Preventing limescale sustainably
Thomas Schutzius has been appointed Assistant Professor for Multiphase Thermofluidics and Surface Nanoengineering at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering. On 1 February 2020 the specialist in multiphase thermofluidics and nanostructured surfaces will take up his position. We introduce the 33-year-old American in an interview.
In September 2019 you received a prestigious ERC Grant for your research on how to prevent limescale formation in boilers and hot water pipes. Can you give us a deeper insight into your project?
Thomas Schutzius: Fouling of heat exchangers and membranes represents a major challenge for sustainable production of electricity and clean water. An important type of fouling in these applications is called scaling, and it happens whenever "hard water" contacts a hot surface. Heating causes ions like calcium that are naturally dissolved in water to become unstable, precipitate, and grow on the heated surface. The growing deposit is called scale and is familiar to most as limescale, a chalky white deposit. Scale is thermally insulating, which negatively affects heat exchangers, and can clog pipes and membranes reducing flow performance. The current approach to addressing this problem is active and generally involves modifying water with chemical additives. In this project, we focus on modifying the surface of boilers or pipes to inhibit scaling, instead of modifying the water, which we believe is a more sustainable approach.
What are the biggest challenges?
These deposits, like seeds, grow from very small sizes. In order to design coatings that can inhibit such growth, we need to understand this behavior, which is very challenging experimentally
You started this project in 2013 when you joined the Laboratory of Thermodynamics in Emerging Technologies (LTNT). Why did you decide to come to ETH Zurich?
I applied for an ETH Fellowship so that I could join LTNT. Obviously, ETH is a very prestigious university, and LTNT is a world-class research group.
As a professor, you can expect to do more than just research. What do you find particularly appealing?
It's all very exciting and a dream come true. I am certainly looking forward to building my own group.
Why did you originally choose to go into engineering?
My parents were very supportive of my education, and I had a few very good teachers along the way that saw my passion and interests and pointed me towards engineering.
What do you recommend to students who want to pursue a career as a researcher?
Find something that you like to do, and that you do well, and put your heart and soul into it.
What do you do to balance work and gain new energy?
I chase after my 17 months old daughter – I don't know if I gain new energy though. That might be a violation of the first law of thermodynamics!