A greenhouse type solar dryer for small-scale dried food industries: Development and dissemination

In this study, a greenhouse type solar dryer for small-scale dried food industries was developed and disseminated. The dryer consists of a parabolic roof structure covered with polycarbonate sheets on a concrete floor. The system is 8.0m in width, 20.0m in length and 3.5m in height, with a loading capacity about 1,000kg of fruits or vegetables. To ensure continuous drying operation, a 100kW-LPG gas burner was incorporated to supply hot air to the dryer during cloudy or rainy days. Nine 15-W DC fans powered by three 50-W PV modules were used to ventilate the dryer. This dryer was installed for a small-scale food industry at Nakhon Pathom in Thailand to produce osmotically dehydrated tomato. To investigate its performance, the dryer was used to dry 3 batches of osmotically dehydrated tomato. Results obtained from these experiments showed that drying air temperatures in the dryer varied from 35°C to 65°C. In addition, the drying time for these products was 2-3 days shorter than that of the natural sun drying and good quality dried products were obtained. A system of differential equations describing heat and moisture transfers during drying of osmotically dehydrated tomato was also developed. The simulated results agreed well with the experimental data. For dissemination purpose, other two units of this type of dryer were constructed and tested at two locations in Thailand and satisfactory results were obtained. Copyright © 2012 International Energy and Environment Foundation All rights reserved.

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