One of the most respectable scientists in the field of solar water pasteurization, and one of the original founders of Solar Cookers International, Dr. Robert Metcalf has …show more content…
Pasteur created the process of pasteurization to eradicate the microscopic organisms causing disease and sickness using heat. One of the methods for utilizing pasteurization is a solar puddle, which cleans larger amounts of water at a time than solar cookers. Simple models of the cooker are limited to heating small amounts of water at a time. The solar puddle consists of two clear plastic sheets covering a shallow pit in the ground. Solar heat is trapped under the clear plastic sheets, and the water rises to a pasteurization-achieving temperature. The solar puddle has proven to be easy and relatively inexpensive to make. The cost for a family-sized puddle is approximately six US dollars, though prices may vary depending on where the puddles are being made or purchased. Considering the solar puddle is able to heat a larger amount of water at one time than the solar cooker, the puddle may prove to be an alternative method for creating clean and accessible water (Andreatta & Gladstone