Energy Analysis of a Hybrid Solar Dryer for Drying Coffee Beans

In this study, hybrid solar drying of coffee beans was performed, and energy analysis was carried out, to assess the system’s performance, in terms of energy efficiency, compared to solar drying and the open sun drying method. The dryer has three compartments: solar collector for collecting solar radiation, drying chamber, and a Liquid Petroleum Gas burner, which acted as an auxiliary heater to assist the thermal energy. The drying chamber has four trays for placing the dried product. The initial moisture content of coffee beans was 54.23% w.b and was reduced to the final moisture content between 11-12% w.b. The coffee beans dried faster when subjected to the solar hybrid drying method, compared to other methods, with the dryer temperature of 40°C, 50°C, and 60°C. Results indicated that the coffee beans’ drying times varied from 10 to 14 hours. However, at temperature 50°C and 60°C for the 1st tray, the water content was reduced more rapidly compared to the other tray. From the results of this study, we can see the different efficiency of solar collector that shows of 54.15% at variable temperature 60°C for drying time 12:00 to 14:00 p.m for hybrid solar drying and for the solar drying process is 50.07% at the range of drying time 12:00 to 14:00 p.m. Mathematical modelling shows that Page model is the most suitable for describing the coffee beans’ drying behaviour using a hybrid solar dryer. The effective diffusivity values found in this experiment are all in the acceptable range for most agricultural products. ©2020. CBIORE-IJRED. All rights reserve

Energy–exergy analysis and mathematical modeling of cassava starch drying using a hybrid solar dryer

In this study, we aimed to energetically and exergetically evaluate the usage of a hybrid solar dryer system for cassava drying via a series of drying experiments. The experiments were performed beginning at 10.00 A.M. (hereafter, in local time) until the moisture content of cassava starch became constant at a value less than 14% on a wet basis at drying temperatures of 40 °C to 60 °C and drying times of 180–240 min. The results demonstrated that the highest overall dryer energetic efficiency was 20.82%, which was achieved at a drying temperature at 60 °C, and that the maximum energetic efficiency of 27% was recorded at 11.00 A.M. The exergy flows fluctuated during the drying process and were dependent on the solar radiation and drying conditions; however, the exergetic efficiency of the dryer was 25.1%–73.8%. Comparison of the fitting models denoted that the Page model was the most suitable model for describing the experimental drying performances. The calculated effective diffusivity constant (Deff) and the activation energy (Ea) during the drying process from 50 °C to 60 °C were 3·× 10−10 m2/s and 15.3 kJ/mole, respectively