www.cafesolar.com
669 Stevens Street Lowell, MA 01851-4519
Specifications: Throughput 5,000 quintals/season nominal throughput of green coffee (caf oro), or 42 quintals per day. 1 quintal = 100 lbs. 10,000 quintals/season nominal throughput of green coffee (caf oro), or 84 quintals per day. Components Drying system (1 tower, 1 solar thermal array, 1 gasifier). Hybrid solar/gasification system for continuous 24-hour operation. Price: $150,000 (FOB Lowell) Drying system (2 tower, 2 solar thermal arrays, 1 gasifier). Hybrid solar/gasification system for continuous 24-hour operation.
Price: $220,000 (FOB Lowell) 1 quintal = 100 lbs. Note: 1 gasifer provides the thermal energy for two drying towers. Approximate installation cost: $3,000 per unit Footprint (in meters): height 5 m, length 5.2m, width = 2m Operational life: 25 years Recommended operation in includes one day of sun exposure on patio for quality enchancment, followed by 24 hours of solar dryer operation. Energy source: The unit is a hybrid system powered by solar energy during the day and a gasification system using coffee parchment for continuous 24 hour operation. Electricity consumption is 2 kWh/quintal. The payback of the solar dryer is 7 years accounting energy savings alone.
April 2009
Energy cost is increasing at 20% per year in the region. Labor cost is increasing at 6% per year. A solar installation of three dryers needs only two operators. The solar dryers can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trends in the price of electricity and wood are shown.
Quality Characteristics:
Time Patio (Concrete) Conventional Solar 7-15 days 34 hrs. 24-32 hrs. Temperature Ambient High 70 -80 C 45-50 C Labor 5X 1X 1X Energy 0 12 X 1X Quality Microflora Loss of Oils Nonegatives
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
aos
April 2009
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
ao
April 2009
Drying Installations
System Controls.
. Drying Tower
Dry pergamino
Drying Towers
Parchment Gasifier
April 2009