Production of a Mini Solar Furnace and Its Use for Reduction of Metal Compounds

Abstract

We built a mini solar furnace using Fresnel lenses (295×360 mm). It was found that the temperature at the focus was over 1200°C. Reduction of several metal compounds (Fe₂O₃, Co₃O₄, NiO, Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂) was carried out by the mini solar furnace. This resulted in producing visible particles of Fe, Co, Ni and Cu. On the basis of the above findings, we proposed a learning activity that adopted the experiment of reduction of Fe₂O₃ using the mini solar furnace. The activity was conducted in a high school and we confirmed that the students were interested in solar energy.