Experimental Performance Investigation of Solar Dryer Using Flat Plate

Scientific Study from the year 2022 in the subject Engineering - General, grade: 1.1, , language: English, abstract: Solar drying is one of the important processes required for the preservation of food and agricultural products. Bacterial growth and moisture are being removed in this process. It helps preserve the food products for a longer time. Solar drying is an effective method used for drying food products. The device used for the preservation of food products using solar energy is called a solar dryer or solar dehydrator. The solar dryer is classified based on the mode of drying, circulation of air, type, and arrangement of a cabinet of solar air collectors. Preserved raisin is a favorite dry fruit in India. Traditionally, the drying of raisins is mainly done in natural sunlight and requires about 21 days. In this experiment, a comparative study between natural sun drying and solar drying using a flat-plated collector dryer was performed from March 29th, 2020, to April 19th, 2020. The incident area of solar radiation on the collector was 0.9m2, which had a black rough surface aluminum plated absorber of 1.8m2 attached below the covered acrylic glazing used in the collector body. It was found that the latitude inclination of 19.5° had a maximum temperature of 69°C during the 01:00 PM – 02.00 PM hours. As the result, it was found that, drying raisins in a natural way takes up to 21 days, and comparatively, it takes 7 days to dry using the solar dryer. Thus, the drying period is reduced by 14 days.