Aluminium fires more than the imagination

When the word "responsibility" is used in connection with aluminium, you usually think of ecology and environmental protection. However, it can also be a question of social responsibility and support, as the examples of the solar cooker in Third World countries shows.

Today, around two billion people still rely on wood as fuel for cooking. However, the existing tree population is already insufficient to cover the needs of people. Deforestation also results in soil erosion and, in the long term, in desertification in once fertile regions. In some cases, families in west Africa have to spend 30% of their income on buying wood for fuel. This development can be ameliorated by the use of solar cookers.

The first solar cookers were made for French colonial troops in Africa on the orders of Napoleon III. However, the idea of using the sun's energy for cooking was only really taken up again around 1940. Today, there are a number of different solar cooker types which can be combined in innumerable variations.

The principle of energy conversion used in a solar cooker is simple: the collectors look like satellite dishes. They are made of concave aluminium mirrors ground from highly-polished anodised aluminium sheets. As the name says, the collectors collect the sun's rays and reflect them onto a central focus. This forms the cooking area which can be heated up to 300° Celsius in this manner.

Cooking with solar energy requires direct sunlight. Ideal conditions for use can be found in many poor countries, in Africa for example. The sight of gleaming aluminium parabolic mirrors is set to become a familiar and welcome sight in the searing heat..


Overview