atoms together. That is the end goal. This requires the use of energy and this is where concentrated solar energy comes into play. It provides the energy necessary to split these atoms and cause them to separate, ”said Venstrom. “One way you can do this with concentrated solar energy, if you focus the solar energy down, things get really, very hot.”
At extremely high temperatures, the hydrogen atoms can split off from the oxygen in the water. Venstrom’s research with the Solar Energy Research Group in Valpo seeks to replicate this process without the use of sunlight.
“We take one step in the desert and when the sunlight is available and we take the next step wherever the water is. So we would like to say, instead of bringing the water to the sun, we bring the sun to the water, ”said Venstrom.
Iron oxide acts as a sponge that absorbs the oxygen and leaves the hydrogen molecules. When added to water, it acts as solar energy to take in the oxygen and separate it from the hydrogen. The same material can be reused many times by drying it out and rewetting it.
“We took concentrated sunlight, stored it, and then used it to break water, brackish water, into hydrogen and oxygen,” said Venstrom.
A previous project Venstrom worked on at Valpo was funded by the US Department of Energy. This research also included the use of solar energy to produce magnesium, a light but very strong metal.
Magnesium is currently manufactured exclusively by one company in the US at a high price. Better access to magnesium would allow wider use. Cars made of magnesium instead of steel would be more economical and environmentally friendly due to the lighter frame.
“We were led to find a way to make magnesium cheaper to reproduce using concentrated solar energy. I’ve been working on this project for about four years and we’ve made a lot of really good progress. It turned out that in the end [that] We had a great idea making the magnesium and the idea of pairing it with concentrated sunlight didn’t work that well, ”said Venstrom. “It was too costly to do, but we found that without this concentrated solar power, when you add energy in a different, possibly more conventional way, our technology did lower the cost of what it was. “
The research was outsourced to a company working to produce magnesium on a larger scale in this way.
Venstrom’s current research revolves around combating climate change through agricultural practices. Biochar, a substance made by heating scraps from corn crops, retains water and removes carbon from the soil when it is placed in the ground.
“If you use this biochar in the fields, it has a negative effect on the CO2 and removes this CO2 from the atmosphere. The only way to make this biochar is to heat the remains of the corn crop… ”said Venstrom. “I’m trying to make some money to find a way to prove a reactor technology that uses concentrated solar energy to do this conversion and turn the leftover material into this biochar that farmers can spread on their fields. Improving soil conditions for farmers to grow wherever they grow and to actually suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. “
In addition to his various research projects, Venstrom is looking forward to teaching an elective class, Solar Thermal Technologies, next year.
Venstrom hopes his research will show others how solar energy can improve lives.
“We are looking at retrofits and buildings to make them more sustainable with the help of solar technology. Next year we will focus on retrofitting buildings in low-income communities and low-income housing, trying to find a way to bring the benefits of renewable energy technology to the communities and our country that need it most. “Said Venstrom. “I am very happy to be able to combine the knowledge I have about solar energy with the drive to serve the least of us.”
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