Experimental Investigations of a Simple and Cheap Passive Solar Dryer for Preserving Agricultural Products

Muhammad Mahamood Hasan, M.M.A. Khan, Ahmed Sayem

Abstract


Solar energy can play a vital role to replace traditional energy sources in drying agricultural products. In this study, a simple passive solar dryer was designed and built with low-cost materials, then tested to determine its drying performance. The passive solar dryer features a single-pass solar collector, a drying chamber with multiple trays for drying food, and a chimney. Its drying performance of potatoes was compared to that of open sun drying (OSD) and direct solar drying methods based on the thermal efficiency and air outlet temperature of the solar collector. The drying tests revealed that collector efficiency varied with time, peaking at 1:00 pm with a maximum outlet temperature of ~54.2 °C. The efficiency of the solar collector is found to increase as the air flow rate increases. Using the passive solar dryer, potatoes were dried from an initial moisture content (MC) of 82% to below 10%. When compared to direct solar and open sun drying methods, the studied passive dryer was found to be more efficient, resulting in 11.1% and 20% less drying time, respectively. The drying rate was seen to be higher at the start of the drying process and decreased at the end due to the lack of moisture content in the dried food. Sensory tests revealed that potatoes dried using the passive solar dryer were more appealing in terms of color, taste and flavor, whereas sun dried and direct solar dried potatoes were particularly inconsistent in terms of color and appearance. 


Keywords


Solar energy; passive solar dryer; collector efficiency; moisture content; solar air collector

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References


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DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.20508/ijrer.v12i4.13455.g8559

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