Erik Zäll
I moved from Östersund to Umeå in the summer of 2012 to study energy engineering. Energy felt like a field where it was possible to contribute to a change for the better, considering the ongoing transition from fossil fuels to renewables.
I got my M.Sc in Energy Engineering in June 2017 after making my master thesis project in a collaboration between Absolicon Solar Collector and Nano for Energy. After finishing my masters I spent roughly a year at Absolicon before I started my Industrial PhD position in June 2018. Absolicon is the external partner in my PhD project as well. Absolicon develop and produce concentrating solar collectors, and my research focuses on developing new surface treatments for the key components in such a collector. In my main project I am developing a new selective surface for the receiver in the solar collector. The receiver is the component that absorbs the solar irradiance, and in terms of optical properties it must have a high solar absorptance and a low thermal emittance. Such a surface is called a selective surface.
I am using a technique called electroplating to coat stainless steel with a Co-Cr alloy, resulting in a strongly selective surface. The electrolyte used is a deep eutectic solvent, this enables use of trivalent instead of hexavalent chromium, which reduces the health risks associated with chromium electroplating significantly. |
Contact Information
Email: erik.zall (at) umu.se
Physics Department Umeå University SE-901 87 Umeå Sweden Institutional web page |