Experimental and simulated performance of a PV-ventilated greenhouse solar dryer for drying of peeled longan and banana

Publikations-Art

Zeitschriftenbeitrag

Autoren

Janjai S, Lamlert N, Intawee P, Mahayothee B, Bala B K, Nagle M, Müller J

Erscheinungsjahr

2009

Veröffentlicht in

Solar Energy

Band/Volume

83/9

Seite (von - bis)

1550-1565

Schlagworte

Simulation, solare Trocknung

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2009.05.003

This paper presents experimental and simulated performance of a pv-ventilated greenhouse solar dryer for drying of banana and peeled longan. The dryer consists of a parabolic roof structure on a black concrete floor. The roof is covered with polycarbonate plates. Three fans powered by a 50 W solar modules ventilate the dryer. To investigate the experimental performance, five full scale experimental runs were conducted and 100 kg of peeled longan was dried in each experimental run. The drying air temperature varied from 31°C to 58°C. The drying time of peeled longan in the greenhouse type solar dryer was 3 days whereas it required 5-6 days in natural sun drying under similar conditions. The quality of solar dried product in terms of color, taste and flavor was also good in comparison with the high quality dried product in markets. A system of partial differential equations describing heat and moisture transfer during drying of peeled longan in a greenhouse type solar dryer was developed and this system of non-linear partial differential equations was solved numerically by the finite difference method. The numerical solution was programmed in Compaq Visual FORTRAN version 6.5. The simulated results agreed well with the experimental data for solar drying of peeled longan. This model can be used to provide the design data and this model is also essential for optimal design of the dryer.