1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Drying is one of the methods used to preserve food products for longer periods.
The heat from the sun coupled with the wind has been used to dry food for preservation
for several thousand years. Solar thermal technology is a technology that is rapidly
gaining acceptance as an energy saving measure in agriculture application. It is
preferred to other alternative sources of energy such as wind and shale, because it is
abundant, inexhaustible, and non-polluting. Solar air heaters are simple devices to heat
air by utilizing solar energy and it is employed in many applications requiring low to
moderate temperature below 80C, such as crop drying and space heating. Drying is
the oldest preservation technique of agricultural products and it is an energy intensive
process. High prices and shortages of fossil fuels have increased the emphasis on
using alternative renewable energy resources. Drying of agricultural products using
renewable energy such as solar energy is environmental friendly and has less
environmental impact.
Different types of solar dryers have been designed, developed and tested in the
different regions of the tropics and subtropics. The major two categories of the dryers
are natural convection solar dryers and forced convection solar dryers. In the natural
convection solar dryers the airflow is established by buoyancy induced airflow while in
forced convection solar dryers the airflow is provided by using fan operated either by
electricity/solar module or fossil fuel. Now the solar dryer designed and developed for
and used in tropics and subtropics are discussed under two headings.

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1

STUDIES RELATED TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF SOLAR DRYING

SYSTEM
Diemuodeke E.OGHENERUONA, Momoh O.L. YUSUF(2011)., Designed and

fabricated direct natural convection solar dryer to dry tapioca in rural areas. A minimum
of 7.56 m2 solar collector area is required to dry a batch of 100 kg tapioca in 20 hours
(two days drying period). The initial and final moisture content considered were 79 %
and 10 % wet basis, respectively. The average ambient conditions are 32C air
temperatures and 74 % relative humidity with daily global solar radiation incident on
horizontal surface of 13 MJ/m2/day. The weather conditions considered are of Warri
(lat. 530, long. 541), Nigeria.A prototype of dryer was fabricated with minimum
collector area of 1.08 m2 .

M.MOHANRAJ,P.CHANDRASEKAR (2009).,The performance of an indirect

forced convection solar drier integrated with heat storage material was designed,
fabricated and investigated for chili drying. The drier with heat storage material enables
to maintain consistent air temperature inside the drier. The inclusion of heat storage
material also increases the drying time by about 4 h per day. The chili was dried from
initial moisture content 72.8% to the final moisture content about 9.2% and 9.7% (wet
basis) in the bottom and top trays respectively. They concluded that, forced convection
solar drier is more suitable for producing high quality dried chilli for small holders.
Thermal efficiency of the solar drier was estimated to be about 21% with specific
moisture extraction rate of about 0.87 kg/kW h.

Bukola O. Bolaji and Ayoola P. Olalusi (2008)., Built a simple and inexpensive
mixed mode solar dry locally source materials. The temperature rise inside the drying

cabinet was up to 24o C (74%) for a hours immediately after 12.00h(noon). The drying
rate, collector efficiency and percentage of moist removed (dry basis) for drying yam
chips were 0.62 kgh-1, 57.5 and 85.4% respectively.

Bukola O. Bolaji.et.al (2011), Designed, constructed and tested the solar

windventilated cabinet dryer in Nigeria on latitude 7.5o N.Comparatively, drying with the
solar cabinet dryer showed better results than open air-drying. During the period of test,
the average air velocity through the solar dryer was 1.62 m/s and the average daylight
efficiency of the system was 46.7%. The maximum drying air temperatures was found to
be 64oC inside the dryer. The average drying air temperature in the drying cabinet was
higher than the ambient temperature in the range of 5oC in the early hours of the day to
31oC at midday.80% and 55% weight losses were obtained in the drying of pepper and
yam chips, respectively, in the dryer.
Ahmed Abed Gatea (2009), Designed and developed solar drying system for
maize with V-groove collector of 2.04 m area, drying chamber and blower. The thermal
energy and heat losses from solar collector were calculated for each three tilt angles
(30,45, 60). The results obtained during the test period denoted that the maximum
gained energy occurred at 11 o'clock hour and then gradually declined since the
maximum solar radiation occurred at this time. Other many important results found are
The theoretical thermal energy, the experimentally actual heats gain increase by
increasing radiation intensity, the maximum values occurred at the 11 am and then
gradually declined. The energy gained obtained at the angle tilt 45 is higher than the
corresponding values obtained at 60, 30 tilt.

F.K.Forson.et.al (2007), Designed A mixed-mode natural convection solar crop

dryer (MNCSCD) for dryingcassava and other crops. A batch of cassava 160 kg by
mass, having an initial moisture content of 67% wet basis from which 100 kg of water is
required to be removed to have it dried to a desired moisture content of 17% wet basis,
is used as the drying load in designing the dryer. A drying time of 3036 h is assumed

for the anticipated test location (Kumasi; 6.71N,1.61W) with an expected average solar
irradiance of 400W/m2 and ambient conditions of 25 1C and 77.8% relative
humidity.They concluded that A minimum of 42.4m 2 of solar collection area, according
to the design, is required for an expected drying efficiency of 12.5%. Under average
ambient conditions of 28.2 1C and 72.1% relative humidity with solar irradiance of
340.4W/m2, a drying time of 35.5 h was realised and the drying efficiency was evaluated
as 12.3% when tested under full designed load signifying that the design procedure
proposed is sufficiently.

EL- Amin Omda Mohamed Akoy.et.al (2009), A natural convection solar

dryer(Cabinet Type) was designed and constructed to dry mango slices. They
concluded that the designed dryer with a collector area of 16.8m2 is expected to dry
195.2kg fresh mango (100kg of sliced mango) from 81.4% to 10% wet basis in two days
under ambient conditions during harvesting period from April to June. A prototype of the
dryer is designed and constructed that has a maximum collector area of 1.03m2.

M.A. Hossaina and B.K. Bala (2006), Designed and developed A Mixed mode
type forced convection solar tunnel drier to dry hot red and green chillies under the
tropical weather conditions of Bangladesh. Moisture content of red chilli was reduced
from 2.85to 0.05 kg/kg(db) in 20 h in solar tunnel drier and it took 32 h to reduce the
moisture content to 0.09 and 0.40 kg/kg (db) in improved and conventional sun drying
methods, respectively.

J. Banout et.al (2010), Doubled Pass Solar Dryer (DPSD) was designed for
drying red chilli in central Vietnam and DPSD is compared with cabinet dryer (CD) and
traditional open sun drying. They found that average drying temperatures were 60C,
52C and 35.8C and corresponding relative humidity 34%, 45% and 62% for DPSD,
CD and open air sun drying, respectively. The overall drying efficiency of DPSD is 20%
which is typical for forced convection solar dryer. The moisture content of fresh red chilli
was almost similar during all drying tests where as the initial values were

9.18kg/kg,9.17kg/kg and 9.30kg/kg (db) for DPSD, CD and open-air sun drying,
respectively. Where the final moisture content in case of DPSD 0.05kg/kg was reached
after 23 h, 0.09kg/kg after 29h for CD and 0.18kg/kg after 36 h in case of open sun
drying (excluding nights).The performances of a new designed DPSD have been
compared with those of a typical CD and a traditional open-air sun drying for drying of
red chilli. The DPSD resulted in the shortest drying time to meet desired moisture
content of chilli (10% w.b.), which corresponds to the highest drying rate comparing to
other methods. Although the construction cost of DPSD was higher than CD the overall
drying efficiency was more than two times higher in case of DPSD compared to CD.
Hence, Double pass solar drier was found to be technically and economically suitable
for drying of red chillies under the specific conditions in central Vietnam.

CHAPTER 3
PROBLEM DEFINITION
3.1

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Food scientists have found that by reducing the moisture content of food to

between 10 and 20%, bacteria, yeast, mold and enzymes are prevented from spoiling it.
The flavor and most of the nutritional value is preserved and concentrated. Wherever
possible, it is traditional to harvest most grain crops during a dry period or season and
simple drying methods such as sun drying are adequate. However, maturity of the crop
does not always coincide with a suitably dry period. Furthermore, the introduction of
high-yielding varieties, irrigation, and improved farming practices have led to the need
for alternative drying practices to cope with the increased production and grain
harvested during the wet season as a result of multi-cropping.

3.1.1 Space Problems

Drying and preservation of agricultural products have been one of the oldest
uses of solar energy. The traditional method, still widely used throughout the world, is
open sun drying where diverse crops, such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, grains,
tobacco, etc. are spread on the ground and turned regularly until sufficiently dried so
that they can be stored safely. However, there exist many problems associated with
open sun drying. It has been seen that open sun drying has the following
disadvantages. It requires both large amount of space and long drying time.

3.1.2 Weather Problems

The crop is damaged because of the hostile weather conditions; contamination
of crops from the foreign materials, degradation by overheating, and the crop is subject
to insect infestation, the crop is susceptible to reabsorption of moisture if it is left on the
ground during periods of no sun, and there is no control on the drying process. This

could lead to slow drying rate, contamination and poor quality of dried products, and
loss in production.
Although the spreading of the crop on the ground or on a platform and drying it
directly by the sun is cheap and successfully employed for many products throughout
the world, where solar radiation and climatic conditions are favorable, because of the
above mentioned factors of open sun drying process and a better understanding of the
method of utilizing solar energy to advantage, have given rise to a scientific method
called solar drying. Solar drying of farm crops offers the following advantages by
permitting: early harvest which reduces the field loss of products from storm and natural
shattering.

3.1.3 Technology Problems

The disadvantages of open sun drying need an appropriate technology that can
help in improving the quality of the dried products and in reducing the wastage. This led
to the application of various types of drying devices like solar dryer, electric dryers,
wood fuel driers and oil-burned driers. However, the high cost of oil and electricity and
their scarcity in the rural areas of most third world countries have made some of these
driers very unattractive. Therefore interest has been focused mainly on the development
of solar driers .Solar dryers are usually classified according to the mode of air flow into
natural convection and forced convection dryers. Natural convection dryers do not
require a fan to pump the air through the dryer. The low air flow rate and the long drying
time, however, result in low drying capacity. Thus, this system is restricted to the
processing of small quantities of agricultural surplus for family consumption. Where
large quantities of fresh produce are to be processed for the commercial market, forced
convection dryers should be used.

3.1.4 Power Problems

One basic disadvantage of forced convection dryers lies in their requirement of
electrical power to run the fan. Since the rural or remote areas of many developing

countries are not connected to the national electric grids, the use of these dryers is
limited to electrified urban areas. Even in the urban areas with grid-connected
electricity, the service is unreliable. In view of the prevailing economic difficulties in most
of these countries, this situation is not expected to change in the foreseen able future.
The use of natural convection solar dryer could boost the dissemination of solar dryers
in the developing countries. Therefore, experimental performance of solar dryer has
been evaluated in this project.

3.2

PROBLEM STATEMENT OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to develop a mixed-mode solar drying system in

which the vegetables are dried simultaneously by both direct radiation through the
transparent walls and roof of the cabinet and by the heated air from the solar collector.
The problems of low and medium scale processor could be alleviated, if the solar dryer
is designed and constructed with the consideration of overcoming the limitations of
direct and indirect type of solar dryer. So therefore, this work will be based on the
importance of a mixed mode solar dryer which is reliable and economically, design and
construct a mixed mode solar dryer using locally available materials and to evaluate the
performance of this solar dryer.

3.3

PROBLEM CONSTRAINS
Drying processes play an important role in the preservation of agricultural

products. They are defined as a process of moisture removal due to simultaneous heat
and mass transfer. The purpose of this project is to present the developments and
potentials of solar drying technologies for drying grains, fruits, vegetables, spices,
medicinal plants. The traditional method of drying, known as sun drying, involves simply
laying the product in the sun on mats, roofs or drying floors. Major disadvantage of this
method is contamination of the products by dust, birds and insects Some percentage
will usually be lost or damaged, it is labour intensive, nutrients loss, such as vitamin A
and the method totally depends on good weather conditions.Because the energy

requirements - sun and wind - are readily available in the ambient environment, little
capital is required. This type of drying is frequently the only commercially used and
viable methods in which to dry agricultural products in developing countries. The safer
alternative to open sun drying is solar dryer.This is a more efficient method of drying
that produces better quality products, but it also requires initial investments. If drying
conditions such as weather and food supply are good, natural circulation solar energy,
solar dryers appear to be increasingly attractive as commercial proposition.

10

CHAPTER 4
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
4.1

DESIGN SPECIFICATION AND ASSUMPTION

Solar drying may be classified into direct and indirect solar dryer. In direct solar

dryers the air heater contains the grains and solar energy which passes through a
transparent cover and is absorbed by the grains. Essentially, the heat required for
drying is provided by radiation to the upper layers and subsequent conduction into the
grain bed. However, in indirect dryers, solar energy is collected in a separate solar
collector (air heater) and the heated air then passes through the grain bed, while in the
mixedmode type of dryer, the heated air from a separate solar collector is passed
through a grain bed, and at the same time, the drying cabinet absorbs solar energy
directly through the transparent walls or the roof. The objective of this study is to design
a mixed-mode solar dryer in which the grains are dried simultaneously by both direct
radiation through the transparent walls and roof of the cabinet and by the heated air
from the solar collector. The materials used for the construction of the mixed-mode solar
dryer are cheap and easily obtainable in the local market.

4.1.1 Solar Dryer Components

The solar dryer consists of the solar collector (air heater), the drying cabinet and
drying trays
1.Collector(Air Heater)
The heat absorber (inner box) of the solar air heater was constructed using 2 mm
thick aluminum plate, painted black, is mounted in an outer box built from well seasoned
woods. The space between the inner box and outer box is filled with foam material of
about 40 mm thickness and thermal conductivity of 0.043 W/mK . The solar collector
assembly consists of air flow channel enclosed by transparent cover (glazing). An
absorber mesh screen midway between the glass cover and the absorber back plate

11

provides effective air heating because solar radiation that passes through the
transparent cover is then absorbed by both the mesh and back-plate. The glazing is a
single layer of 4 mm thick transparent glass sheet; it has a surface area of 820 mm by
1020 mm and of transmittance above 0.7 for wave lengths in the rage 0.2 2.0 m and
opaque to wave lengths greater than 4.5 m. One end of the solar collector has an air
inlet vent of area 0.0888 m2, which is covered by a galvanized wire mesh to prevent
entrance of rodents, the other end opens to the plenum chamber.
2.The Drying Cabinet
The drying cabinet together with the structural frame of the dryer was built from
well-seasoned woods which could withstand termite and atmospheric attacks. An outlet
vent was provided toward the upper end at the back of the cabinet to facilitate and
control the convection flow of air through the dryer. Access door to the drying chamber
was also provided at the back of the cabinet. This consists of three removable wooden
panels made of 13 mm plywood, which overlapped each other to prevent air leakages
when closed. The roof and the two opposite side walls of the cabinet are covered with
transparent glass sheets of 4 mm thick, which provided additional heating.
3.Drying Trays
The drying trays are contained inside the drying chamber and were constructed
from a double layer of fine chicken wire mesh with a fairly open structure to allow drying
air to pass through the food items.

4.1.2 The Orientation of Solar Collector

The flat-plate solar collector is always tilted and oriented in such a way that it
receives maximum solar radiation during the desired season of used. The best
stationary orientation is due south in the northern hemisphere and due north in southern
hemisphere. Therefore, solar collector in this work is oriented facing south and tilted at
45 to the horizontal. This inclination is also to allow easy run off of water and enhance
air circulation.

12

CHAPTER 5

DESIGN PROCEDURE AND IMPLEMENTATION

5.1

DESIGN PROCEDURE
In many parts of the world there is a growing awareness that renewable energy

have an important role to play in extending technology to the farmer in developing

countries to increase their productivity. Solar thermal technology is a technology that is
rapidly gaining acceptance as an energy saving measure in agriculture application. It is
preferred to other alternative sources of energy such as wind and shale, because it is
abundant, inexhaustible, and non-polluting. Solar air heaters are simple devices to heat
air by utilizing solar energy and

employed in many applications requiring low to

moderate temperature below 80O C, such as crop drying and space heating. Drying
processes play an important role in the preservation of agricultural products.
They are defined as a process of moisture removal due to simultaneous heat and
mass transfer. According to two types of water are present in food items; the chemically
bound water and the physically held water. In drying, it is only the physically held water
that is removed. The most important reasons for the popularity of dried products are
longer shelf-life, product diversity as well as substantial volume reduction. This could be
expanded further with improvements in product quality and process applications. The
application of dryers in developing countries can reduce post harvest losses and
significantly contribute to the availability of food in these countries. Estimations of these
losses are generally cited to be of the order of 40% but they can, under very adverse
conditions, be nearly as high as 80%. A significant percentage of these losses are
related to improper and/or untimely drying of foodstuffs such as cereal grains, pulses,
tubers, meat, fish, etc.
Traditional drying, which is frequently done on the ground in the open air, is the
most widespread method used in developing countries because it is the simplest and
cheapest method of conserving foodstuffs. Some disadvantages of open air drying are:

13

exposure of the foodstuff to rain and dust; uncontrolled drying; exposure to direct
sunlight which is undesirable for some foodstuffs; infestation by insects; attack by
animals; etc .
In order to improve traditional drying, solar dryers which have the potential of
substantially reducing the above-mentioned disadvantages of open air drying; have
received considerable attention over the past 20 years. Solar dryers of the forced
convection type can be effectively used. They however need electricity, which
unfortunately is non-existent in many rural areas, to operate the fans. Even when
electricity exists, the potential users of the dryers are unable to pay for it due to their
very low income. Forced convection dryers are for this reason not going to be readily
applicable on a wide scale in many developing countries. Natural convection dryers
circulate the drying air without the aid of a fan. They are therefore, the most applicable
to the rural areas in developing countries.

5.1.1 The Experimental Setup

The mixed-mode solar dryer with box-type absorber collector was constructed
using the materials that are easily obtainable from the local market. Figure 5.1 shows
the sectional view of mixed mode dryer. The dryer has four main features namely: the
box-type absorber solar air collector, the drying chamber and the drying rack.

Figure 5.1 Sectional view of mixed mode dryer

14

5.1.2 Collector
The heat absorber (inner box) of the solar air heater was constructed using 1
mm thick galvanized plate, painted black, the surface facing sunlight was painted with
black paint containing (5%)black chromium powder to increase its absorbing capability.
Figure 5.2 shows the typical solar collector for air heating. The solar collector was
insulated with rock wool of about 5 cm thickness.

Figure 5.2 Typical solar collector for air heating

The solar collector assembly consists of air flow channel enclosed by transparent cover
(glazing). The glazing is a single layer of 4 mm thick transparent glass sheet. It has a
surface area of 0.82 by 1.20 cm and of transmittance above 0.86.

5.1.3 Drying Cabinet

The designing of the drying chamber depends on many factors such as the
product to be dried, the required temperature and velocity of the air to dry food material,
the quantity of the dried product and the relative humidity of the air passing over the
food material. The drying chamber houses four drying racks, between a tray and
another tray is 10 cm. Four trays of dimension (0.75 x 0.30 x 0.08 m) were fabricated
and stacked uniformly/evenly at distances (0.02 m) apart, for placing of material to be

15

dried. The tray was made from an aluminum wire mesh (0.003 x 0.003 m in size)
attached to it. Metal handles (0.076 m) were attached on each tray for ease of handling
and sliding the trays inside the chamber through the produce to be dried. The drying
chamber was also lined with foam insulation material 5 cm thick to prevent loss of heat.

5.1.4 Drying Mechanism

In the process of drying, heat is necessary to evaporate moisture from the
material and a flow of air helps in carrying away the evaporated moisture. There are two
basic mechanisms involved in the drying process:
1. The migration of moisture from the interior of an individual material to the
surface.The evaporation of moisture from the surface to the surrounding air.
2. The drying of a product is a complex heat and mass transfer process which
depends on external variables such as temperature, humidity and velocity of the
air stream and internal variables which depend on parameters like surface
characteristics (rough or smooth surface), chemical composition (sugars,
starches, etc.), physical structure (porosity, density, etc.), and size and shape of
product.

5.2

DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION
A transparent layer is over top side of the collector which allows the solar

radiation inside the collector. The other sides of the collector are insulated from
atmosphere to decrease heat loss. A heat absorber has been placed inside the collector
with the projections on it to increase the intensity of radiation. A air blower has been
placed at the inlet of collector to increase heat transfer to the air from the absorber
plate. Two thermometers have been positioned to measure the air temperature at the
inlet and outlet portion of the air heater. Ambient temperature was also recorded during
the course of experiments with the help of digital sensor.

16

CHAPTER 6

FEASIBIILITY STUDIES AND MARKET NEEDS

6.1

FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR FOOD SOLAR DRYER SYSTEM

Cost Economics, of Food Solar dryer System enterprises are worked out for fruits

and vegetables. 1 Million For one unit of 10 dryers. It can transact 10 tons of fruits or
fruit bars in dehydrated form. This is an excellent income and profitable venture in rural
Saudi Arabia. The cost benefit analysis of our dryers indicates that a commercial
venture of a project with 10 solar dryers will give the payback period of 2 - 2 years.The
profitability of the technology in terms of employment potential and income generation is
established and acceptability of the product in the market is evaluated from the proven
market demand. Our expectation about the feasibility of the technology for rural
employment has been realized.
The reasons for the success are
1.The grass root level Non Government and voluntary organizations have
devotion for service to rural people and have the ability to capacity building and skill
development among rural women.
2. ood Solar drying process is the integration of food science and technology and
solar drying technology disciplines. So the practice followed in solar food processing is
based on these two techniques. To make the solar food processing products, one
needs rigorous training in this technology by well qualified persons, close monitoring
and supervision of the operations and following the food safety, clean & hygienic
practices, quality consciousness and assurance in day to day production. The social
entrepreneurs have proved very successful in this respect .

17

CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
This project aims to present the design, construction and performance evaluation
of a solar drying system for food preservation. A prototype of the solar drying system is
to be designed and its performance is to be evaluated for different air velocities
The solar dryer can raise the ambient air temperature to a considerable high
value for increasing the drying rate of vegetables. The product inside the dryer requires
less attentions, like attack of the product by rain or pest, compared with those in the
open sun drying. Although the dryer was used to dry vegetables, it can be used to dry
other crops like yams, cassava, maize and plantain etc. There is ease in monitoring
when compared to the natural sun drying technique. The capital cost involved in the
construction of a solar dryer is much lower to that of a mechanical dryer.

18

CHAPTER 8

REFERENCES
1.

Diemuodeke E. Ogheneruona, Momoh O.L. Yusuf., "Design and Fabrication of a

Direct Natural Convection Solar Dryer for Tapioca",Leonardo Electronic Journal
of Practices and Technologies, Issue 18, (2011) p. 95-104.

2.

M.Mohanraj, P.Chandrasekar., "Performance of a Forced Convection Solar

Drier Integrated With Gravel As Heat Storage Material For Chili Drying",
Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, Vol. 4, (2009) p. 305 314.

3.

Bukola O. Bolaji and Ayoola P. Olalusi.,"Performance Evaluation of a MixedMode Solar Dryer",Renewable Energy, (2008) p. 225-231.

4.

Bukola O. Bolaji , Tajudeen M.A. Olayanju and Taiwo O. Falade., "Performance

Evaluation of a Solar Wind Ventilated Cabinet Dryer", The West Indian Journal of
Engineering, (2011) p.12-18.

5.

Ahmed Abed Gatea., "Design, construction and performance evaluation of solar

maize dryer", Journal of Agricultural Biotechnology and Sustainable
Development,(2010) p. 039-046.

6.

F.K. Forson,M.A.A. Nazha, F.O. Akuffo,H.Rajakaruna., "Design of mixedmode

natural convection solar crop dryers", Renewable Energy (2007) p. 23062319.

7.

M.A. Hossaina and B.K. Bala.,"Drying of hot chilli using solar tunnel drier"
Bangladesh Agricultural University, (2006) p. 23- 31.

8.

J. Banout, P. Ehl, J. Havlik, B. Lojka, Z. Polesny, V. Verner., "Design and

performance evaluation of a Doublepasssolar drier for drying of red chilli", (2010)
p. 835 844.

9.

Ahmed Abed Gatea. "Design and construction of a solar drying system, a

cylindrical section and analysis of the performance of the thermal drying system",
University of Baghdad, (2010) p. 201- 211.