This project originated through the University
of Dayton's ETHOS program that sends engineering
students overseas to work in developing countries
to meet their immediate needs.
Part of the ETHOS philosophy is solving engineering
challenges using appropriate technology.
So using locally available materials and techniques
to try to build an engineering solution.
This came out of a group of students who went
to Bihar, India.
Bihar is a remote province, and they have
a real problem because they don't have a reliable
electric grid.
So we are developing a solar-thermal Adsorption
refrigerator that does not require electricity
and using inexpensive, non-toxic, and environmentally-friendly
material that is available in those regions.
Instead of using conventional chlorofluorocarbons,
or HCFCs, it’s using a material like ethanol,
which has virtually no greenhouse gas warming
affect.
We start out with liquid ethanol, which is
the same kind of alcohol that's in a beverage
or gasoline.
And this evaporates at very low pressures,
so it evaporates at a low temperature, which
means we can carry heat away from this evaporation
chamber.
And that vapor ethanol gets adsorbed to the
carbon, which is like having the ethanol stick
like Velcro onto the activated carbon.
To unstick that Velcro ethanol, we can heat
it up.
Now in the field, we would use a solar collector,
but here we are just using electric heat lamps.
And by heating up the activated carbon, we
drive ethanol vapor off of the carbon bed
and can condense it again for another cooling
cycle.
This is something that has really inspired
students and faculty to continue.
It keeps going. And it grows all the time.
This is the first time I've had a research
project that has come up from student interest.
And it's been, certainly initially, driven
by students who are excited
and want to make it work.
