Solar Drying

SOLAR DRYING
Werner Weiss
Josef Buchinger
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SOLAR DRYING
Training course within the scope of the project:
ESTABLISHMENT OF A PRODUCTION, SALES AND CONSULTING INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR
SOLAR THERMAL PLANTS
IN ZIMBABWE
Supported by the Austrian Development Cooperation
Werner Weiss
Josef Buchinger
Arbeitsgemeinschaft ERNEUERBARE ENERGIE
Institute for Sustainable Technologies
A-8200 Gleisdorf, Feldgasse 19, Austria
Tel.: +43-3112-5886, Fax: +43-3112-5886-18
E-mail: office@aee.at
Content
1
Introduction........................................................................................................... 6
Solar radiation the energy source for solar drying ............................................. 7
2.1
Global radiation............................................................................................................................. 7
Sun drying versus solar drying ............................................................................. 9
3.1.1
3.1.2
Processes during sun drying ............................................................................................... 10

Processes during solar drying ............................................................................................. 11
Classification of solar dryers............................................................................... 13
Non-technical aspects ........................................................................................ 38
Applications and experiences ............................................................................. 42
4.1
Passive solar dryers ................................................................................................................... 15
4.1.1
Tent dryers .......................................................................................................................... 15
4.1.2
Box dryers ........................................................................................................................... 15
4.1.3
Seesaw dryer....................................................................................................................... 16
4.1.4
Cabinet solar dryers ............................................................................................................ 18
4.2
Active solar cabinet dryers ......................................................................................................... 22
4.2.1
Active ventilated cabinet solar dryers.................................................................................. 22
4.2.2
Cabinet dryers with back-up heating ................................................................................... 25
4.3
Greenhouse dryers ..................................................................................................................... 29
4.3.1
Natural convection greenhouse dryer ................................................................................. 29
4.3.2
Greenhouse dryer with forced ventilation............................................................................ 31
4.3.3
Continuous production greenhouse drying ......................................................................... 32
4.4
Tunnel dryers.............................................................................................................................. 33
4.5
In-House Dryer ........................................................................................................................... 36
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
Drying behaviour......................................................................................................................... 39
Weather conditions ..................................................................................................................... 39
Storage ....................................................................................................................................... 40
Capacity...................................................................................................................................... 40
Selection, cleaning and pre-treatment........................................................................................ 40
6.1
Fruit and vegetable drying .......................................................................................................... 42
6.1.1
Table-like solar dryer, Tanzania .......................................................................................... 42
6.1.2
Banana dryer, Brazil ............................................................................................................ 43
6.1.3
Mango dryer, Uganda.......................................................................................................... 44
6.1.4
Fruit and vegetable drying in Senegal and Burkina Faso ................................................... 45
6.2
Coffee Drying.............................................................................................................................. 47
6.2.1
Large scale combined biomass and solar coffee drying ..................................................... 48
6.2.2
Medium scale coffee drying in Kenya.................................................................................. 49
6.2.3
Small scale coffee drying in Zimbabwe ............................................................................... 50
6.3
Grain Drying................................................................................................................................ 51
6.3.1
Grain specific considerations .............................................................................................. 51
6.3.2
Drying of Seed Grain ........................................................................................................... 52
6.3.3
Technical aspects of grain drying........................................................................................ 53
6.4
Timber Drying ............................................................................................................................. 55
6.4.1
Large scale greenhouse type solar dryer ............................................................................ 55
6.4.2
Small scale greenhouse timber dryer.................................................................................. 59
6.5
Tobacco Curing .......................................................................................................................... 62
6.5.1
Greenhouse type tobacco dryer .......................................................................................... 62
6.5.2
Solar assisted conventional tobacco curing ........................................................................ 64
6.6
Fish Drying.................................................................................................................................. 66
6.6.1
Tunnel dryer ........................................................................................................................ 66
Components ....................................................................................................... 67
References ......................................................................................................... 78
7.1
Air collectors ............................................................................................................................... 67
7.1.1
Advantages and disadvantages of air collectors in comparison to water collectors ........... 67
7.1.2
Typology .............................................................................................................................. 67
7.1.3
Performance ........................................................................................................................ 70
7.1.4
Optimizing collector operation ............................................................................................. 72
7.1.5
Pressure drop ...................................................................................................................... 73
7.1.6
Durability.............................................................................................................................. 74
7.2
Ventilation ................................................................................................................................... 74
7.2.1
Natural ventilation................................................................................................................ 74
7.2.2
Electrical fans ...................................................................................................................... 74
7.2.3
Dimensioning an electrical fan ............................................................................................ 76
7.2.4
Fan control........................................................................................................................... 76
7.2.5
Power supply from solar cells.............................................................................................. 76
Appendix................................................................................................................... 81
Crop Data ...............................................................................................................................81
Further aspects of drying........................................................................................................91
Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................................105
References of the Appendix .................................................................................................110
Internet Sources ...................................................................................................................110
Abbreviations
TFNC Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre

EMC equilibrium moisture content
Nomenclature
A
AC
aw
c
cP
d
G
L
l
m
Q
Q
RH
T
t
VV
x
X
XA
mass flow rate, kg/h, kg/s

mole fraction
air density, kg/m
dynamic head loss coefficient
efficiency
friction factor
viscosity, m/s
area, m
collector reference area (normally: aperture area), m
water activity
air velocity, m/s
specific heat, J/kg/K
diameter, m
solar global irradiance, W/m
latent heat of water, 2257 kJ/kg @ 1,013225 bar
length, m
mass, kg
heat energy, J
heat flux, W
relative humidity, %
Temperature, C, K
time, s
air flow rate, m/h
moisture content, %wb, kg water/kg wet solids
moisture, %db, kg water/kg dry solids
absolute humidity of air, kg water/kg dry air,
db
wb
dry bulb
wet basis
Indexes
A
a
C
D
e
f
i
o
W
w
air
ambient
crop
dry
equlibrium
final
inlet, initial
outlet
wet
water
1 Introduction
In the majority of African countries, agriculture represents the biggest part of the economy.
80-90% of the working population is employed in agriculture. Despite these large numbers,
national food production still does not meet the needs of the population. The lack of
appropriate preservation and storage systems caused considerable losses, thus reducing the
food supply significantly.
The dent in food production caused by crop-failures as well as significant seasonal
fluctuations in availability can be ironed out by food conservation, e.g., by drying.
Sun drying of crops is the most widespread method of food preservation in a lot of African
countries due solar irradiance being very high for the most of the year. There are some
drawbacks relating to the traditional method of drying, i.e., spreading the crop in thin layers
on mats, trays or paved grounds and exposing the product to the sun and wind.
These include poorer quality of food caused by contamination by dust, insect attack,
enzymatic reactions and infection by micro-organisms.
Also this system is labour- and time intensive, as crops have to be covered at night and
during bad weather, and the crops continually have to be protected from attack by domestic
animals.
Non-uniform and insufficient drying also leads to deterioration of the crop during storage.
Serious drying problems occur especially in humid tropical regions where some crops have
to be dried during the rainy season.
Fig. 1: Traditional sun drying of sweet pepper (left) and coffee (right) in Zimbabwe
In order to ensure continuous food supply to the growing population and to enable the
farmers to produce high quality marketable products, efficient and at the same time
affordable drying methods are necessary. Studies have shown that even small and most
simple oil-fired batch dryers are not applicable for the most farmers, due to lack of capital
and insufficient supply of energy for the operation of the dryers.
The high temperature dryers used in industrialised countries are found to be economically
viable in developing countries only on large plantations or big commercial establishments [1].
Therefore the introduction of low cost and locally manufactured solar dryers offers a
promising alternative to reduce the tremendous post harvest losses. The opportunity to
produce high quality marketable products seems to be a chance to improve the economic
situation of the farmers. However, taking into account the low income of the rural population
in developing countries, the relatively high initial investment for solar dryers still remains a
barrier to a wide application.
2 Solar radiation the energy source for solar drying

The sun is the central energy producer of our solar system. It has the form of a ball and
nuclear fusion take place continuously in its centre. A small fraction of the energy produced
in the sun hits the earth and makes life possible on our planet. Solar radiation drives all
natural cycles and processes such as rain, wind, photosynthesis, ocean currents and several
other which are important for life. The whole world energy need has been based from the
very beginning on solar energy. All fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) are converted solar energy.
The radiation intensity of the ca 6000C solar surface corresponds to 70,000 to 80,000
kW/m2. Our planet receives only a very small portion of this energy. In spite of this, the
incoming solar radiation energy in a year is some 200,000,000 billion kWh; this is more than
10,000 times the yearly energy need of the whole world.
The solar radiation intensity outside the atmosphere is in average 1,360 W/m2 (solar
constant). When the solar radiation penetrates through the atmosphere some of the radiation
is lost so that on a clear sky sunny day in summer between 800 to 1000 W/m2 (global
radiation) can be obtained on the ground.
SOLAR CONSTANT
1360 W/m
GLOBAL IRRADIATION
800 1000 W/m
Fig. 2: Solar constant and global irradiation
2.1 Global radiation

The duration of the sunshine as well as its intensity is dependent on the time of the year,
weather conditions and naturally also on the geographical location. The amount of yearly
global radiation on a horizontal surface may thus reach in the sun belt regions over 2,200
kWh/m2. In north Europe, the maximum values are 1,100 kWh/m2.
The global radiation composes of direct and diffuse radiation. The direct solar radiation is the
component which comes from the direction of the sun. The diffuse radiation component is
created when the direct solar rays are scattered from the different molecules and particles in
the atmosphere into all directions, i.e. the radiation becomes unbeamed. The amount of
diffuse radiation is dependent on the climatic and geographic conditions. The global radiation
and the proportion of diffuse radiation is greatly influenced by clouds, the condition of the
atmosphere (e.g. haze and dust layers over large cities) and the path length of the beams
through the atmosphere.
Table 1: Global irradiance and diffuse fraction, depending on the cloud conditions
Clear, blue sky
Scattered clouds
Overcast sky
Solar irradiance [W/m]
Diffuse fraction [%]
600 - 1000
200 400
50 - 150
10 - 20
20 80
80 - 100
The higher the amount of diffuse radiation is, the lower is the energy contents of the global
solar radiation. The monthly and annual averages of daily radiation (kWh/m2, day) for
selected locations are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Average monthly and yearly values of global solar radiation on a horizontal surface
in kWh/m.
Jan
Feb
Mar
April
May
June July
Aug
Sep
112
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Lat
EUROPE
London, GB
Vienna, Austria
17
31
64.2
91.1
128.0
150
81.3
48.3
24
15
767
51.5 N
25.2
43
81.4
118.9
149.8
160.7
164.9 139.7 100.6
136
59.8
26.3
19.9
1090
48.2 N
163.9 170.4
153.4
151.0
142.6
141.4 151.0 154.8 163.7 154.0 164.4
1885
0.5 S
AFRICA
Kampala, Ug.
174
Moshi, Tanzania
179.8 169.4 179.8
162.0
148.8
148.8
147.2 187.6 169.5 182.9 165.0 178.2
2019
5.0 S
Harare, Zim.
175.1 147.8 163.2
152.0
145.7
135.1
145.8 165.3 178.2 190.3 172.2 172.3
1943
17.5 S
Fig. 3: Yearly average sums of global irradiation
Depending on the geographic location the yearly global radiation on a horizontal surface may
vary between 1000 (Europe) and 2200 kWh/m2 (Africa).
G lo b a l S o la r R a d ia tio n fo r d iffe re n t L o c a tio n s

25 0
20 0
Lo ndo n
15 0
V ien na
K am pala
H ara re
10 0
M o s hi
B ula w ay o
50
Fig. 4: Average monthly values of global solar radiation on a horizontal surface
3 Sun drying versus solar drying

Solar drying is a possible replacement for sun drying or for standard dehydration processes.
In terms of sun drying, solar drying is competing with an approach that is deeply entrenched
in the way of life for most potential users. Sun drying is by no means a perfect process with
problems arising due to potential contamination of the produce, variability in drying times,
rain damage and so on. However some of the reasons proposed for the lack of success in
adoption of solar drying are as follows:
Solar dryers have often been too expensive or initial investment capital or loan
facilities were unavailable.
Solar dryers have often been too complicated or poor training of local entrepreneurs
and technicians was provided.
Solar dryers have often required too big changes from traditional methods.
Solar dryers have not been built for long term use.
There is a lack of incentive to improve the quality of the product. People are willing to
pay nearly the same amount for discoloured or damaged foods and there is therefore
no incentive for producers to risk higher amounts of money in a dryer when there is
not a great return.
When comparing solar drying to the conventional dehydration processes a new range of
issues arises. These include:
Solar dryers must provide the equivalent performance to that of the conventional
processes in terms of capacity, labour input, the quality of the final product, the total
drying costs and reliability.
A backup heating system should be installed to ensure drying during the critical
periods when the weather is bad.
10
Advantages of solar drying can be summarized as follows:
The higher temperature, movement of the air and lower humidity, increases the rate
of drying.
Food is enclosed in the dryer and therefore protected from dust, insects, birds and
animals.
The higher temperature deters insects and the faster drying rate reduces the risk of
spoilage by micro organisms.
The higher drying rate also gives a higher throughput of food and hence a smaller
drying area (roughly 1/3).
The dryers are water proof and the food does not therefore need to be moved when it
rains.
Dryers can be constructed from locally available materials and are relatively low cost.
More complete drying allows longer storage
3.1.1 Processes during sun drying

Exposing agricultural products to wind and sun is the preservation method practiced over
centuries throughout the world. Cereals, legumes and green forages are dried in the field
immediately after harvesting. Fruits, vegetables, spices and marine products as well as
threshed grains are spread out in thin layers on the ground or trays, respectively. Other
methods include hanging the crop underneath a shelter, on trees or on racks in the field.
For better understanding of the processes during solar drying, the process of sun drying is
described in first.
During sun drying heat is transferred by convection from the surrounding air and by
absorption of direct and diffuse radiation on the surface of the crop. The converted heat is
partly conducted to the interior increasing the temperature of the crop and partly used for
effecting migration of water and vapour from the interior to the surface. The remaining
amount of energy is used for evaporation of the water at the surface or lost to ambient via
convection and radiation. The evaporated water has to be removed from the surrounding of
the crop by natural convection supported by wind forces. [1]
Under ambient conditions, these processes continue until the vapour pressure of the
moisture held in the product equals that held in the atmosphere. Thus, the rate of moisture
desorption from the product to the environment and absorption from the environment are in
equilibrium, and the crop moisture content at this condition is known as the equilibrium
moisture content. Under ambient conditions, the drying process is slow, and in environments
of high relative humidity, the equilibrium moisture content is insufficiently low for safe storage
[6].
Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show a schematic diagram of heat and mass transfer processes influencing
sun drying.
11
Fig. 5: Heat flow influencing sun drying [7]
Due to the hygroscopic properties of all agricultural products, during sun drying the crop can
either be dried or rewetted. Especially during night time when ambient temperature in
general is decreasing, causing a simultaneous increase of the humidity, remoistening effects
can occur either by condensation of dew or by vapour diffusion caused by osmotic or
capillary forces.
Fig. 6: Mass flow influencing sun drying [7]
As described above this method of drying has a lot of disadvantages. A technical alternative
to the traditional method of sun drying is solar drying.
3.1.2 Processes during solar drying

The objective of a dryer is to supply the product with more heat than is available under
ambient conditions, thereby increasing sufficiently the vapour pressure of the moisture held
within the crop and decreasing significantly the relative humidity of the drying air and thereby
increasing its moisture carrying capacity and ensuring sufficiently low equilibrium moisture
content.[6]
One type of solar dryer is shown in Fig. 7. It was designed for the particular requirements of
rice but the principles hold for other products and design types, since the basic need to
remove water is the same.
12
Air is drawn through the dryer by natural convection. It is heated as it passes through the
collector and then partially cooled as it picks up moisture from the rice. The rice is heated
both by the air and directly by the sun.
Fig. 7: Solar rice dryer [6]
Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, so the amount required depends on the
temperature to which it is heated in the collector as well as the amount held (absolute
humidity) when it entered the collector. The way in which the moisture absorption capability
of air is affected by its initial humidity and by the temperature to which it is subsequently
heated is shown in Table 3.
Table 3: The drying process (air enters at 20 C and leaves at 80% RH) [8].
Initial relative
humidity
40 %
60 %
80 %
Moisture absorption capability

(grams of water per m of air [g/m])
Not heated
4,3
1,4
0
Heated to 40 C
9,2
8,2
7,1
Heated to 60 C
16,3
15,6
14,9
The objective of most drying processes is to reduce the moisture content of the product to a
specified value. Moisture content (wet basis) is expressed as the weight of water as a
proportion of total weight (see Appendix A for initial moisture content of different crops). The
moisture content of rice has typically to be reduced from 24 % to 14 %. So to dry one tonne
of rice, 100 kg of water must be removed.
13
If the heated air has a 'absorption capacity' of 8 g/m3 then 100/0.0008 = 12,500 m3 of air are
required to dry one tonne of rice.
The heat required to evaporate water is 2.26 kJ/kg. Hence, approximately 250 MJ (70 kWh)
of energy are required to vaporise the 100 kg water. There is no fixed requirement for solar
heat input to the dryer. This is because the incoming ambient air can give up some of its
internal energy to vaporise the water (becoming colder in the process). Indeed, if the ambient
air is dry enough, no heat input is essential.
Nevertheless, extra heat is useful for two reasons. First, if the air is warmer then less of it is
needed. Second, the temperature in the rice grains themselves may be an important factor,
especially in the later stages of drying, when moisture has to be 'drawn' from the centres of
the grains to their surfaces. This temperature will itself depend mainly on the air temperature
but also on the amount of solar radiation received directly by the rice.
Numerous types of solar dryers were developed to reduce post harvest losses and to
improve the product quality. In the following they are classified and some of them are
described.
4 Classification of solar dryers

All drying systems can be classified primarily according to their operating temperature ranges
into two main groups of high temperature dryers and low temperature dryers. However,
dryers are more commonly classified broadly according to their heating sources into fossil
fuel dryers (more commonly known as conventional dryers) and solar-energy dryers. Strictly,
all practically-realised designs of high temperature dryers are fossil fuel powered, while the
low temperature dryers are either fossil fuel or solar-energy based systems.
To classify the various types of solar dryers, it is necessary to simplify the complex
constructions and various modes of operation to the basic principles. Solar dryers can be
classified based on the following criteria:
Mode of air movement
Exposure to insulation
Direction of air flow
Arrangement of the dryer
Status of solar contribution
Following Ekechukwu [9], solar dryers can be classified primarily according to their heating
modes and the manner in which the solar heat is utilised. In broad terms, they can be
classified into two major groups, namely:
1. active solar-energy drying systems (most types of which are often termed hybrid solar
dryers); and
2. passive solar-energy drying systems (conventionally termed natural-circulation solar
drying systems).
Three distinct sub-classes of either the active or passive solar drying systems can be
identified (which vary mainly in the design arrangement of system components and the mode
of utilisation of the solar heat, namely [9]:
14
integral-type solar dryers;
distributed-type solar dryers; and
mixed-mode solar dryers.
The main features of typical designs of the various classes of solar-energy dryers are
illustrated in Fig. 8.
Fig. 8: Classification of solar dryers. [6]
Natural convection is used on the diminution of the specific weight of the air due to heating
and vapour uptake. The difference in specific weight between the drying air and the ambient
air promotes a vertical air flow. Natural convection dryers therefore can be used independent
from electricity supply. However, the airflow in this type of dryer is not sufficient to penetrate
higher crop bulks. Furthermore the air flow comes to a standstill during night and adverse
weather conditions. The risk of product deterioration due to mould attack and enzymatic
reactions is high.
Furthermore the mode of drying can be differentiated into direct and indirect, depending
whether the product is directly exposed to solar radiation or dried in the shade. In direct
mode, the product itself serves as absorber, i.e. the heat transfer is affected not only by
convection but also by radiation according to the albedo of the product surface. Therefore,
the surface area of the product being dried has to be maximized by spreading the crop in thin
layers. To obtain uniform final moisture content, the crop has to be turned frequently.
15
Using integral (direct) mode of drying, is should be noted, that sunlight may affect certain
essential components in the product e.g. chlorophyll is quickly decomposed. Due to the
limitation of the bulk depth, such dryers need large ground surface areas. If grounds are
scarce, indirect mode type of dryers are preferred for drying larger quantities.
4.1 Passive solar dryers

Passive solar dryers are also called natural circulation or natural convection systems. They
are generally of a size appropriate for on-farm use. They can be either direct (e.g. tent and
box dryer) or indirect (e.g. cabinet dryer). Natural-circulation solar dryers depend for their
operation entirely on solar-energy. In such systems, solar-heated air is circulated through the
crop by buoyancy forces or as a result of wind pressure, acting either singly or in
combination.
4.1.1 Tent dryers

Tent solar dryers, as shown in Fig. 9, are cheap and simple to build and consist of a frame of
wood poles covered with plastic sheet. Black plastic should be used on the wall facing away
from the sun. The food to be dried is placed on a rack above the ground. Drying times are
however not always much lower than for open-air drying (-25 %). (Probably, insufficient
attention has so far been paid to utilizing natural convection.) The main purpose of the dryers
may be to provide protection from dust, dirt, rain, wind or predators and they are usually used
for fruit, fish, coffee or other products for which wastage is otherwise high. Tent dryers can
also be taken down and stored when not in use. They have the disadvantage of being easily
damaged by strong winds.
Fig. 9: Solar tent dryer [3] left, DTC, University of Zimbabwe, right
4.1.2 Box dryers

The box-type solar dryer has been widely used for small scale food drying. It consists of a
wooden box with a hinged transparent lid. The inside is painted black and the food supported
on a mesh tray above the dryer floor. Air flows into the chamber through holes in the front
and exits from vents at the top of the back wall.
Pioneering works on solar cabinet dryers were reported by the Brace Research Institute,
Canada. Fig. 10 illustrates the fundamental features of the standard Brace Institute solar
cabinet dryer. Brace type dryers achieve higher temperatures, and thus shorter drying times,
than tent dryers. Drying temperatures in excess of about 80 C were reported for the dryer.[6]
16
Fig. 10: Box dryer [6]
4.1.3 Seesaw dryer

The traditional seesaw dryer [10] has a rigid, rectangular frame, the length of which being 3
times the width' resting on a support with an axis. This support is oriented north-south and is
sufficiently high to allow the frame to be tilted 30 - towards east in the morning and towards
west in the afternoon.
The material for drying is placed on a number of trays, which have a wooden frame 100 x 50
cm and a mesh bottom, which can be made of a variety of materials, such as wire netting,
old fishing nets, bamboo lattice or any other material that will allow vertical air circulation and
maximum evaporation.
The bottom of the improved seesaw dryer is made of galvanised corrugated iron sheets
reinforced crosswise by wooden planks and lengthwise by two wooden planks, about 15 cm
high. The upper surface of the bottom is painted black. Good thermal insulation can be
provided by attaching insulation plates made of lignified wood fibre, expanded polystyrene
various layers of corrugated cardboard etc. to the underside of the bottom.
The removable trays are placed on top of the corrugated iron bottom either in a continuous
row or with space between them, which will result in better heating of the air above the
blackened surface of the corrugated iron bottom. In this case the edges of the trays should
be propped up with wooden supports.
17
fresh air
Fig. 11: Seesaw dryer [10]
Fig. 12: Seesaw dryer at the DTC, University of Zimbabwe
18
A greenhouse effect is obtained by placing a transparent plastic sheet over the filled trays.
This sheet rests on the raised edges of the trays and is kept stretched by the weight of
bamboo canes fixed to the sides of the plastic sheet. When not in use the sheet is rolled
around the bamboo canes.
Air circulation is secured by convection, the dryer being tilted at an angle of 30: fresh air
enters at the lower end of the chamber formed by the trays and the plastic covering' escaping
at the upper end. A 3 m long dryer tilted 30 has 1.40 m difference in levels of air inlet and air
outlet.
Air circulation can be improved still more by making the air outlet opening wider (28 x 50 cm)
than the air inlet opening (15 x 50). In this way the room enclosed by the dryer bottom and
the plastic sheet widens gradually from air inlet to air outlet. This will improve convection and
prevent the formation of "hot air bubbles" inside caused by air dilatation.
4.1.4 Cabinet solar dryers

Here, the crop is located in trays or shelves inside a drying chamber. If the chamber is
transparent, the dryer is termed an integral-type or direct solar dryer. If the chamber is
opaque, the dryer is termed distributed-type or indirect solar dryer Fig. 13 . Mixed-mode
dryers combine the features of the integral (direct) type and the distributed (indirect) type
solar dryers. Here the combined action of solar radiation incident directly on the product to be
dried and pre-heated in a solar air heater furnishes the necessary heat required for the
drying process.
Fig. 13: Features of a typical distributed (indirect) mode natural convection cabinet dryer. [6]
19
In most cases the air is warmed during its flow through a low pressure drop thermosyphonic
solar collector and passes through air ducts into the drying chamber and over drying trays
containing the crops. The moist air is then discharged through air vents or a chimney at the
top of the chamber.
The cabinet is a large wooden or metal box. It should be insulated properly to minimise heat
losses and made durable (within economically justifiable limits). Construction from metal
sheets or water resistant cladding, e.g. paint or resin, is recommended.
Inside the box internal runners are fitted to support the trays of food being processed. A
general rule of thumb is that one m of tray area is needed to lay out 10 kg of fresh produce
[11]. Access to the inside of the dryer is via hinged doors at the rear of the cabinet. The
drying trays slide on rails on the inside of the cabinet so that they can be removed from the
dryer for loading, unloading and cleaning.
Fig. 14: Loading of a cabinet dryer (Harare, Zimbabwe)
Heated air flows through the stack of trays until the entire product is dry. Clearly, as the hot
air enters below the bottom tray, this tray will dry first. The last tray to dry is the one at the top
of the chamber. The advantages and disadvantages of this system are:
simple chamber
low labour costs simply load and then unload
the food need not be exposed to the direct rays of the sun which reduces the loss of
colour and vitamins.
heat storage systems can be applied
a tendency to over-dry the lower trays
low efficiency, in terms of fuel consumption, in the later stages of drying when most of
the trays are dry.
Further major drawbacks for natural convection solar dryers are the poor moist air removal
which reduces drying rate and the very high internal temperatures with the likelihood of over
20
heating the product. Drying air temperatures as high as 70 C - 100 C may be reached with
these dryers. These temperatures are excessive for most products. The most severe
constraints are on beans (35C), rice (45C), and all grains if they are to be used for seed
(45C).
Fig. 15: Solar cabinet dryer with natural convection
In a natural convection system, the flow of air is caused by the fact that the warm air inside
the dryer is lighter than the cooler air outside. This difference in density creates a small
pressure difference across the bed of grain, which forces the air through it. This effect
increases the higher the height of the bed is above the inlet (h1 in Fig. 15) and the outlet
above the bed (h2). The effect of an increased h2 is less than that of an increased h1
because the air is cooled as it passes through the bed.
Table 4: Air density variation in a natural convection dryer (Air enters at 20C and leaves at 80% RH)
Initial relative
humidity
Density of the air (kg/m3) (Drop in density, in brackets)

Not heated
40%
60%
80%
Ambient 1.19
Below bed 1.19 (.00)
Above bed 1.21 (-.02)
Ambient 1.19
Above bed 1.20 (-.01)
Ambient 1.18
Above bed 1.18 (.00)
30 C
1.19
1.15 (.04)
1.19 (.00)
1.19
1.15 (.04)
1.18 (.01)
1.18
1.14 (.04)
1.16 (.02)
Heated to
40 C
1.19
1.12 (.07)
1.17 (.02)
1.19
1.11 (.08)
1.16 (.03)
.18
1.11 (.07)
1.15 (.03)
60 C
1.19
1.05 (.14)
1.14 (.05)
1.19
1.05 (.14)
1.13 (.06)
1.18
1.04 (.14)
1.11 (.07)
21
It can be seen in Table 4 that if the incoming air is heated by only 10-30C then the presence
of a chimney on top of the dryer would make little or no difference, unless it acted efficiently
as a solar collector and raised the temperature of the air significantly. So a solar chimney
increases the buoyancy force imposed on the air stream and provides a higher air flow
velocity and, thus, a more rapid rate of moisture removal.
It should be noted that even if the difference in densities is as much as 0.5 kg/m, then the
resulting pressure difference is only 0.5 Pa (5 millionths of atmospheric pressure) per metre
of chimney. For comparison, forced convection systems commonly operate with pressure
differences of 100-500 Pa.
One of the earliest designs to enhance ventilation in cabinet solar dryers is the solar and
wind-ventilated dryer, illustrated in Fig. 16 (left). The design uses a ventilator which depends
entirely on the wind effect. Air is drawn through the dryer by wind-powered rotary vanes
located on top of the dryer chimney. Temperature and air flow rates are controlled by a
damper.
Fig. 16: Passive cabinet solar dryers in Zimbabwe (Domestic Solar Heating left, DTC, UZ, right)
The rotary wind ventilator, made of a moving corrugated vane rotor, is placed on top of a
stack above the drying chamber. The stack requires an appropriate length to achieve a
chimney effect and catch more wind. As the rotor spins in the wind, it expels air from the
ventilator stack. The rotor is mounted on a ball bearing suspension with low friction.
Monitoring results of rotary wind ventilators installed on cabinet dryers in Zimbabwe showed
low performance, because its limitation is that it can only follow the wind pattern and is
essentially inoperative between wind peaks and has periods of complete inactivity during
lulls. Air flows are critical factors in natural-circulation solar drying, thus they should be used
especially in areas with relatively high average wind speed.
Modifications to the typical cabinet dryer designs include absorbers equipped with thermal
storage, either of a rock bed [13] or water.
22
Fig. 17: Schematic diagram of fixed bed dryer with a rock storage system.[6, 13]
4.2 Active solar cabinet dryers

Active solar dryers are also called forced convection or hybrid solar dryers. Optimum air flow
can be provided in the dryer throughout the drying process to control temperature and
moisture in wide ranges independent of the weather conditions. Furthermore the bulk depth
is less restricted and the air flow rate can be controlled. Hence, the capacity and the
reliability of the dryers are increased considerably compared to natural convection dryers.
It is generally agreed that well designed forced-convection distributed solar dryers are more
effective and more controllable than the natural-circulation types.
The use of forced convection can reduce drying time by three times and decrease the
required collector area by 50 %. Consequently, dryer using fans may achieve the same
throughput as a natural convection dryer with a collector six times as large [19]. Fans may be
powered with utility electricity if it is available, or with a solar photovoltaic panel.
Almost all types of natural convection dryers can be operated by forced convection as well.
4.2.1 Active ventilated cabinet solar dryers

If utility electricity is available it is cheaper to connect the fans to the grid, compared to a
connection to a PV installation. Besides the fans also an electronic controller may be
connected to the grid, which is able to adjust the appropriate temperature by variable speed
of the fan.
23
Fig. 18: Active ventilated cabinet dryer with fan on the top (Harare, Zimbabwe)
Fig. 19: Cross section of the active ventilated cabinet dryer. Three temperature sensors control the
temperature inside the cabinet. The temperature is adjusted to the respective fruit by a variable speed
controlled fan.
24
In a PV-powered system, the fan is directly coupled to the solar module, working without an
accumulator and load controller. Increasing solar radiation increases the module's output,
thus speeding up the fan. This has the advantage of permitting a simple temperature control
merely by appropriately designing the components of the PV system, thus obviating any
additional control devices as long as the system is suitably dimensioned.
Fig. 20: PV-powered solar vegetable and fruit dryer (Zimbabwe)
PV-panel
fan
Fig. 21: The fan is powered by a 6 W PV-panel.
25
Fig. 22: PV-powered solar dryer (left) and a natural convection solar dryer (right),
Honde Valley, Zimbabwe
4.2.2 Cabinet dryers with back-up heating

One significant disadvantage of solar dryers is that they are normally not used with any form
of back-up heating. For commercial producers, this factor limits their ability to process a crop
when the weather is poor. It also extends the drying time because drying can only occur
during the daytime when there is adequate solar radiation. This not only limits production but
can result in an inferior product. For commercial producers, the ability to process
continuously with reliability is important to satisfy their markets [15].
Biomass, particularly fuel wood, is the most common source of energy in rural areas of
developing countries, and provided unsustainable pressure is not placed on the local
resource, fuel wood can be a greenhouse gas neutral source of energy, if usage is balanced
by new plantings. It is currently often burned inefficiently and so there is need for simple,
affordable combustion devices, which can be used to complement appropriate solar
technologies such as the cabinet dryer.
4.2.2.1 Natural convection dryer with additional biomass back-up heater

A review of the literature indicates that there have been few attempts to overcome this
limitation in simple natural convection solar dryers. One exception is the dryer reported by
[16] which used a sawdust burner to provide heat during poor weather and at night. The
burner was designed to provide 400 W/m2 of energy to the drying cabinet, and used steam
as the heat transfer medium. The sawdust burner was constructed as a separate component,
rather than being integrated with the drying cabinet.
26
Fig. 23: Natural convection dryer with additional biomass back-up heater [15]
The dryer consists of a drying cabinet mounted on top of a brick chamber that encloses a
simple biomass burner (Fig. 23 and Fig. 24). The outside base dimensions of this dryer are
1.2 m by 1.2 m. There are three drying trays, each with a wire mesh base, and in total these
provide an effective drying area of ~ 3 m2. The top surface is inclined to maximise the
capture of solar radiation. The cabinet was constructed using pine wood and was covered
with a single layer of 0.15 x 10-6 m thick UV stabilised polyethylene film. Access to the inside
of the dryer is via two hinged doors at the rear of the cabinet. The drying trays slide on timber
rails on the inside of the cabinet so that they can be removed from the dryer for loading,
unloading and cleaning. Three adjustable vents, measuring 0.2 m by 0.05 m, are located at
the top of the rear panel of the dryer above the doors. An aluminium mesh is fitted to the
underside of the dryer to prevent insects reaching the crop through the brick chamber air
inlets.
Fig. 24: Cross section through biomass burner. [15]
27
The biomass burner, designed primarily for fuel wood, was constructed from a 0.2-m drum
laid on its side. The burner grate was constructed from a perforated tray, supported on rails
riveted to the inside walls of the drum. The original lid was hinged to the drum as a door. A
0.2-m diameter hole was cut in the centre of the bottom of the door below the grate, and
fitted with a simple 'spinning' valve to regulate the flow of air into the burner. The exhaust air
exits via a 0.09-m diameter 1.8-m-long flue pipe located on the other end of the drum. In
order to lengthen the flow path of the combustion gases and maximise the transfer of heat to
the drum walls, a metal baffle was inserted above the grate and below the exhaust gas exit.
Approximately 50 kg of concrete were added to the outside of the top surface of the drum to
prevent excessively high air temperatures in the drying cabinet.
The brick chamber that supports the drying cabinet and encloses the burner was constructed
such that there were 12 rectangular holes, each ~0.012 m2 in area, around the perimeter at
ground level. The gaps between the sides of the drum and the walls and between the top of
the drum and the insect mesh on the drying cabinet are ~0.15 m and 0.2 m, respectively. The
drying cabinet was fixed to the chamber with metal strapping mortared into the top layer of
brick-work, and any gaps were sealed with mortar.
The dryer is designed to operate with solar radiation as the main source of energy. The backup heater is used when radiation is inadequate and at night so that continuous drying is
possible. When the dryer is operated using solar energy, radiation enters through the
transparent cover, is absorbed by the interior surfaces of the cabinet and by the crop, and is
converted into heat. The heated surfaces warm the surrounding air, which rises by natural
convection, passing through the drying trays and picking up moisture. The moist air finally
exits the dryer through the vents on the upper side of the cabinet. This action reduces the
pressure inside the cabinet and ambient air is drawn into the dryer through the inlet holes in
the brick chamber. A continuous flow of air is thus established. Varying the size of the
opening of the air outlet vents can regulate the air flow rate.
During periods of low or zero solar radiation, the back-up heater located below the drying
chamber is used to supply heat energy. The combustion gases heat up the drum surface,
which in turn warms the air as it moves over the outer surface. The warm air rises up into the
drying chamber and dries the crop as before. By regulating the amount of air entering the
burner the heat delivery rate can be controlled. The type and location of fuel in the burner
also influences the amount of heat generated and the period over which it is released.
When fully loaded with a single layer of 0.01 m thick slices of fresh pineapple, it was found
that the capacity of the dryer was 20-22 kg. The pineapple slices took 3.5 days to dry from a
moisture content of 59 %db to 11 %db during a trial. Approximately 47 % of the moisture in
the slices was removed by solar energy, and the remainder by the biomass burner.
During biomass heater operation the maximum temperature of the air measured just above
the bottom tray was 65.4 C during night. The airflow through the dryer was estimated as
0.03 m/s. Approximately 9 kg of fuel wood (463 MJ) was burned on each night of a trial
period. This, combined with 112 MJ from solar energy, was required to remove 18 kg of
water to dry 21.6 kg of fresh pine apples slices to moisture content of 10 %db.
4.2.2.2 Hybrid IAE-type-solar-biomass dryer

The Institute of Agricultural Engineering (IAE) and the University of Philippines Los Banos
(UPLB) [30] conducted a number of laboratory experiments under controlled conditions to
determine the optimum drying parameters such as drying air temperature and the flow rate,
thickness of fruit slices, etc., to achieve best quality products within a short period.
28
Analysis of the experimental results gave the following optimum drying conditions:
Fruits:
Leaves:
Temperature:
Slice thickness:
Air velocity:
Temperature:
Size of cut:
Loading:
56 C.
3.5 mm.
0.31 m/s
68C,
5.72 cm,
2.58 g/cm2
Based on these studies, IAE/UPLB decided to develop a cabinet type hybrid solar-biomass
dryer suitable for small-scale drying applications with a capacity of about 50 kg/batch,
referred to as Model FD-50.
The drying chamber has 30 aluminium wire screen trays to hold the products. The flat plate
solar collector used has a single Plexiglas cover positioned about 5 cm above a matt black
painted metal absorber sheet. All collector walls except for the transparent glass cover are
insulated to 8 cm thickness to reduce heat losses. The solar collector is attached to the
backside of the drying chamber at an angle of 15. A 45 W exhaust fan fixed in the chimney
of the drying chamber forces the ambient air to pass through the collector and rise up
through the fruits being dried. The biomass gasifier stove assists drying whenever solar
radiation is insufficient.
The design of the gasifier was adopted from the gasifiers developed at the Asian Institute
Technology. It consumes about 2.0 kg of coconut shell or wood charcoal per hour and is
capable of providing drying temperatures up to 60C. The performance tests showed that a
batch of 50 kg of sliced pineapple with an initial moisture content of 85% (wet basis) could be
dried to a final moisture content of 20% in about 18 hours at a drying temperature of 60C. A
recovery rate of 10 kg of pineapple fruits was obtained. The total cost of the finished dryer
was about P 56,000 (US$ 1,120 as of Feb 2002).
Fig. 25: Drying chamber and biomass stove of the FD-50 Dryer [30]
29
Table 5: Technical data of the FD-50 Hybrid Solar-Biomass Fruit Dryer
Capacity per batch

Drying time
Drying air temperature
Air flow rate
Dimensions
No. of trays
Solar collector area
Collector air gap
Fuel type
Fuel consumption
50 kg sliced fruit
18 hrs
up to 60 C
0.05 m3/hr
1.4 x 1.0 x 2.69 m
30 of 0.98 x 0.5 m
2.12 x 0.9 m
0.05 m
Coco shell/charcoal
2.0 kg/hr
A simple cost-benefit analysis was computed by [31] using the following assumptions: (1)
150 batches per year; (2) cost of pineapple fruit is Php 4 per piece; (3) cost of fuel is Php 50
per bag; (4) Dryer operator cost is Php 250 per batch; (5) cost of laborer is Php 60 per hour
per person; (6) cost of dried pineapple is Php 19 per 100-gram; (7) Electricity cost is Php 5
per kWh; (8) Depreciation is straight-line method; (9) Repair and maintenance is 8 %; and
(10) Interest rate is 18 %.
The summary of the computation is presented below. Note that the Philippine Peso is
approximately equal to 50 US dollars. Cost of the solar-biomass drying system: Php
56,000.00 (US$ 1,120)
Yearly expenses: Total (including depreciation and interest): Php 256,771.00 (US$ 5,135.42)
Yearly income: Total sales of dried pineapple: Php 285,000.00 (US$ 5,700)
Net annual Income: Php 28,229.00 (US$ 564.58)
Pay-back Period: 56,000/28,229 = 1.98 2 years
4.3 Greenhouse dryers

The idea of a greenhouse dryer is to replace the function of the solar collector by a green
house system. The roof and wall of this solar dryer can be made of transparent materials
such as glass, fibre glass, UV stabilized plastic or polycarbonate sheets. The transparent
materials are fixed on a steel frame support or pillars with bolts and nuts and rubber packing
to prevent humid air or rain water leaking into the chamber other than those introduced from
the inlet opening. To enhance solar radiation absorption, black surfaces should be provided
within the structure. Inlet and exhaust fans are placed at proper position within the structure
to ensure even distribution of the drying air.
Designed properly, greenhouse dryers allow a greater degree of control over the drying
process than the cabinet dryers [17] and they are more appropriate for large scale drying.
4.3.1 Natural convection greenhouse dryer

The earliest form of practically-realised natural-circulation solar greenhouse dryers reported
was the Brace Research Institute glass-roof solar dryer in [6]. The dryer (see Fig. 26)
consisted of two parallel rows of drying platforms (along the long side) of galvanised iron wire
mesh surface laid over wooden beams. A fixed slanted glass roof over the platform allowed
solar radiation over the product. The dryer, aligned lengthwise in the north-south axis, had
black coated internal walls for improved absorption of solar radiation. A ridge cap made of
folded zinc sheet over the roof provides an air exit vent. Shutters at the outer sides of the
platforms regulated the air inlet.
30
Fig. 26: Natural convection glass roof greenhouse dryer.[6]

A simplified design [6] of the typical greenhouse-type natural-circulation solar dryer consists
of a transparent semi-cylindrical drying chamber with an attached cylindrical chimney, rising
vertically out of one end, while the other end is equipped with a door for air inlet and access
to the drying chamber (see Fig. 27). The chimney (designed to allow for a varying height) has
a maximum possible height of 3.0 m above the chamber and a diameter of 1.64 m. The
drying chamber was a modified and augmented version of a commercially-available polytunnel type greenhouse.
The dryer operates by the action of solar-energy impinging directly on the crop within the
dryer. The crop and a vertically-hung, black absorbing curtain within the chimney absorb the
solar radiation and are warmed. The surrounding air is, in turn, heated. As this heated air
rises and flows up the chimney to the outside of the dryer, fresh replenishing air is drawn in
from the other end of the dryer.
Apart from the obvious advantages of passive solar-energy dryers over the active types (for
applications in rural farm locations in developing countries), the advantages of the naturalcirculation solar-energy ventilated greenhouse dryer over other passive solar-energy dryer
designs include its low cost and its simplicity in both on-the-site construction and operation.
Its major drawback is its susceptibility to damage under high wind speeds.
Fig. 27: Natural convection greenhouse dryer with chimney [6]
31
4.3.2 Greenhouse dryer with forced ventilation

Other designs of greenhouse solar dryers are shown in Fig. 28 and Fig. 29. In the case of
Fig. 29 the whole structure stood on a 3.27 m side square blackened floor made of concrete.
The height of the structure was 2 m on one side and 3 m on the other. In addition a
blackened steel plate was installed at the upper position inside the structure leaving 0.5 m
clearance for inlet air ducting to enhance the thermal performance.
Fig. 28: Greenhouse dryer with forced ventilation.[6]
Fig. 29: Schematic diagram of a greenhouse solar dryer showing the radiation absorber (1), the heat
exchanger (2) for auxiliary heating using hot water stored in a tank (3), the blowers (4) and PDIDs (5).
At the centre, racks or drying bins can be placed. [24]
Two 80 W inlet fans were installed at the front wall above the door to deliver adequate
primary air, which could create a drying temperature of around 50 C. As shown in Fig. 29 to
back up drying at night or during bad weather conditions, an auxiliary heating unit comprising
of two heat exchangers, each provided with 100 Watt blowers were installed at the rear
32
section within the transparent structure and were each connected with a biomass or
kerosene fired hot water tank.
4.3.3 Continuous production greenhouse drying

An other design of a forced convection greenhouse dryer has been built and tested by
Condor et.al [32]. Its main parts are:
a plastic greenhouse cover containing a drying tunnel made with transparent plastic
walls;
a line of carts with several stacked trays containing the product and moved manually
inside the tunnel and an electrical fan that moves the hot air from the greenhouse into
the tunnel.
This tunnel greenhouse dryer works continuously, obtaining a daily production. The
maximum drying potential of the hot air coming from the collector area is mainly used in the
first carts. Each day, dried product is removed from the tunnel, while an equal amount of new
fresh product is loaded through its other end. As the air flows in a reverse sense relative
to the carts the available energy is used efficiently. The trays receive solar radiation
through the transparent walls, increasing the product temperature. Heat losses from the
tunnel are low since greenhouse temperatures are higher than ambient temperature.
Fig. 30: Different views of the Tunnel Greenhouse Dryer. [32]
The main advantages of this dryer are:

an almost continuous production since some carts with dried product come out of the
tunnel every day, while the same amount of fresh product is introduced by the other
tunnel extreme;
lower labor cost since the product handling is partly mechanized;
a conventional heater can be easily installed to keep a constant production rate;
33
the energy consumption is lower than in other dryer types;
the installation can be used as a greenhouse for small production when it is not used
as a dryer.
The prototype was built in the North of Argentina, and red sweet pepper and garlic were used
as load. Sweet pepper halved is used as fresh product; it is distributed on the cart trays using
a load density of 5 kg by m of tray surface. The pepper is harvested according to its
maturation in the plant, one or two times a week, and it is immediately washed and put on
the trays in the dryer.
Fig. 31: Operation scheme of the tunnel greenhouse dryer with auxiliary heating. [32]
As it is usual in solar applications, the low radiation density and the variability of the energy
source are the main problems to solve. It is quite simple to add an auxiliary heater to this
dryer. Fig. 31 shows the operation of this system either in cloudy days or at night. The
collector ambient air input is closed improving the thermal insulation, since it produces an air
chamber with low natural convection surrounding the drying tunnel. The ambient air is taken
directly from the outside South side, and it is pushed by the fans through an unfinned tubular
heat exchanger, where it is indirectly heated by the combustion gas flowing inside the tubes.
Then, the heated air moves through the file carts as before. The hot gas is produced by a
forced flow stove, fed with firewood or agricola surplus. The remaining cooler combustion
gas is expelled to the environment by a chimney. Both the heat exchanger and the stove are
insulated to avoid heat losses and to protect the plastic cover.
4.4 Tunnel dryers

More than ten years of research and field testing has resulted in the development of a solar
tunnel dryer well suited to medium sized farms or small cooperatives. The non-patented
design was developed at the University of Hohenheim, Germany [21], and has been
duplicated successfully throughout the world. A key to this success has been the adaptation
of the dryer design to the local climate and manufacturing possibilities in multiple countries.
By 2003 over 1,000 Hohenheim type solar dryers were in use in 60 countries [22]. Over half
of these dryers were manufactured in the country of use; the rest were supplied by Innotech,
a German corporation manufacturing prototypes of the dryers. Innotech supplies the dryers
in kit form for roughly 5,500 US$ (2000), for use in locations where manufacturing has not yet
been established. Innotech also offers a consultancy for quality assurance and marketing of
dried products for export to industrial countries.[23]
34
The Hohenheim-type dryer results in faster drying and higher quality than traditional open-air
methods. In Turkey, for example, apricots can be dried in 2 days half the time required by
traditional methods. An important feature contributing to consistent quality is the use of
photovoltaic powered fans for forced convection. The controlled drying process results in
high-quality. The acceptable load for the dryer ranges from 1.5 kg/m for medicinal herbs to
25 kg/m for rice or coffee. For a standard dryer with a 20 m drying area, this corresponds to
30 to 500 kg per batch.
Some dryers made in Thailand are equipped with a gas powered air-heating unit to allow
drying during the six-month rainy season. In contrast, Turkish weather is dry enough to allow
the all-solar dryers to operate well with twice the standard drying area. Local manufacture of
the Turkish models allowed a total installation cost of less than 1000 US$ in 1997, resulting
in a payback period of only one year. The models used in Thailand were more expensive due
to the gas-powered back-up heating unit.
Fig. 32: Solar Tunnel Dryer
The three major dryer components, as shown in Fig. 32, are the solar collector, food dryer
compartment, and the airflow system. Air is circulated by fans, which use from 20-40 W of
power from a photovoltaic panel, a generator, or a central utility. Air is forced into the solar
collector by the fans where it is heated by the sun, and then flows on to the food dryer
section. An advantage of the PV powered system is that, depending on the solar radiation,
the air throughput is automatically adjusted by the speed of the fans. The plastic cover may
be constructed from a sheet of greenhouse type UV-stabilized polyethylene (PE).
Access to the drying chamber is gained by removing the plastic covering using the hand
crank. The crop is placed on a polyester mesh suspended by a grid of galvanized wire. This
arrangement allows air to flow on all sides of the food, preventing the need to turn it during
the drying process. Depending on local circumstances a dryer may be built in a permanent
installation (with concrete, for example), or in a portable construction. When introduced in a
new region, the tunnel dryer often requires customization to suit the local climate and
manufacturing possibilities. Often a prototype is adapted and tested before proceeding with
local manufacture.
Hohenheim engineers have produced a set of design specifications to help insure quality
performance. As long as these design specifications are followed, considerable opportunities
35
exist for successful variation of the dryer. Table 6 shows some of the options viable for
making each part of the dryer.
Table 6: Options for adapting a solar tunnel dryer [23]
PART
Support
Frame
Heat insulation
Sheeting (cover)
Winding shaft
Power source
OPTIONS
Stone, slate, wood, metal, loam, barrels
Steel sheeting, wood, plywood, slate, concrete, stone, loam
Polyurethane, Styrofoam, building insulation, cork, flax, straw, coconut
fibers, wood shavings, leaves
LD-PE, LLD-PE, PTFE, PVC, PE-EVA
Steel pipe, plastic, wood, bamboo, wicker
Photovoltaic cells, utility power, diesel or petrol generator
Fig. 33: Pictures of the solar tunnel dryer
Table 7: Technical data of the tunnel dryer
Length
Width
Collector area
Drying area
Air flow rate
Air temperature
Power requirement
Thermal energy gain from solar radiation
drive of fans
Number of fans
Price
Products
Climate
Control
18 m
2m
16 m
20 m
400-1200 m/h
30-80C
20 - 40 W
up to 60 kWh/d ( 15 kg firewood)
solar panel
3
US$ 5,250 (+US$ 250 for PV)
Indirect operation ideal for sensitive products
Operation in arid and humid regions; adaptable
to local climate
Self regulated airflow and temperature (solar
panel type)
36
4.5 In-House Dryer

In-house dryers work with the same principles as active indirect solar cabinet dryers. They
consist of solar air collectors, one or more fans and drying trays. Due to its size and other
convenience and hygiene factors, the construction to carry these elements is a house where
the roof is build by the solar air collectors. Additional heating can be provided.
Fig. 34: A collector roof active storage dryer. [6]
The in-house solar dryer shown in the following pictures (Fig. 35 and Fig. 36) was erected
near Accra in Ghana [25] and used for maize for seed and pineapples.
The dryer consists of 5 identical drying units with a total solar air collector array of approx.
25m, a PV-area of 3.2 m and a drying bed with a capacity of approx. 500 kg maize. The 5
drying units are located in a building erected for that purpose and with the solar air collectors
being the roof of the building. The five drying units were manufactured in Denmark and
shipped to Ghana.
The decision to build 5 equal units based on the following considerations:
If one drying bed is operated improperly this will not affect the total quantity of crops
being dried at that time.
It is possible to dry different crops (creating different pressure drop) side by side
without risking that the crop with the highest pressure drop will be dried improperly.
Small DC-fans are often cheaper than larger DC-fans.
The system is less complex, and an even air distribution over the drying bed is easier
obtainable.
It is possible to start with only one unit and then gradually increase the capacity of the
solar dryer.
37
Fig. 35: In-house type solar crop dryer in Ghana [25]

Table 8: Technical Data of one unit
Collector
Outer dimensions
Transparent area
Cover
Absorber
Fan
PV
Duct
Drying bed
4.9 x 1.07 m
4.77 m
10 mm double walled ribbed UVstabilized polycarbonate
black felt mat. Air intake at the back of
the PV-panels at both ends and air outlet
in the middle at the back.
Flow rate
Voltage
Power
300 m/h at 40 Pa
12 V DC
12 W
Number
Voltage
Power
2
12 V
14 WP
metal ducting with the smallest cross section of 0.031m

Number
outer dimensions:
6 trays made of plastic

600 x 400 x 278 mm
It should be noted, that with an air flow rate of 300 m/h per unit the air speed through the
drying bed was 0.06 m/s. This is very low compared to the 0.3 -0.7 m/s in conventional cross
flow dryers and also low compared to the 0.1 m/s in conventional platform dryers. The low air
speed, however, results in a longer drying time. With the chosen concept it is not possible to
dry maize in one day two-three days are needed.
38
Fig. 36: Inside the in-house type solar crop dryer in Ghana [25]
5 Non-technical aspects
A huge advantage of solar dryers is the fact that different types of fruits and vegetables can
be dried. The quality of products dried in this way is excellent, due to the fact that the food is
not in direct sunlight (cabinet or in-house dryer), and due to a shorter drying process up to
a 1/3 of the time in comparison to traditional sun drying.
The drying operation must not be considered as merely the removal of moisture since there
are many quality factors that can be adversely affected by incorrect selection of drying
conditions and equipment. The desirable properties of high-quality, e.g. for grains, include:
low and uniform moisture content
minimal proportion of broken and damaged grains
low susceptibility to subsequent breakage
high viability
low mould counts
high nutritive value
consumer acceptability of appearance and organoleptic properties.
Even where there is a demand for loss reducing technical changes, farmers may find it
difficult to adopt recommended technologies, because of cash flow problems, labour
constraints, or lack of materials. Small farmers and traders often find it difficult to obtain
credit at reasonable interest rates, since formal financial institutions consider loans to them
be too risky.
39
A very important prerequisite for the successful utilisation of the solar dryer is the
access of the producer to the market and the knowledge of the specification of the
customers. It is of great importance that there is a price differentiation according to the
product quality and that people are requesting and willing to pay for the more hygienic
product.
Fig. 37: Hygienic packing is necessary if the drying goods shall be sold on commercial basis.
5.1 Drying behaviour

Apart from weather conditions the drying behaviour of agricultural crops during drying
depends on the [1]:
Product
Size and shape
Initial moisture content
Final moisture content
Bulk density
Thickness of the layer
Mechanical or chemical pre-treatment
Turning intervals
Temperature of grain
Temperature, humidity of air in contact with the grain
Velocity of air in contact with the grain
Look for details about the physics of drying in the appendix.
5.2 Weather conditions

The performance of solar dryers is significantly dependent on the weather conditions. Both
the heat required for removing the moisture as well as the electricity necessary for driving the
fans are generated in the most cases by solar energy only. In addition to the pre-treatment of
the product, the weather conditions have the biggest influence on the capacity of product that
can be dried within a certain time period.
40
The drying time is short under sunny conditions and accordingly extended during adverse
weather conditions. The difference in drying capacity between dry and rainy season has to
be taken into consideration for the calculation of the yearly capacity of the dryer.
The utilisation of solar energy as the only energy source is recommended for small-scale
dryers where the risk of spoilage of big quantities of crops due to bad weather is low.
If large-scale solar dryers are used for commercial purposes it is strongly recommended to
equip the dryer with a back-up heater to bridge periods with bad weather (see also chapters
4.1.5 and 4.2.2).
5.3 Storage
For small farmers the main purpose in storing grains is to ensure household food supplies.
Farm storage also provides a form of saving, to cover future cash need through sale, or for
barter exchange or gift-giving. Grain is also stored for seed and as inputs into household
enterprises such as beer brewing, or the preparation of cooked food.
There is an ongoing debate about whether farmers are forced to sell because of debt and
economic dependence on others, or whether they sell because they regard storage as
too costly (in terms of time), or
too risky (given the risk of losses and unpredictability of future prices), or
unprofitable in relation to other investments such as cattle.
There is no single answer to the debate, since there is much variation in the circumstances
under which individual farmers operate, both within and between nations [26].
5.4 Capacity
The capacity of a solar dryer mainly depends on the crop itself and the shape. On the one
hand, it should not be too big to ensure that the preparation (washing, slicing and pre-drying
processing) of the product to be dried can be completed within a certain time period. On the
other hand it should be big enough to enable the user to generate income and thus to create
new jobs.
5.5 Selection, cleaning and pre-treatment

A process similar to the following seven steps is usually used when drying fruits
and vegetables (and fish, with some modifications) [27]:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Selection (fresh, undamaged produce)

Cleaning (washing & disinfection)
Preparation (peeling, slicing, etc.)
Pre-treatment (e.g. sulfurizing, blanching, salting)
Drying
Packaging
Storage or sale
Only fresh, undamaged food should be selected for drying to reduce the chances of spoilage
and to help to ensure a quality product. After selection, it is important to clean the produce.
This is because drying does not always destroy micro organisms, but only inhibits their
growth. Fruits, vegetables, and meats generally require a pre-treatment before drying. The
quality of dried fruits and vegetables is generally improved with one or more of the following
pre-treatments: anti-discoloration by coating with vitamin C, de-waxing by briefly boiling and
41
quenching, and sulfurization by soaking or fumigating. Fish is often salted. A small amount of
chemical will treat a large amount of produce, and thus the cost for these supplies is usually
small. However, potential problems with availability and the complexity of the process should
be considered.
Fig. 38: Slicing of sweet potatoes (left) and bananas (right) before drying
After selection, cleaning, and pre-treatment, produce is ready to place in the dryer trays.
Solar dryers are usually designed to dry a batch every three to five days. Fast drying
minimizes the chances of food spoilage. However, excessively fast drying can result in the
formation of a hard, dry skin - a problem known as case hardening. Case hardened foods
appear dry outside, but inside remain moist and susceptible to spoiling. It is also important
not to exceed the maximum temperature recommended, which ranges from 35 to 45C
depending upon the produce. Learning to properly solar dry foods in a specific location
usually requires experimentation. For strict quality control, the drying rate may be monitored
and correlated to the food moisture content to help determine the proper drying parameters
(see the Appendix A for more information).
After drying is complete, the dried produce often requires packaging to prevent insect losses
and to avoid re-gaining moisture. It should cool first, and then be packaged in sanitary
conditions. Sufficient drying and airtight storage will keep produce fresh for six to twelve
months. If possible, the packaged product should be stored in a dry, dark location until use or
sale. If produce is to be exported, it must meet the quality standards of the target country. In
some cases this will require a chemical and microbiological analysis of dried samples in a
laboratory [27].
Food drying requires significant labour for pre-treatment (except for grains), and minimal
involvement during the drying process such as shifting food to insure even drying. Solar
drying equipment generally requires some maintenance.
42
6 Applications and experiences

The following chapters show examples of applied drying systems and different experiences
from all over the world.
6.1 Fruit and vegetable drying

6.1.1 Table-like solar dryer, Tanzania
Fig. 39: Small solar dryers for families in Tanzania [28]

Fig. 39 shows two designs proposed to women by the International Center for Research on
Women (ICRW) and the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC) [28]. The main idea of
the project was to strengthen womens contributions to reducing iron and vitamin A
deficiencies by combining womens productive and reproductive activities. Those two solar
dryer designs were developed based on lessons learned by TFNC from earlier solar dryer
promotion and on input from community women.
One dryer was principally made from wood, which is lightweight and, therefore, portable,
enabling women to position the dryer to maximize trapping solar energy at different times in
the day (enhancing its effectiveness). It was, however, somewhat expensive. The other dryer
was mud brick and less expensive than the wooden dryer. The heat retention of this dryer
was enhanced by the thickness and poor heat conduction of the brick walls, thereby
contributing to its drying effectiveness. However, this dryer was prone to deterioration over
time even though the outer walls were coated with used motor oil to reduce rain damage.
Women chose the dryer they wanted to construct and provided all materials needed for the
construction. Bulk purchasing of black cloth or plastic sheeting for the dryers was facilitated
by TFNC to reduce the unit cost. The cost of materials and labor of the artisan or carpenter
for a wooden dryer was approximately 8000 Tanzanian shillings (US$12). Mud-brick dryers
cost less than half this amount (3500 Tanzanian shillings or US$5). Annual maintenance
costs would be approximately US$2 for plastic sheets (black or transparent) and wire mesh
for the drying tray.
Once the materials were procured, a dryer could be constructed in one day. While the
women or other household members did not construct the dryers themselves (actual
construction was done by the carpenters or artisans), they worked alongside those
43
technicians to learn the process and techniques of dryer construction. However, because the
dryers design and construction is relatively simple, artisans and carpenters are not required
to build the dryers. The involvement of these technicians in this study was to enhance the
diffusion of the dryers and to provide technical support for the adopter households.
Both types performed equally well for drying vegetables. Each dryer could produce
approximately 1.5 kg of dried vegetables, if the vegetables were thinly spread to facilitate
faster drying. On average, the dryers were used three times a week, with drying times
ranging from four to six hours per use, depending on the type of vegetable and intensity of
the sun. For example, it would take about four hours to dry amaranth (mchicha) leaves on a
sunny day, but six hours for sweet potato leaves. Drying one kilogram of fresh vegetables
would yield approximately 250 grams of the dried food product.
6.1.2 Banana dryer, Brazil

The solar dryer system introduced by Costa [29] is operating in a mixed mode, which uses
indirect heating through forced convection, which gives high yield and good quality for the
dried product.
The system is composed of:
An electrical ventilator allowing an independent air flow rate;
A solar collector in which its characteristics and dimensions were determined
according to hot air flow rate and operating temperature;
A special designed dryer for tropical fruits;
A scheme of the solar dryer is shown in Fig. 40. The innovation of this work is not only in the
dryer design and dimension, but also in its configuration, material and in the solar collector
dimension. The collector was constructed in such a way that its use can be versatile. It is
made of flexible PVC, in a cylinder shape with two cones at the both ends. At the bottom,
50% of the collector is made of dark plastic in order to absorb heat and at the top with
transparent plastic, in which the solar rays penetrate.
Fig. 40: Scheme of the solar dryer for bananas
44
Fig. 41: Pictures of the solar banana dryer
The dryer also works as a solar collector, because it was constructed of transparent PVC
and the aluminium support offers good heating and transport conditions. The trays, which
contain the fruits to be dried, can be arranged one on top of the other. An exhauster provides
air circulation, through an exit in the superior part.
6.1.3 Mango dryer, Uganda

MS-Uganda (Danish Association for International Cooperation) [5], together with Hoima
Nursery Schools Development Association, Gukvatamanzi Farmers Association and its
other partners in Uganda, had introduced locally made solar dryers to small-scale and
community-based farmers to help them to create income.
The fruit dryer is designed from basic materials locally available and constructed by local
crafts-men. The solar dryer consist of:
1. A wooden frame, constructed as box with shelf for the fruit trays
2. A number of trays made of wooden frame with nylon chicken nets, which allow the air
circulation
3. A transparent plastic (acrylic glazing), used as glazing keeping and increasing the heat
capacity
4. Used oil around the dryers legs to protect the wood from being eaten by termites and
prevent access of ants and termites to the fruits.
45
Fig. 42: Pictures of the Mango solar dryers in Uganda (passive direct solar cabinet dryer) [5]
The affordable price of the solar dryer, made it possible for the above mentioned
organisations to invest in the development and testing of the solar dryer. The cost of the
dryer shown in the picture above is about 90.000 Ush equivalent to 70 US$. This price is
still a high price compared to the ability of the end-users, who in general are small-scale
farmers or women groups. They are not able to pay for the dryers in cash. Therefore small
soft loans were established by the CRS for first time investments.
6.1.4 Fruit and vegetable drying in Senegal and Burkina Faso

OSAKWE and WEINGARTMANN [33, 34] developed an in-house type solar dryer for fruits
and vegetables. In many projects these systems had been erected in Burkina Faso and
Senegal. A huge advantage of these systems, which are increasingly approved by users, is
the fact that different types of fruit and vegetables can be dried, e.g. tomatoes, onions,
cabbage, okra, carrots, hibiscus blossoms, mangoes, bananas and pineapples.
The quality of products dried in this way is excellent, due to the fact that the food is not in
direct sunlight, and due to a shorter drying process 1.5 days in comparison to 4 5 days
for traditional drying.
In Burkina Faso the dryer where build inside a 6 x 4.5 m house with a 15 inclined roof. The
house consists of three rooms, one for preparing, one for storage and the drying room. The
house has the advantage of being more hygienic and resistant to rainfall and wind. Erecting
the house was supported through local craftsman. Two locals have been instructed in
maintenance of the drying system. The local organisation of woman were trained in food
processing, hygiene and marketing.
46
Fig. 43: Features of the active solar dryer in Burkina Faso
The production rate was about 12-14 kg of dry Mango in 2 days (12 % d.b.) which means
that within 3 months 500 600 kg dry Mangos can be produced. The drying time could be
reduced from 4-5 days down to 1.5-2 days.
Table 9: Technical data
Collector
PV
Dryer
Fan
Total area:
Outer dimensions:
Material
Number of collectors:
Insulation:
9 m
2,02 m x 0,79 m x 0,23 m
Wood, aluminium, glass
6
8 cm
Numbers:
Voltage:
Power:
Accumulator:
2 parallel
24 V
each 110 WP
2 x 60 Ah, 12 V, serial
Total drying area:

Frame:
Trays:
Max. temperature:
12 m
wood
aluminium
65 C
(80 C @ 176 kg/h air flow rate)
Air flow rate

Power
445 / 750 m/h

65 / 145 W
47
Fig. 44: Mango slices being placed on a drying tray (left); Assembling the collector on the roof (right),
Burkina Faso. [34]
6.2 Coffee Drying

After oil, coffee is the largest volume commodity sold in the world. Much of the worlds coffee
has been dried using wood but increasingly processors are turning to fossil fuels.
A coffee cherry has a relatively thick skin, which encloses the parchment. The green coffee
at 10 % moisture contains starch (10 %) protein (13 %) and caffeine (1,2 %). The coffee
cherry can be considered to consist of two distinct layers; namely, the outer skin and the
parchment separated by an air space. [35]
During drying moisture from the centre of the cherry has to move through the parchment, the
intervening air space and the outer skin before it leaves the cherry. Diffusion coefficient,
drying characteristics and rates were determined by [35]. A further test showed that the
quality of the coffee (cup) did not change over the range of drying temperature (40-60 C).
The drying season in Zimbabwe for instance, runs from approximately June through
September providing a long operating time for drying equipment. Drying takes place at
relatively low temperatures (40o to 75oC) and with relatively high air flows making it an ideal
application for solar energy. Wet processed beans require to be dried from a humidity of 5055% to about 11%. This is typically accomplished in large commercial drying applications in
about 19 hours usually using a combination of pre-drying to remove surface water, vertical
dryers and drum dryers. [36]
Fig. 45 is a schematic of the three processes. The green broken line shows the coffee beans
flowing through the pre-dryer first then to the vertical dryer and finally to the drum dryer. In
this case a single furnace maintains drying air at 60C and tempering is used to maintain the
delivered air temperature at the appropriate level.
48
Fig. 45: Typical coffee bean drying process [36]
6.2.1 Large scale combined biomass and solar coffee drying

One opportunity for large scale coffee drying is a hybrid system, containing two independent
sources of thermal energy solar and biomass.
Under normal conditions (day and sunshine) solar air collectors are used to heat up the air
for coffee drying. To enable a continuous drying, during night time the hot air for the drying
process is provided by a wood furnace.
air collector
air duct
fresh air
wood
furnace
or
steam
boiler
coffee
mesh
hot air
fan
heat exchange
Fig. 46: Solar coffee drying system using a wood furnace as back-up system
49
air collector
air duct
fresh air
hot
water
storage
wood
furnace
or
steam
boiler
coffee
mesh
hot air
fan
heat exchange
Fig. 47: Advanced solar coffee drying system using a wood furnace as back-up system. Due to the
hot water storage, surplus heat from the wood furnace which can not be used instantly can be stored
for later use.
6.2.2 Medium scale coffee drying in Kenya

Action is currently being taken in Kenya to improve the drying techniques for parchment
coffee in smallholder co-operative factories. The Thailand Development Research Institute is
responsible for the design, installation and commissioning of three drying installations based
on a solar assisted drying process. The construction of the first of these was completed and
commissioned at Rukera in November 1983.
The design of the dryer is shown in Fig. 48. The drying bins are contained in a building of
which the roof forms a simple bare plate solar collector black painted corrugated iron with a
hardboard ceiling suspended 30 cm beneath it. Air is drawn through the cavity between the
roof and ceiling by means of a diesel-powered fan, the air being drawn also around the diesel
engine block before entering the fan and being propelled into the drying bins. Temperature
increases of up to 15 C have been obtained by passage of air at 8.5 m/s across the roof
cavity, with an additional 3-4 C increase derived from the waste heat of the engine.
Fig. 48: Thailand Development Research Institute parchment coffee drying system. [38]
50
6.2.3 Small scale coffee drying in Zimbabwe

In co-operation of the Zimbabwe Coffee Growers Association, Domestic Solar Heating, Pvt.
Ltd. In Harare and AEE INTEC solar cabinet dryers have been developed for a farmers
cooperative in the Honde valley in the east of Zimbabwe.
With the dryers the drying time could be reduced significantly and the quality of the coffee
could also be improved.
To lengthen the operation time of the dryers and to reduce the pay-back time, they were
designed in a way so that they can be used for coffee drying as well as for drying of
bananas. In the case of coffee drying the bottom of the trays consist of a plastic net. If
bananas are to be tried a plastic board is put on the net.
Fig. 49: PV-powered forced convection solar coffee dryer (left) and natural convection cabinet solar
coffee dryer (right) at a farmers co-operative in the Honde valley, Zimbabwe
Fig. 50: Filling the trays with coffee
51
6.3 Grain Drying

For grain drying almost all active solar drying can be used. One of the most reported grain
dryer design has undergone considerable development by the Asian Institute of Technology
(AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand. It is shown in chapter 3.1.2 in Fig. 7.
Active cabinet solar dryer
A solar maize dryer incorporating a directly coupled photovoltaic (PV) powered DC fan was
developed and field-tested for small scale use in Malawi, central Africa. The dryer has a
capacity of 90 kg and it has been designed to utilise forced air circulation without the use of
external power supplies like grid electricity, fossil fuel and batteries. A main design constraint
was that the drying air temperature should not exceed 60C, which is the international drying
standard for maize grain used for human consumption. Temperatures in excess of 60C lead
to grain overheating, cracking and subsequent microbial attack. Results showed that the
incorporation of a PV-driven fan provided some form of passive control over the air flow and
hence the drying air temperature.
The dryer was coupled to a solar air heater having a sun-tracking facility and optimised
blackened sisal rope grids for improved energy collection efficiency of the order of 80%.
Grain drying with this solar dryer technology, compared with sun drying, reduced the drying
time by over 70%. Grain quality, texture, and flour quality and flavour improved significantly
with the dryer, as grain was permanently protected from sudden rains, vermin and dust
contamination. Although the capital cost of the solar dryer was about US$900, the dryer was
found to be cost-effective with a payback period of less than one year if it is used to dry grain
for purchasing by the Cereal Boards [40].
Fig. 51: Solar grain dryer with rotating indirect air heater and a photovoltaic DC-fan [40]
6.3.1 Grain specific considerations

6.3.1.1 Wheat
The most critical decision in harvesting is not the degree of mechanisation but the timing of
the harvest. If the harvest starts late, the grain becomes too dry and rate of grain shattering
is high. The longer a ripe crop is left in the field or on the threshing floor, the higher will be
the loss from natural calamities including hailstorm, fire, birds, or rodents.
The moisture content of the grain will be high, making drying difficult if the harvest start too
early.
52
The moisture content of wheat grain is a crucial factor from harvest until milling. Moisture
content of 25 % is not uncommon in newly harvested grain in humid areas but it must be
dried immediately to protect it against mould. At 14 % moisture grain can be safely stored for
2 to 3 months. For longer periods of storage from 4-12 months, the moisture content must be
reduced to 13 % or below. [41]
6.3.1.2 Paddy
Field drying of the harvested paddy (rice), if it is not a shattering variety, should be practised
moderately during the dry season only. If hand-harvested by sickle the grip size bundles are
better laid out separated rather than stacked to achieve greater aeration rather than stacked.
Stacking of moist paddy will cause heating up of the paddy, increasing the activity of microorganisms and initiate a major deterioration in quality. A safe way is to thresh the paddy
immediately after harvesting.
Two-stage drying consisting of flash or high-temperature short-exposure or fast drying to 18
% during the first stage and low-temperature and slow drying or sun drying to 14 % during
the second stage is another technique to save a large volume of wet grain.
Paddy at 18 % moisture content can be stored for two weeks. However, re-wetting of the
grain should be avoided to prevent cracking or fissuring which will have telling effects in
milling. [42]
6.3.1.3 Parboiled paddy

After parboiling, paddy contains about 35% moisture. During the parboiling process the
starch is gelatinized which confers quite different drying properties to that of field paddy. It
has been shown that in the drying of parboiled paddy, significant damage (i.e. kernel
cracking) does not occur until the moisture content falls to 16%, regardless of the drying
method or the rate of drying. Cracking then occurs some time after the grain has cooled. The
recommended drying procedure is to dry the parboiled paddy to 16-18% moisture as fast as
facilities permit, temper it for four hours if warm or eight hours if cooled, and then dry in a
second operation to 14% moisture. Air temperatures of 100-120C can be used for parboiled
paddy in continuous-flow dryers.[43]
6.3.2 Drying of Seed Grain

If grain is destined for use as seed then it must be dried in a manner that preserves the
viability of the seed. Seed embryos are killed by temperatures higher than 40-42C and
therefore low temperature drying regimes must be used. Seed grain may be dried in any type
of dryer provided that it is operated at a low temperature and preferably with higher air
flowrates than generally used. It is essential that batches of grain of different varieties are not
mixed in any way and therefore the dryers and associated equipment used must be designed
for easy cleaning. In this respect simple flat-bed dryers are more suitable than continuousflow dryers.
TETER [45] noted that seed paddy can be sun dried at depths of up to 30 mm but that the
final stages of drying to 12 % moisture should be conducted in the shade to avoid
overheating and kernel cracking. Flat-bed dryers can be used with bed depths of up to 0.3 m,
air temperatures not exceeding 40 C, and airflows of 1.3 - 1.7 m/s per tonne of grain.
Cross-mixing between batches of different varieties can be avoided by drying in sacks in a
flat-bed dryer although care must be taken in packing the loaded sacks in the dryer to ensure
reasonably even distribution of airflow. Specialised tunnel dryers in which sacks or portable
bins are individually placed over openings in the top of the tunnel have been developed [45].
53
6.3.3 Technical aspects of grain drying

6.3.3.1 Resistance to Air Flow
The energy required to force air through a bed of grain is dependent on the air flow, the grain
depth and physical properties of the grain such as surface and shape factors, the kernel size
distribution, moisture content, and the quantity and nature of contamination, stones, straw,
weeds etc.
The relation between air flow and the pressure drop generated across the bed for selected
grains is illustrated in Fig. 52 . The data generally refer to clean and dry grain and correction
factors of up to 1.4 are used for very wet and dirty grain. [45]
Fig. 52: Resistance of Grains and Seeds to Air Flow [43]
6.3.3.2 Latent Heat of Vaporization

Energy in the form of heat must be supplied to evaporate moisture from the grain. The latent
heat of vaporization, L, for a grain depends on its moisture content and temperature and is
appreciably greater than the latent heat of evaporation of water. The latent heat of
vaporization for paddy at selected moisture contents and temperatures is shown in Table 10.
Data for other grains have been reported by [46].
Table 10: Latent heat of vaporization of paddy
Temperature
[C]
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
Free
Water
2,443
2,431
2,419
2,407
2,395
2,383
2,371
2,359
Latent Heat of Vaporization [kJ/kg]

Moisture Content %(wb)
14
16
18
20
2,605
2,518
2,483
2,464
2,593
2,506
2,471
2,452
2,580
2,493
2,458
2,440
2,567
2,482
2,447
2,428
2,555
2,469
2,434
2,416
2,542
2,456
2,422
2,404
2,529
2,444
2,410
2,391
2,516
2,432
2,398
2,379
22
2,453
2,441
2,429
2,417
2,405
2,393
2,381
2,369
54
In the drying of grain in a deep bed, whilst individual kernels may all be losing moisture at
different rates, the overall drying rate will remain constant for a long period. The air absorbs
moisture as it moves through the bed until it becomes effectively saturated and moves
through the remaining layers of grain without effecting further drying.
Fig. 53: Drying zone in fixed-bed drying.

Fig. 53 shows the three zones present within a thick drying bed at an intermediate time within
the drying operation. Drying takes place within a discrete zone, the size of which depends on
the moisture content of the grain and the temperature, humidity and velocity of the air. Below
the drying zone is the dried zone where the grain is in equilibrium with the air. Above the
drying zone is the un-dried zone wherein the grain remains unchanged from its initial
condition. In a shallow bed as in Fig. 53B the drying zone is thicker than the bed depth and
drying would occur initially throughout the bed.
The change in temperature and humidity of air as it moves through a bed of grain depends
on the rate at which moisture is being evaporated from each kernel as an individually
exposed element. Knowledge of the effect of grain moisture content, other grain properties,
the temperature, humidity and flow rate of the air upon fully exposed kernels is essential to
an understanding of how drying would proceed within a bed.
Comprehensive data on the numerous physical and thermal properties of grain are available
in publications such as [46, 47].
Experiments and simulations to evaluate the drying rates for deep bed drying of maize in a
natural-convection dryer have been developed by SIMATE [48]; for paddy by BALA &
WOODS [49] and BASUNIA & ABE [50].
55
6.4 Timber Drying

The production of high quality timber from hardwood for the furniture and building industry
requires a gentle and controlled drying to a moisture content of 8 to 15 % d.b.. Ambient air
drying is dependent on weather conditions which leads to an extended drying period of to
2 years and frequently causes quality losses.
Depending on the species of wood and the thickness of boards conventional hightemperature drying reduces the drying time to 2 to 8 weeks, but also requires high
investment and causes high energy costs.
6.4.1 Large scale greenhouse type solar dryer

There are many different designs for large scale drying of timer in greenhouse-type solar
kilns; Fig. 54 illustrates four of them.
Fig. 54: Different types of large scale greenhouse solar kilns.
For a controlled drying of 100 to 240 m of timber per load the following design was
developed by [51]. The substructure of the dryer is covered with a transparent, highly UVstabilised and well isolating air bubble foil. A horizontal absorber made of black coated
aluminium sheets separates the attic from the drying chamber. A specially developed
microprocessor control regulates several axial flow fans, a humidifier and a back up wood
chip furnace, providing the heat during night and unfavourable weather conditions. The
drying regime is adjusted automatically according to the type of wood, the board thickness
56
and the ambient air temperature. The modular design of the dryer allows an adaptation of the
capacity to the needs of the user.
In co-operation with the Brazilian company CAF Santa Barbara Ltd. worlds largest solar
drying plants were built up in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, drying up to 35,000 m of
eucalyptus annually. With the developed low temperature drying regime even the Brazilian
eucalyptus wood which is up to now mainly used for charcoal production, fuel and pulp for
paper industry can be dried to a high quality product for the furniture and building industry.
The investigations showed that investment, drying cost and energy consumption could be
reduced by 40 to 60 % compared to conventional high-temperature drying systems. The
introduction of this sustainable and environmentally friendly technology can contribute
considerable to the use of regrown plantation wood and by this the protection of natural
forests.
6.4.1.1 Design and operation

According to the above mentioned objectives, a solar assisted dryer for timber was
developed. In order to minimize the construction cost of the drying chamber the required
substructure is based on a greenhouse construction with vertical side walls and a ridge roof,
Fig. 56.
The structure consists of rectangular aluminum profiles which are corrosion-resistant. The
drying chamber is 10 m wide and up to 20 m long. The side walls are 3 to 4 m in height and
the roof is inclined at an angle of 22 degrees. To adapt the drying capacity to the
requirements of the user, the drying chamber is designed in a modular system allowing the
length of the dryer to be expanded in segments of 2 m. Each segment is covered with a
transparent highly UV-stabilized PE-EVA air bubble foil, providing a transmittance of 83 % for
direct and 68 % for diffuse radiation. A weather strip, welded along both sides of the 2 m
wide foil sheets, is pulled into fastening profiles which are fixed on the girders by self drilling
screws Fig. 57.
The gable ends of the drying chamber are covered by polycarbonate double-skin sheets. For
loading and unloading the dryer two revolving doors are installed over the full width of the
drying chamber at the front side.
heat exchanger
absorber
axial flow fans
humidifier
hot water circuit
timber
Fig. 55: Longitudinal section of the solar-assisted drying kiln.[51]
air flap
57
air flap
axial flow fans
absorber
heat exchanger
timber
biomass furnace
Fig. 56: Cross section of the solar-assisted drying kiln. [51]
fixing profile
air bubble foil
screws
weather strip
girders of aluminum
Fig. 57: Cross section of the fastening system for air bubble foils [51]
Due to the extremely high mechanical strength of the foil it can withstand wind speeds of up
to 140 km/hr without any risk of damage. Based on experiences gained under moderate
climatic conditions a life span of the foil of at least 10 years can be expected even under
tropical conditions. The low heat transfer coefficient of the air bubble foil and the
polycarbonate double-skin sheets of 3.2 W/m2K reduce heat losses and prevents
condensation at the inside of the cover during the drying process. This gives the air bubble
foil priority over other transparent cover materials such as single layer PE-foil or even glass.
To convert solar radiation into heat, black coated aluminium sheets are installed horizontally
in height of the eaves separating the drying chamber from the attic. The suspended plate
absorber in combination with the corrugated surface causes an excellent heat transfer to the
drying air.
The boards or beams are stacked underneath the absorber taking up the whole space
between the ground and the absorber plate. Vertical foils installed between the side walls
and the piled timber prevents undesired air flow without passing the boards or beams.
In the middle of the attic five speed controlled axial flow fans with a maximum power
consumption of 1.6 kW each provide a total air flow rate of up to 125 000 m3/h. The fans
ensure a permanent airflow, which circulates inside the kiln passing the clearance between
the boards in horizontal direction. The air velocity in the open space ranges from 1.5 to
2.5 m/s depending on the rotation speed of the fans.
58
The drying air is heated at the absorber surface during sunny weather. The heat required
during the night and adverse weather conditions is provided by a supplementary heating
system. A highly efficient biomass furnace operated with wood chips generates hot water at
a maximum temperature of up to 85 C. The heat is converted to the drying air by a heat
exchanger with a maximum heating capacity of 200 kW. The heat exchanger is installed
horizontally in the height of the eaves at the back side of the drying chamber. Underneath the
heat exchanger a two-stage humidifier is installed consisting of 16 equally distributed
spraying nozzles for water.
At the front of the drying chamber a motor controlled recirculation flap is incorporated into the
gable regulating the air exchange with the ambient in dependence on the desired humidity
and temperature. Sensors for temperature and relative humidity are installed inside and
outside the plant. Furthermore, the water content of the timber is measured continuously at 5
different positions in the load All components and sensors are controlled by a
microprocessor-based, menu-guided controlling system.
6.4.1.2 Energy Consumption

The newly developed low-temperature drying regime shows a significantly lower electrical
and thermal energy consumption in comparison to conventional high-temperature drying
systems as indicated in Table 11.
Table 11: Comparison of power input, electrical and thermal energy consumption of the solar-assisted
timber dryer in comparison to conventional high temperature drying systems based on drying of 27
mm thick eucalyptus grandis boards from 60 to 11 % d.b.
Installed electrical power, W/m3

Installed thermal power, kW/m
Electrical energy consumption, kWh/m
Thermal energy consumption, GJ/m
Conventional*
100 250
2-5
60 - 100
3-4
Solar**
< 50
0,9
20 - 40
1-2
* Brunner-Hildebrand GmbH, Germany 1996, Gloor Engeneering GmbH, CH 1996; ** CAF Sta. Brbara Ltda,
Brazil 1997
As indicated in Table 11 the thermal and the electrical energy consumption of the solar drying
plant is considerable lower compared to the energy consumption of conventional kilns.
Therefore the fuel consumption and the size of the back-up furnace in the solar assisted
dryer can be reduced by almost 50 %. Due to the comparatively high irradiation in Brazil
about 30 to 40 % of the thermal energy consumption were covered by solar energy.
Furthermore, there is no need for hot water temperatures of more than 85 C since the drying
temperatures are below 60 C. Therefore, a pressurised boiler or steam system which is
normally used for conventional kilns is not required for the solar drying plant, reducing the
investment, the supervision and the statutory regulations.
In addition, the electrical energy consumption is reduced by 50 %, since the length of the
piled timber is higher than in conventional kilns. Furthermore the relatively low air speed
during the drying process causes a low pressure drop of less than 50 Pa and allows the use
of highly efficient axial flow fans.
6.4.1.3 Drying Costs

Based on the investigated data of several commercially operated solar drying plants and
commercial offers of the most important national and international manufacturers of
conventional drying kilns the drying costs were analysed, Table 12. The study showed that
under Brazilian conditions the required investment for the solar drying plant was
approximately one half of the investment necessary for a conventional dryer with the same
59
drying capacity. The cost analysis includes the complete system with the dryer, the biomass
furnace, the civil construction and the installation.
Since the drying time of eucalyptus species in the solar dryer is only 20 to 30 % longer than
the time required for drying in a sophisticated conventional kiln, the lower investment and the
reduced energy consumption results in a reduction of the total drying costs by 40 to 50 %.
Table 12: Comparison of drying costs of 27 mm boards of eucalyptus grandis from green to 11 %
moisture content in a solar assisted dryer and a conventional high-temperature dryer based on prizes
in Brazil in 1999
Drying time, d
Total Investment**, US$/m
Energy cost, US$/m
Depreciation/Capital cost, US$/m
Total cost***, US$/m
Conventional*
15 - 25
800 - 1000
6 - 12
10 - 12
20 - 30
Solar**
22 - 30
400 - 500
3-6
5-8
12 - 15
* E.grandis from green (X=60-80%) to X=11 %; ** dryer and furnace including civil construction and installation;
*** Costs for capital, energy, depreciation and repairs
Investigations on drying regimes for thicker boards and mixed assortments, other species,
moderate ambient conditions and a simulation program for a further optimisation of the solar
drying plant are in development.
6.4.2 Small scale greenhouse timber dryer

The following greenhouse kiln incorporates a solar air collector into the structure of the kiln
chamber. The kiln itself may be constructed of framing lumber with plywood sheeting or bay
be block or other similar construction. The kiln must have a well insulated floor, preferably
with a drain of some sort to remove condensation from inside the kiln. All non-collector
surfaces must be well insulated. As rule of thumb for every 10 board feet of lumber one
square foot of glazing material is needed [52]. It is very important to maintain air flow through
the lumber piles during drying. The moisture exits through vents to the outside or
condensates at the side walls and runs of in a drain. An obvious way of increasing the
volume of lumber dried per year is to load the dryer with air-dried stock.
In an ultra simple solar process the air drying stacks are simply wrapped in plastic sheets.
Humidity is kept high as moisture gradually diffuses out of, or condenses onto the plastic in a
kind of hot house environment.
Simple solar kiln design for the use in high latitudes is described by Yang (1980). Fig. 58
shows a cross section of this dryer. A detailed review of solar wood drying has been
prepared by Steinmann (1989), who made detailed measurements and simulations of drying
timber in an kiln that is similar to that of Fig. 59.
60
Fig. 58: Cross section of a solar timber dryer at Thunder Bay [53]
Fig. 59: Cross section of a simple greenhouse type timber dryer [54]
Depending on thickness of lumber, the design [55] illustrated in Fig. 60 has a capacity of 750
to 850 board feet of 8-foot lumber. The dryer is of all wood construction and insulated.
Insulation pads can be tacked to walls and ceiling. The south side of the dryer is enclosed
with four storm windows of single-strength glass, giving a glass area of about 4.3 m. The
south wall slopes 40 from the vertical and each solar-collecting unit has been rotated slightly
in an effort to catch some early morning and late afternoon sunshine. This latter detail may
be of questionable benefit and may be considered an optional construction detail.
61
Two vents in the floor are covered with hardware cloth to keep out rodents. These floor vents
are each 10 cm x 25 cm and located under the central plenum. The overhead fans (two
spaced evenly over the 8-foot dryer load) each deliver 34 m/min downward between the two
lumber stacks. Hinged baffles hanging from the fans insure that all air delivered by the fans is
directed between the stacks into the plenum space so that all available air delivered
circulates through the sticker-separated lumber. Plenum space should be 40 to 50 cm wide
to insure uniform air distribution through the lumber. The electric fans are activated by a
thermostat which is set to turn fans on when the inside temperature reaches 26 C. The
window glass units face dull black painted sheet metal and hardboard-backed solar collector
units. The top and bottom of each collector unit are open to allow circulation of the heated
air. A side door on the east side of the dryer provides loading and unloading access and
permits inspection of the lumber. An adjacent smaller door serves as access to the solarheating area. The dryer is mounted on treated wood foundation posts set 0,75 m in the
ground.
The dryer will bring lumber down to about 8 percent moisture content in time; the time
determined by initial moisture content of the lumber, time of year, and species being dried.
The manner in which the dryer works is as follows: the suns rays pass through the glass and
a portion of the available heat is absorbed by the black metal heat collector. The metal in turn
heats the air space within. When the fans are in operation, the heated air is circulated
through the lumber picking up moisture. Some air is admitted and vented in the process
through the floor slots, the necessary amount depending on the moisture content in the
dryer. When moisture-laden green lumber is being dried, vents may be left full open; as
lumber becomes dryer, vents may be gradually closed. The purpose of venting is to keep the
relative humidity of the air in the dryer as low as possible while maintaining a high dry-bulb
temperature. When the thermostatically controlled fans are not operating, collectors and
some drying still takes place as air moves slowly through the dryer by natural convection.
It is important that the lumber be stacked properly with uniformly sized 3/4-inch (or thicker)
dry stickers separating each course of lumber. Each tier of stickers should be aligned
carefully, about 24 inches apart for hardwoods. Further details on good stacking principles
are described in the Air Drying of Lumber, A Guide to Industry Practices, Agriculture
Handbook No. 402, USDA, Forest Service, which is available from the Superintendent of
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
62
Fig. 60: Drawing of dryer construction details with stacked lumber charge in place. Arrows indicate
movement of air through lumber. Heat from collector area on left is circulated forcefully by overhead
fans. [55]
Solar kilns with external solar air collectors can be very sophisticated with thermostats
controlling dampers that can shut off the ducts to avoid too high temperatures inside. So they
offer greater control of the drying process and better efficiency than greenhouse kilns but
they are more expensive to build and require some engineering knowledge to design.
6.5 Tobacco Curing

For curing of wrapper tobacco, which represents the most delicate type of primed cigar
tobacco, a solar assisted dryer based on a standard greenhouse structure was developed by
[7]. Due to the sophisticated climatic control of this special solar dryer it can be adapted for
drying other products like timer or bricks.
6.5.1 Greenhouse type tobacco dryer

The solar assisted greenhouse type dryer basically consists of a plastic film greenhouse,
which is 10 m in width, 16 m in length and 6.6 m in height, a solar air heater incorporated in
the roof, a humidifier, a supplementary biomass furnace, a heat exchanger and four axial
flow fans. Inside the solar barn, horizontal beams are placed n five different heights to serve
as rack for the tobacco leaves.
A black absorber tissue is mounted below the girders. It serves in a dual function, both as
shade for the tobacco leaves and as aperture for absorbing solar radiation. The axial flow
fans, each of 500 W power consumption, are installed in an air conditioning unit at one of the
gables to blow air in the attic. Three of these fans ensure a permanent supply of circulating
air. The collector fan is forcing air through the absorber tissue for heat transfer when thermal
solar energy is available and needed. The circulating air passes downwards through the
63
tobacco leaves in vertical direction and is finally forced back over the ground to the air
conditioning unit. As a result of the upside down air flow, warm and dry air enters the attic,
preventing condensation of water on the cold roof during night time. A supplementary
firewood furnace of 80 kW calorific power, with a hot water circuit and a heat exchanger
installed in the air conditioning unit, maintains the optimum temperature during night or
periods of low radiation. To provide sufficient humidity even at varying temperatures, a
humidifier is integrated into the system.
Fig. 61: Cross section of the solar heated curing barn for tobacco.
Fig. 62: Longitudinal section of the solar heated curing barn for tobacco.
Humidity is controlled by means of a recirculation flap incorporated into the gable. In

recirculation mode the flap is closed and the air is circulated in the barn. During this mode of
operation the humidity rises and fresh air has to be mixed in certain amounts. In ambient air
mode, the flap is completely opened and only ambient air is sucked. Since the water content
of the ambient air is generally lower than the water content of the re-circulated air, the
humidity decreases if temperature is kept constant. Via electronic control of the recirculation
flap, any ratio of fresh and circulating air can be adjusted in order to provide the required
curing conditions. Thus, curing in the solar bam is widely independent of weather conditions.
64
In a high efficient down draught firewood-furnace water is heated and pumped to an isolated
heat storage tank or to the heat exchanger inside the air conditioning unit of the solar barn.
The calorific power of the furnace is controlled thermostatically via regulation of the
combustion air fan. Individual regulation of the primary and secondary air and the division of
drying, gasification and burning zone ensures an efficient combustion and low emissions. A
reservoir for 200 kg of firewood provides sufficient fuel for at least 10 hours of operation.
The use of the solar assisted greenhouse type dryer for curing of wrapped tobacco in Brazil
showed several advantages compared to the traditional curing method. Curing in the sensor
controlled solar barn allowed the use of higher temperature to accelerate the biochemical
processes without the risk of drying the tobacco too fast. Thus, the curing process could be
finished after 15 to 20 days without any impacts on quality, while conventional curing took 30
to 40 days. Furthermore, the forced air circulation in the solar barn allows a closer spacing of
the leaves facilitating a bulk density of 20 kg/m compared to 4 - 5 kg/m in the conventional
barns. This results in a reduction of the required barn capacity from 122 to 17 m/ha. The
firewood consumption can be reduced from 30 to 2 kg per kg dried tobacco. Usual leave
losses by barn rots from 4 to 10 % could be reduced considerably to less than 1 %. The
economic viability of the system was confirmed by an economic feasibility study, the solar
curing barn proved to be a promising alternative to traditional tobacco curing and wood
processing systems1.
6.5.2 Solar assisted conventional tobacco curing
Fig. 63: Tobacco curing direct connected air based system [36]
BUX, MHLBACHER (2002)
65
Fig. 64: Tobacco Curing - Water based system with pump circulation [36]
Data Tobacco Curing Cycle

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
hours
Fig. 65: Data of a tobacco curing cycle [36]
temperature
humidity
air flow
66
6.6 Fish Drying

Drying is the traditional method of preserving fish. Fresh fish contains up to 80% of water and
it is a highly perishable material. When moisture content is reduced to 25% (w.b.),
contaminating agents can not survive and autolytic activity is greatly reduced. However, to
prevent mould growth during storage, moisture contain must be reduced to 15%. Tropical
species of fish can generally withstand temperatures of 45 to 50 C before proteins are
denatured or cooking starts. [49]
Fig. 66: Kapenta drying at lake Kariba, Zimbabwe
6.6.1 Tunnel dryer

The Hohenheim tunnel dryer (see Chapter 4.4) can also be used for drying of fish. In
Bangladesh 150 kg of Silver Jew (Johnius argentatus) fish were dried from 66 % w.b. down
to 16 % w.b. in 5 days. Comparable samples dried with the traditional methods had a
moisture content of 32.84 % w.b. after 5 days. The temperature of the drying air at the
collector outlet varied from 35.1 C to 52.2 C during drying. The fish was initially treated with
dry salt and stacked for about 16 hours before drying.[49]
67
7 Components
7.1 Air collectors
The solar air collector is designed to heat air when irradiated by the sun. The basic
components are: cover, absorber, air passage and insulation. Solar radiation transmitted
through the cover heats the absorber, which in turn heats the air in the air passage.
The information provided in the following chapters are mainly results of Task 19 on Solar Air
Systems of the IEAs Solar Heating an Cooling Programme [56, 57].
7.1.1 Advantages and disadvantages of air collectors in comparison to water

collectors
Air will not boil, cannot freeze and no damage results when there is a leakage.
Nearly no corrosion problems.
The system will not malfunction if there are small leaks.
Air is non-toxic (at least, no more toxic than the air we breathe) and is freely available
anywhere and at any time.
Well designed solar air heating systems require less technical equipment than waterbased systems.
Low heat capacity of air
High volume flow-rates, big duct-dimensioning
Low heat transfer between absorber and air
7.1.2 Typology
A general typology for air collectors can be defined according to their subelements in the
following way.
Absorbers:
Non-permeable:
o Underflow
o Underflow with ribs in air flow
o Overflow
o Under- and overflow
Permeable:
o Glazed matrix (metal or cloth)
o Perforated metal, unglazed
Window collector:
o Alternate functions-direct grain with daylighting or collecotors
Hybrid (air / water):
o Both air and water from the same absorber
Hybrid (air / photovoltaic):
o Both air and electricity from the same absorber
Absorber coatings:
Selective
Non-selective
Glazing:
Single
Double
Unglazed
68
Production
Ready made modules
Site assembly of semi-finished products
Fig. 67: Air flow principles in solar air collectors [57]
The simplest type of collector is the bare plate which consists simply of the air chamber
between the insulation and the uppermost surface of which acts as the absorber plate. The
covered plate collector in its many forms utilises a translucent cover above the absorber
plate. Compared with the bare plate collector higher collection efficiencies are obtainable
with covered plate collectors but at the expense of increased complexity and cost.
A major advantage of the bare plate collector is that it can be easily incorporated into the roof
of a dryer or storage building. Corrugated iron is a popular and inexpensive roofing material
in many areas and when painted black forms an excellent solar absorber. A false ceiling can
be fixed to the roof joists so forming a shallow duct running the length of the building and
easily connected to a fan via ducting at one end of the building. The heat available from the
collector is weather dependent and consideration should therefore be given as to whether
solar energy should be the sole source for heating the air or a supplement to more
conventional heating systems.
69
A major drawback of the conventional flat plate air collector is the low heat transfer
coefficient between the flat plate absorber and the flowing air stream. The heat transfer can
be improved by adding fins, or by making the absorber plate vee corrugated, or by roughing
the surface of the absorber at the rear. In Fig. 67 one can see more possible absorber
profiles for air collectors.
Fig. 68: Possible absorber profiles for collectors with flow on both sides [12]
Domestic Solar Heating Pvt. Ltd., Harare and AEE-INTEC, AUSTRIA developed a simple
and inexpensive design of a flow-on-both-sides absorber. It consists of tow plies of
corrugated copper sheets, a wooden frame and a cover of glass. The copper sheets are
profiled in a very simple tool made by local craftsman, Fig. 68. Two of those plates are
positioned on top of each other in the frame. In between the air channels are formed. The
upper side of the plates are coated with black paint and in the wooden frame is a glass cover
mounted.
70
Fig. 69: Tool to corrugate the copper

sheets
Fig. 70: Prototype of the air collector prior to the

coating with black paint and without glass cover
Fig. 71: Coated air collector before mounting the glass cover.
Fig. 72: Measuring the air temperature inside the collector.
7.1.3 Performance
The performance of a flat plate collector can be quantified by calculation of the collection
efficiency; the ratio of the heat gathered by the collector to the insolation incident on its
surface. The collection efficiency is a function of the air velocity through the collector, the
geometry of the air duct, the absortivity of the absorption surface, and the transmissivity of
the cover(s). [57]
The ratio between solar irradiation on a certain surface and thermal power in the outlet air:
71
Qu
AcG
Qu
Ti
To
G
Q
cp
Qu
Ac
m c p (To
Ti )
collector inlet temperature, C

collector outlet temperature, C
solar global irradiance, W/m
heat energy, J
mass flow rate, kg/s
specific heat of air, kJ/kgK
useful gain of the collector, W
collector reference area, m
Usually it is helpful to present the performance in two different diagrams:

Efficiency versus temperature difference between outlet temperature and ambient
divided by irradiation (To-Ta)/G
Efficiency versus mass flow rate for Ti = Ta
Fig. 73: Gross and net efficiency of an typical air collector. [57]
72
Fig. 74: Temperature rise and efficiency. [57]
7.1.4 Optimizing collector operation

Great importance lies in finding a compromise between high heat transfer (which is mainly
dependent on highly corrugated or perforated absorbers) and the pressure drop, (such
constructions mostly cause high pressure drop) which increases the electric need for the fan.
But depending on the air system, the pressure drop caused by the succeeding ducts,
hypocausts, dampers, etc must be taken into consideration as well as choosing high mass
flow rates to run the collector with high efficiency.
Apart from the effect of the characteristics of the collector itself, the output of the solar
system is strongly dependent on the inclination angle of the collector to the sun.
Table 13: Tilt angle for different latitudes and seasons
Latitude
[degree]
50 N
40 N
30 N
20 N
15 N
10 N
Equator = 0
10 S
15 S
20 S
30 S
40 S
50 S
Best collector tilt in:

June
26.5
16.5
6.5
3.5
8.5
13.5
23.5
33.5
38.5
43.5
53.5
63.5
73.5
Orientation
S
S
S
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
Sept./March
50
40
30
20
15
10
0
10
15
20
30
40
50
Orientation
S
S
S
S
S
S
N
N
N
N
N
N
December
73.5
63.5
53.5
43.5
38.5
33.5
23.5
13.5
8.5
3.5
6.5
16.5
26.5
Orientation
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
N
N
N
73
The largest yield is obtained when the collector is always orientated perpendicular to the sun.
However, the optimal tilt angle for the collectors varies according to the season, as the sun is
higher in the sky in summer than in winter. As a general rule, the optimum angle of tilt is
equal to the degree of latitude of the site . But the minimum angle of the collector should be
15 degree to assist the thermosiphon effect. The following table shows optimum tilt angles of
different latitudes and seasons.
7.1.5 Pressure drop

In general, the pressure drop should be low to keep the necessary electrical power for the
fan as low as possible.
Pressure drop is about square function of air velocity. It increases about linear with air
density. Air density is also depending on the location, since it is depending on the
atmospheric pressure.
It depends further on size of the air gap and on the length of the collector. In choosing a fan,
the total pressure drop of the collector and the dryer has to be calculated.
Example: Calculation of pressure drop in a flat plate collector
[58] The air velocity is calculated from the given air flow rate V and the cross-sectional area A
of the collector by:
V
A
Reynolds is calculated with:

Re
c d
Usually a collector has no circular ducts, so the hydraulic diameter dH for rectangular ducts
should be used to calculate Re:
dH
4A
U
The friction factor is calculated from the following relationships:

Re < 4,000
circular cross area)
= 64/Re (for smooth and rough surfaces and
4,000 < Re < 20,000
= 0.3164 Re-0.25 (Blasius Law)
The dynamic head loss coefficient

is tabulated [56, 58] for various expansions and
contractions geometries. The pressure drop across the collector is given by:
p
l
d
[1]
[m]
[m]
l
d
c2
2
friction factor
length of the collector
diameter of the collector
74
c
V
A
dH
U
[m/s] air velocity

[1]
dynamic head loss coefficient
[kg/m] air density
[m/s] viscosity
[m/h] air flow rate
[m] cross sectional area
[m]
hydraulic diameter
[m]
perimeter
7.1.6 Durability
All materials should be resistant to heat, dampness and light. In particular, synthetics should
be resistant to ultraviolet light and high temperatures. The collector should be air- and
watertight. Absorber surfaces have to be resistant to both heat and moisture.
7.2 Ventilation
The air flow rate is crucial to the overall system performance. Too high an air flow consumes
excessive fan power and too low rates cause poor thermal performance of the system. In
summary:
The higher the mass-flow rates, the higher the efficiency of the collector.
The electrical energy for the fan increases with the mass flow rate.
The effect of leakages increases with the air flow rate.
For drying purposes a certain temperature level is often needed.
7.2.1 Natural ventilation

[56] The natural ventilation due to the chimney effect is described by the following equation:
gH
Tin
Tin
c2
1
c2
H
Tin
Tamb
A1
A2
[m/s]
[m]
[C]
[C]
[m]
[m]
Tamb
A 22
A 12
air velocity in the upper opening

height
internal temperature difference
ambient temperature
area of the lower opening
area of the upper opening
7.2.2 Electrical fans

Fans are flow machines designed to convey a certain air volume and to increase the
pressure in order to overcome the resistance of the system. They should work with the best
possible efficiency and at lowest possible noise level.
75
Fans can be divided and classified according to the air flow direction through the fan. The
major types are axial flow, radial flow and mixed flow.
Axial fan
The air enters and leaves the fan axially. The main modules of an axial ventilator are the hub
with the blades, the casing and the drive. There are several components designed to
increase the efficiency of an axial blower, such as an inlet nozzle, stator, diffuser and
moveable blades. The air flow of an axial fan can be controlled by:
dampers on the extraction or pressure side of the fan;
variation of the blade angle;
variation of the rotational speed.
If energy savings are considered, the best way to change the air flow rate of a fan is to vary
the speed of rotation. A common position for the drive is the hub of the fan.
The motor is cooled by the air flow and all the heat form the motor can be used, while the
open cross section is reduced. Typical operating conditions of standard axial fans are high
volume rates and low delivery pressure, e.g. ventilation of a sunspace or exhaust-air
extraction from rooms.
Fig. 1: Axial fan (left) and radial fan (right) [59]
Radial fan
The air enters axially and leaves radially. These fans have usually a spiral casing with single
or double inlet. Some special casings allow the use of a radial fan in a round duct. There are
different shapes of blades, which can be forward-curved, radial or back-ward-curved. It is
possible to have the motor external to withstand high flow temperatures and to avoid heat
gains due to the motor. A radial fan typically achieves a lower volume rate and a higher
pressure increase than an axial fan. Radial fans are typically used in ducts with a higher flow
resistance, e.g. ducts with air heating, cooling and filter devices.
Cross-flow fan
The air flow runs through the impeller transversally. The volume increases proportionally to
the impeller width. Cross-flow fans are suitable for blowing into narrow ducts or grooves with
a broad width but with typically low volume rate and efficiency. An advantage of cross-flow
fans is their low noise emission, on account of which they are used in applications where the
fan is placed near the user, e.g. an underfloor convector.
By the use of DC motors in combination with a photovoltaic panel, it is necessary to take into
account that the start-up power can be up to five times higher than the maximum power
during operation.
The efficiency is an important factor in the selection of a fan. It is defined as the coefficient:
76
dpV
P
(p sup ply
p inlet )
flowrate
powermotor
The efficiency of a common axial fan lies between 30 and 70 %.
7.2.3 Dimensioning an electrical fan

The motor output of the fan can be calculated as follows:
PM
V
L
PM
pT
L
M
[W]
[Pa]
pT
M
power of the motor

total pressure increase
fan efficiency factor
motor efficiency factor
The total pressure increase pT consists of the static pressure difference pS and the
dynamic pressure pd occurring at the outlet of the fan. The static pressure difference is the
pressure loss in the system (pipe friction, formed parts, trays).
The efficiency is dependent on the type and size of the fans as well as on the working point.
Attention must be paid to the fact that radial fans with backward-curved or forward-curved
blades have the highest power consumption when they are blowing free.
7.2.4 Fan control

The air flow or the required pressure increase is adjusted to the respective requirements by
way of different control mechanisms, such as:
On/off control
Change of rotational speed with electronic controllers or with coupled to insulation on
PV
Throttling with a damper or throttling flap
Bypass control
7.2.5 Power supply from solar cells

Photovoltaic (PV) cells offer an ideal energy supply for fans. The electricity produced by the
solar cells is not only supplied at the same time but also increases automatically with an
increasing demand. As solar cells produce DC, the choice of DC motors is obvious. For solar
air systems, PV modules with a voltage of 12 V, a power of 50 Wp and a size of 0,5 m have
proved to be suitable; this corresponds to a maximum power at an insulation of 1000 W/m
and a solar cell temperature of 25 C.
The dependency of the performance of the PV-drive on the solar radiation shows certain
advantages over grid-driven fans. The fans of the solar tunnel dryer are directly coupled to
the solar panel, which results in a simple and therefore very reliable system. However, the
downside of this system is that it also produces a fluctuating air flow rate the air flow rate is
high under sunny conditions and low when clouds appear. By using a well adapted direct
coupled system, the maximum temperature within the drying chamber can be automatically
controlled and adjusted to a certain level by the number of fans installed. The maximum
permissible drying temperature will be exceeded only for a short time period, which is a
prerequisite to ensure that the product quality does not deteriorate. Moreover, due to the
77
higher temperature level inside the drying chamber the drying process will be accelerated,
resulting in a shorter drying time.
The adaptation of the characteristic curves of the blade and motor of the fan, as well as the
solar panel, is of great importance for the performance of the drive. In particular, it is
essential to ensure that the fan starts to operate even at low levels of radiation. This is
necessary to remove the moisture from the drying compartment so as to prevent spoilage
and or growth of mould and yeast. Cooling fans of cars, which have been used instead of the
original ones in several attempts due to their ease of availability and low cost, do not meet
this requirement and should therefore not be used.
Table 14: Exemplary technical data of the drive systems (freely blowing) [60]
Drive system
Components
Maker
Type
Rated voltage [V]
Rated current [A]
Nominal consumption [W]
Air flow rate [m/h]
Rated speed [RPM]
Mains-powered
Radial fan
ebm
R4E 280-AD0805
220
0.33
70
1360
1400
Photovoltaic (PV)
Axial fan
Solar module
Fiat
Solarex
Uno, gasolineMSX 83
fueled model
12
16.9
7.0
4.92
84.0
83.2
1520
2800
78
8 References
[1] BUX, M.e.a.: Solar crop drying in developing countries, Berne, (2002).
[2] FULLER, R.J.: Solar Drying of horticultural produce: Present practice and future
prospects, Postharvest News and Information 4 (3), pp (1993).
[3] ITDG: Drying of Foods, http://itdg.org, Technical Brief
[4] PRYOR, T.: Solar Drying, (2001).
[5] ARFAOUI, Y.: Improving the welfare and increasing the income generation by the
commercialisation of sustainable energy echnology - commercialisation of solar dryer
for agricultural products., Copenhagen, (n.y.).
[6] EKECHUKWU, O.V.a.N.B.: Review of solar-energy drying systems II: an overview of
solar drying technology, Energy Conversion & Management 40 pp 615-655,
Pergamon (1999).
[7] BUX, M., MHLBAUER, W., BAUER, K., KHLER, B.: Solar crop drying in developing
countries, Berne, (2002).
[8] ITDG: Solar Drying, http://itdg.org, Technical Brief
[9] EKECHUKWU, O.V.: Experimental studies of integral-type natural-circulation solarenergy tropical crop dryers, Ph.D. (1987).
[10] FABRE, M., MIHAILOV, S.: Expert consultations on planning the development of sun
drying techniques in Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
http://www.fao.org/inpho/vlibrary/x0018e/X0018E.htm, (1985).
[11] SPEIRS, C.I., COOTE, H.C.: Solar Drying: Practical Methods of Food Preservation,
(1986).
[12] DAUTHY, M.E.: Fruit and vegetable processing, Rome, (1995).
[13] AYENSU, A.: Dehydration of food crops using a solar dryer with convective heat flow,
Solar Energy 59 pp (1997).
[14] GOYAL, R.K., TIWARI, G.N.: Performance of a reverse flat plate absorber cabinet
dryer: a new concept, Energy Conversion & Management 40 pp 385-392, Pergamon
(1999).
[15] BENA, B., FULLER, R.J.: Natural convection Solar Dryer with biomass back-up heater,
Solar Energy 72 (1), pp (2002).
[16] BASSEY, M.W.e.a.: Problems and solutions for natural convection solar crop drying,
Senegal, (1987).
[17] Brace-Research-Institute: Types of solar agricultural dryers, Sunworld 4 (6), pp 181,
(1980).
[18] BRENNDORFER, B., KENNEDY, L., BATEMAN, C.O.O., MREMA, G.C., WEREKOBROBBY, C.: Solar dryers- their role in post harvest processing., London, (1985).
[19] HISLOP, D.: Energy Options Chapter 3: Heat from Solar Energy., (1992).
[20] GRUPP, M., BERGLER, H., OWEN-JONES, M., SCHRDER, G.: Comparative Test of
Solar Dryers, Almeria, (1995).
[21] ESPER, A., MHLBAUER, W.: Solar tunnel dryer for fruits., Plant research and
development 44 pp (1996).
[22] HENSEL, O., ESPER, A.: The Hohenheim Solar Tunnel Dryer - 20 years of success,
ITDG Food Chain, http://www.innotech-ing.de/, (2003).
[23] GREEN, M.G., SCHWARZ, D.: Solar Drying Equipment: Notes on three dryers, gtzgate, (2001).
[24] KAMARUDDIN, A.e.a.: Recent development of GEHE Solar Drying in Indonesia, Drying
Technology 19 (2), pp Marce Dekker (2001).
[25] JENSEN, S.O.: Inspection of solar dryer in Ghana, (2001).
[26] PROCTOR, D.L.: Grain Storage Techniques, Rome, (1994).
[27] GREEN, M.G., SCHWARZ, D.: Solar Drying Technology for Food Preservation, gtzgate, (2001).
[28] MULOKOZI, G.e.a.: Improved Solar Drying of Vitamin A-rich Foods by Womens
Groups in the Singida District of Tanzania, Washington, Research Report Series
(2000).
79
[29] COSTA, A.R.S., et.al.: Natural drying process for tropical fruits,
[30] RERIC: Renewable energy technologies in Asia, A Regional Research and
Dissemination Programme, Phase II,, Thailand, (2002).
[31] Anonym: A solar-biomass hybrid dryer for pineapple farmers in the Philippines, Asian
Institute of Technology, http://www.retsasia.ait.ac.th/drysotry.htm, (1993).
[32] CONDOR, M., ECHAZ, R., SARAVIA, L.: Solar drying of sweet pepper and garlic
using the tunnel greenhouse dryer, Renewable Energy 22 pp 447-460, Pergamon
(2001).
[33] OSAKWE, A., WEINGARTMANN, H.: Solare Konservierung von Obst und Gemse,
erneuerbare energie 3-98 pp 31-35, AEE-INTEC (1998).
[34] OSAKWE, A.: Solartrocknung von Obst und Gemse in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,
Vienna, (1995).
[35] VARADHARAJU, N.e.a.: Coffee cherry drying: a two-layer model, Drying Technology 19
(3 & 4), pp Marcel Dekker (2001).
[36] IEA-SHC: Solar Crop Drying, (1996).
[37] Anonym: Solar coffee dryer field test in Miramar, Costa Rica: Lessons Learned to be
applied in the small grower - small roaster direct connection program, Massachusetts,
(1996).
[38] ADAIR, D.: Coffee drying in Kenya, Rome, (1985).
[39] EXELL, R.H.B.: Basic Design Theory for a Simple Solar Rice Dryer, Renewable Energy
Review Journal 1 (2), pp 1-14, (1980).
[40] MUMBA, J.: Develpment of a photovoltaic powered forced circulation grain dryer for use
in the tropics, Renewable Energy 6 (7), pp 855-862, Elsevier (1995).
[41] BALOCH, U.K.: Post-harvest operations: Chapter VI Wheat, (n.d.).
[42] LANTIN, R.: Post-harvest Operations: Chapter X Rice, (n.d.).
[44] ISLAS-RUBIO, A.R., HIGUERA-CIAPARA, I.: Post-harvest compendium: Chapter XIX
Soybean, (n.d.).
[45] TETER, N.: Paddy Drying Manual, Rome, (1987).
[46] BROOKER, D.B., BAKKER-ARKEMA, F.W., HALL, C.W.: Drying cereals grains,
Westport: Avi Publishing Co. Inc. pp 265, (1974).
[47] BROOK, R.C., FOSTER, G.H.: Drying, cleaning and conditioning, (1981).
[48] SIMATE, I.N.: Simulation of the mixed-mode natural-convection solar drying of maize,
Drying Technology 19 (6), pp 1137-1155, Marcel Dekker, Inc. (2001).
[49] BALA, B.K., MONDOL, M.R.A.: Experimental Investigation of Solar Drying of fish using
solar tunnel dryer, Drying Technology 19 (2), pp (2001).
[50] BASUNIA, M.A., ABE, T.: Thin-layer solar drying characteristics of rough rice under
natural convection, Journal of Food Engineering 47 pp 295-301, Elsevier (2000).
[51] BUX, M., MHLBAUER, W., BAUER, K., KHLER, B.: Solar Assisted Drying of Timer
in Industrial Scale, Southern African Forestry Journal pp (2001).
[52] ARMSTRONG, J.P., HALL, C.S.: Wood industry fact sheet, (n.d).
[53] YANG, K.C.: Solar Kiln performance at high latitude, 48 N, Forest Products 30 (3), pp
(1980).
[54] WENGERT, E.M.: Solar heated lumber dryer for the small business: Utilization and
Marketing, Blacksburg, (1980).
[55] BOIS, P.J.: Constructing and operating a small solar-heater lumber dryer, Forest
Products Utilization Technical Report No. 7 (Re-Issue 3/89), pp (1989).
[56] IEA-SHC: Solar Air Systems, (1998).
[57] FECHNER, H.: IEA Task 19 Solar Air Systems, Investigations on Series Produced Solar
Air Collectors, Summary report, Vienna, (2000).
[58] HAAGE, H.: Maschinenkunde: Kraft- u. Arbeitsmaschinen, Wien, (1992).
[59] HASTINGS, S.R., MORCK, O.: Solar air systems: a design handbook, London, (2000).
[60] HUSER, M., ANKILA, O.: Solar Drying in Morocco,
[61] SARWAR, G., WILLIAMS E.A., ROBINSON, A.P.: Survey of commercially available
Wood and Agricultural Residue Combustion Systems, (Engineering Series No. 1), pp
21, Chatham: Natural Resources Institute (1992).
80
[62] MAHIN, D.B.: Industrial Energy and Electric Power from Wood Residues, Arlington,
(1991).
[63] ROBINSON, A.P.: The Design and Development of a Suspension Burner System for
Particulate Forestry and Agricultural Residues, Chatham, (1991).
[64] BREAG, G.R., CHITTENDEN, A.E.: Producer Gas: its Potential and Application in
Developing Countries, London, (1979).
[65] HOLLINGDALE, A.C.: Survey of Manufacturers of Gasifier Power Plant Systems,
London, (1983).
[66] ERIKSSON S., P.M.: The Briquetting of Agricultural Wastes for Fuel, Rome, (1990).
81
Appendix
Crop Data
The crop data are an extract of the study Potential for Solar Drying in the World ,
prepared by Enermodal Engineering Ltd., Canada and ECOFYS Energy & Environment,
Netherlands [12].
Apples
Initial Moisture Content:
Final Moisture Content:
Energy Required (MJ/kg):
Maximum Temperature:
Storage
Drying Methods
Required drying time

Required drying temperature
80-85 %
20-24 %
1.502
70 C
Leather is wrapped in polypropylene
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. Tunnel
3. dry sulphuring
2. forced air dehydrator for 4. wet sulphuring
leather
1. 5-6 hours
3. 30-40 min
2. 3.5 hours
4. 10 min
1. 75-55 C
2. 45 C
Apricots
Storage
Drying Methods
85 %
15-25 %
1.666
65 C
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. Tunnel
2. forced air dehydrator for
leather
3. sulphuring
4. sun drying
1. 10-15 hours
2. 3.5 hours
3. limited through-put time
4. 4,5 days
1. 70-60 C
C
2. 45 C
In apricots, the decomposition of chlorophyll causes a positive effect on the colour. Therefore direct
exposition to solar radiation is recommended.[1]
82
Bananas
Storage
Drying Methods
70-80 %
7-15 %
2 % (powder)
8 % (flour)
1.679
70 C
Stored in bundles, hung on racks in warehouse.
Wrapped in leaves and bound tightly, vacuum sealed, dry
conditions; may be treated with sulphating or by fumigation with
methyl bromide (dried products) or an antioxidant (chips)
Fruit bars are wrapped in cellophane
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. Sun-drying
6. Tunnel or cabinet
2. oven-drying
7. osmotically (2000 ppm
3. batch or in-bin drying after
SO2) usually followed by
osmotic dehydration for
sun drying or air drying
candied fruit
8. sun and mechanical
4. warehouse drying
5. spray
or
drum-drying
leather
(powder)
1. several days (4-6)
6.
2. several hours or days
7. 2 hours followed by a day
3. several hours
of solar
4. several hours
8. 10 hours solar plus 16
5. 7-8 hours (flour)
hours electric or steam
power (fruit bars)
9. 3.5 hours
30-70 C
60 C (tunnel for powder)
75 C inlet temperature and 45
C outlet temp. (flour)
70 C
45 C
83
Barley
Storage
Drying Methods

15-20 %
13-14 %
0.055-0.168
43 C for mc > 24 %
49 C for mc < 24 %
60 C for grains to be milled if mc > 25 %
66 C for grains to be milled if mc < 25 %
120 C for grain for feed
55 C for barley destined for brewery
In silos without aeration and circulation
In silos with sufficient aeration
In ventilated storage bags
Low Temperature
High Temperature
De-central in storage driers De-central batch dryers at
(silos, floor)
farms or central large-scale
continuous process at drying
facility
Days-weeks; drying during Minutes; drying and storage
storage
separately
50 250 C
3-5 C
Cassava, Mainoc, Yuca (Manihot esculenta)

Storage
Drying Methods

Drying Constant
62 75%
14-17 %
1.105
150 C
In-ground, in water as roots; in silos as chips; sealed polyethylene
bags as gari
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. Chips dried in sun
5. oven dried
2. Chips in cabinet solar 6. pneumatic dryers
dryer
3. Tunnel Dryers
4. Flour and tapioca from
Drums
1. several days-weeks
5. several hours
2. several days (92 h)
6. several hours
3. several hours
4. several hours
30-60 C
Kc = 0.031, ke=0.012 for
Chips
84
Cassava leaves2
Storage
Drying Methods

Drying Constant
80 %
14 %
1.586
Small huts or by cooking pit or oven
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. Sun drying
2. Leaves in cabinet solar
dryer
3. incidental drying above
cooking pit or oven
1. several days
2. two days (46 h)
3. sometimes weeks
30-60 C
kc=0.047, ke=0.012
Chillies and Peppers

Storage
Drying Methods
75-80 %
5-14 %
1.610
90 C
Bags and bulk storage in warehouse
Low Temperature
High Temperature
Sun drying
Kiln drying
Several days (6-8)
Several hours
40 C
90 C
Cocoa Beans
Storage
Drying Methods
60-80 %; 50-55 %
25-30 %; 6-7 %
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. sun drying
Central large-scale continue
2. batch or in-bin drying with process at drying facility; drying
wood or crop waste, coal and storage separately
or diesel fuel burned
dryers
3. solar dryers drying during
storage (45-50 C)
1. Several days (4-9)
Minutes
2. several hours (32-42 h)
3. several hours (48 h)
30-60 C
Continuous air flow required during the first phase of solar drying.[1]
There are numerous types of dryers but an essential feature of all must be that any smoky products of
combustion do not come in contact with the beans otherwise taints will appear in the final product. [2]
2
AYENSU, A.: Dehydration of food crops using a solar dryer with convective heat flow, Solar Energy Vol. 59,
Nos. 4-6, pp 121-126, Elsevier Science (1997).
85
Coffee
Storage
Drying Methods
45-65 %
9-12 %
0.855- 0.865
Bags and bulk storage in warehouses and silos

Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. sun drying
Roasting
2. batch or in-bin drying with
wood or crop waste
burned for heat
3. solar drying
1. Several days (3-7)
2. several hours
3. several hours (40-58)
30-60 C
For Arabica coffee, a period of exposure to sunlight is considered inviolable for the development of full
flavour in the roasted bean.[3-5]
Grapes
Storage
Drying Methods
75- 80 %
15-20 %
1.444
70 C
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. sun drying
2. Forced air dehydrator for
leather
1. 8-10 days
2. 3.5 hours
45 C
Continuous air flow required during the first phase of solar drying.[1]
In grapes, the decomposition of chlorophyll causes a positive effect on the colour. Therefore direct
exposition to solar radiation is recommended.[1]
Mushrooms
Storage
%
%
Drying Methods
Opaque, air-tight containers (drums or packages), sometimes

with a desiccants
Low Temperature
High Temperature

86
Maize
Storage
Drying Methods

20-35 %
8-15 %
0.254 0.565
60 C
43 C (then seeds lose their viability)
43 C for mc > 24 %
49 C for mc < 24 %
- at households stored in various ways from in the cob to sealed
containers
- on larger farms in special constructions (in bags or in bulk)
- central large-scale farmers and traders store amize (12-13 %) in
bags or bulk in warehouses or silos
Low Temperature
High Temperature
- sun and field and banda( wood fire in
storage (Africa) followed by incidental
(Gulf of Guinea), tap (elevated
storage)(Cameroon), bliva (elevated
pile of cobs), maize crib (tap-type but
better made)(Nigeria), IRRI hot air
dryer
- shallow batch dryer (2.4-6 m/min/m)
Several weeks
Several hours
On average less then 35 C
Mangoes
Storage
Drying Methods
80-85 %
12-18 %
1.564
70 C
Oval bundles and hung
Larger amounts stored in millet granaries
Fruit bars are wrapped in cellophane
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. sun or solar (decentral 5. osmotically (8000 ppm
small-scale batch system
SO2)
at farm)
6. sun and mechanical (fruit
2. tunnel
bars)
3. vacuum-drying
leather
1. 1-2 weeks
5.
2.
6. 10 hours solar plus 16
3.
hours electric or steam
4. 2 hours
power
1. 70 C; 55 C in last stage of 6. 55 C at beginning to a high
drying
of 70C
87
Papayas
Storage
Drying Methods
%
%
Low Temperature
High Temperature
Forced air dehydrator for Osmotically (2000 ppm SO2)
leather
3.5 hours
4 hours
45 C
70 C
Pine apples
Turn black above 47 C
Potatoes
Storage
Drying Methods

70-75 %
8-13 %
< 4 % for powder
1,453
75-85 C
Warehouse/silo
Low Temperature
Sun (for chips)
Plates heated with hot water,
under vacuum
Sometimes several days
30 60 C
50-70 C
High Temperature
Drum (for powder)
Spraying in hot air (powder)
< 1 hour
1/50 s
75-85 C
130-150 C
Rice
Storage
Drying Methods

20-30 %
12-18 %
0.218 0.351
50 C
43 C for mc > 24 %
49 C for mc < 24 %
Low Temperature
High Temperature
De-central
batch
drying Central
large-scale
system at farms (silos, floor)
continuous-flow driers and
storage driers
storage
separately
< 50 C
88
Sugar cane
Storage
Drying Methods
75 %
%
Raw sugar stored in piles in warehouses before shipping to a
refinery
Following other treatments, sugar is boiled to obtain crystallized
form
C
Tea
Storage
Drying Methods

60-80 %
25-30 %; 3 % ??
1.203
140 C
Low Temperature
1. sun drying
2. batch or in-bin drying with
wood or crop waste
burned for heat
3. solar drying
1. Several days
2. several hours
3. several hours
30-60 C
High Temperature
4. withering uses warm air
5. fermentation moist air at
95 % RH
6. tray dryer or fluidized bed
dryer for drying by hot air
4. 16-20 hours
5. 1-2 hours
6. 24-26 minutes
4. 35 C
5. 25-30 C
6. 100-140 C
Tobacco Leaves
Storage
Drying Methods
70-85 %
11-25 %
1.592 1.997
70 C
Low Temperature
1. sun-drying
2. batch or in-bin drying
with wood or diesel
fuel burned
1. several weeks (30
40 days)
2. several
days
to
several weeks (15- 20
days)
30-60 C
High Temperature
Batch drying with diesel fuel
Several hours
18-75 C
89
Tomatoes
Storage
Drying Methods

75 %
35 %, < 4 % (powder)
0.963
Opaque, air-tight containers (drums or packages), sometimes
with a desiccant
Low Temperature
High Temperature
1. sun-drying
After boiling:
2. drum drying for powder
1. conduction
3. vacuum dehydration for
2. tunnel
concentrated juices and spraying in hot air (powder)
sauces
4. plates heated with hot
water
under
vacuum
(powder)
30-60 C
1/50 s
95 C
Wheat
Storage
Drying Methods

15-20 %
13-14 %
0.055 0.193
43 C for mc > 24 %
49 C for mc < 24 %
Low Temperature
High Temperature
Shallow batch dryer
De-central batch dryers at
(2.4 6 m/min/m)
farms or central large-scale
De-central in storage driers continuous process at drying
(silos, floor)
facility
storage
separately
45 C
60 250 C
Wood
Storage
Drying Methods
40-200 %
8-10 %
60 C
Stacked; protected from the elements; in environment in which it
is to be used
Low Temperature
High Temperature
Air dry
Kiln dry
Several months
Several weeks
Ambient
90
Further drying specifications in short

Product
[6]
Beans
Cion
Copra
Corn
Legumes
Onions
Peanuts
Peas
Yams
Humidity (water
content %)
initial
final
70
5
9
30
5
25
13
80
10
80
4
40
9
80
5
75
7
Drying temperature (C)
Pre-treatment
75
68-80
55
65
75
whitening
cutting
cutting
cutting
whitening
cutting
91
Further aspects of drying

Drying principles and general considerations [7-9]
The main purpose of dehydration is to extend the shelf life of foods by a reduction in water
activity, aw. This will inhibit microbial growth, however the processing temperature will not
normally be sufficient to cause inactivation, thus care will needed to be taken with the
product on subsequent rehydration.
Water Activity
Water plays an important role in the stability of fresh, frozen and dried foods. It acts as a
solvent for chemical, microbiological and enzymatic reactions. The water activity, aw, is a
measure of the availability of water to participate in such reactions. The water in a food will
exert a vapour pressure. The extent of this pressure will depend on the amount of water
present, the temperature and the composition of the food. Different food components will
lower the water vapour pressure to different extents, with salts and sugars being more
effective than larger molecules than starches or proteins. Thus two different foods with
similar moisture contents may not necessarily have the same aw. Water activity can be
defined as the ratio of the vapour pressure exerted by the food to the saturated vapour
pressure of water at the same temperature.
aw =
Vapour pressure of water exerted by food

Saturated vapour pressure of water at the same temperatur e
Values range from 0 for dried foods to 1.0 for foods such as milk, fresh fruit where the water
is readily available. There is a relationship between aw and RH of the form.
aw
RH
100
The easiest way of determining aw is to place the food into a sealed container, and to
measure the relative humidity of the air in the container once equilibrium has been achieved.
Thus it can be seen that the sorption isotherm is extremely useful because it also gives the
relationship between the water activity and the moisture content. Thus it is possible to
evaluate the lowest possible moisture content attainable at specified conditions of
temperature and relative humidity and the aw of the dehydrated product. In addition many
spoilage reactions are influenced by aw.
When certain solutes are added to foods, they lower the water activity by depressing the
water vapour pressure. The extent of the depression can be calculated using Raoults Law
which states that the partial pressure pA of a component over a solution is the product of the
vapour pressure pAS of that component and the mole fraction A of that component A.
p A = x A p SA
Unfortunately food systems are not ideal, and are often too concentrated for this to occur and
aw depressions have to be discovered experimentally. Solutes that lower the water activity
are known as humectants; for example salt, sugar, polyhydric alcohols such as glycerol and
sorbitol. To complicate matters there are also hygroscopic compounds (where partial
pressure varies with moisture content) and non-hygroscopic (constant vapour pressure at all
moisture contents).
92
Moisture Content
Convention dictates that moisture contents of goods are usually measured on a wet basis, ie
the mass of moisture per unit mass of wet grain and written as
x=
mass of water
mass of water + mass of dry solids
mW
mW
mDC
[%wb] or
kg water
.
kg wet grain
The alternative measure refers to the measurement on a dry basis:

X=
mass of water
mass of dry solids
mW
m DC
%db or
kg water
kg dry grain
which is the mass of moisture per unit mass of completely dry crop. It can be shown by
eliminating the mass of solids that
x=
X
x
or X =
.
1+ X
1- x
Moisture content x [%wb] is most often used in food composition tables, whereas moisture X
[%db] is more often encountered with sorption isotherms and drying curves.
The mass of water lost from wet grain during drying can be calculated using the equation:
x xe
m W m DC i
[kg]
100 x e
with the initial moisture content xi and the final or equilibrium moisture content xe , both in
[%wb]; or by using moisture in terms of [%db]:
mW
m DC ( X i
X e ) [kg].
Air Properties
For effective drying, air should be HOT, DRY and MOVING. These factors are inter-related
and it is important that each factor is correct (for example, cold moving air or hot, wet moving
air are each unsatisfactory).
The relationship between temperature, humidity and other thermodynamic properties of air is
represented by a psychrometric or Mollier chart as shown in Fig. 0-1.
It is important to appreciate the difference between the absolute humidity and relative
humidity of air. The absolute humidity XA is the moisture content of the air (mass of water
per unit mass of air, e.g. g/kg) whereas the relative humidity (RH) is the ratio, expressed as
a percentage, of the moisture content of the air at a specified temperature to the moisture
content of air if it were saturated at that temperature.
So 0% RH is completely dry air and 100% RH is air that is fully saturated with water vapour.
Low RH (or dry) air must be blown over foods so that it has the capacity to pick up water
vapour from the food and remove it. If high RH (or wet) air is used it quickly becomes
saturated and can not pick up further water vapour from the food.
93
The temperature of the air affects the humidity (higher temperatures reduce the humidity and
allow the air to carry more water vapour).
Note that there are two types of air temperature:
The temperature of the air, measured by a thermometer bulb, is termed the dry-bulb
temperature.
If the thermometer bulb is surrounded by a wet cloth, heat is removed by evaporation of the
water from the cloth and the temperature falls (to the 'wet bulb' temperature). The
difference between the two temperatures is used to find the relative humidity of air of the
psychrometric chart.
The dew point is the temperature at which air becomes saturated with moisture (100% RH)
and any further cooling from this point results in condensation of the water from the air. This
is seen at night when air cools and water vapour forms as dew on the ground.
Adiabatic cooling lines are the parallel straight lines sloping across the chart, which show
how absolute humidity decreases as the air temperature increases.
The psychrometric chart is useful for finding changes to air during drying and hence the
efficiency of a drier. The following examples show how it is used.
Using Fig. 0-1, find:
1. the absolute humidity of air which has 50 % RH and a dry-bulb temperature of 60 C
2. the wet-bulb temperature under these conditions
3. the RH of air having a wet-bulb temperature of 45 C and a dry-bulb temperature of
75 C
4. the dew point of air cooled adiabatically from a dry-bulb temperature of 55 C and 30
% RH
5. the change in RH of air with a wet-bulb temperature of 39 C, heated from a dry-bulb
temperature of 50 C to a dry-bulb temperature of 80 C
6. the change in RH of air with a wet-bulb temperature of 35 C, cooled adiabatically
from a dry bulb temperature of 70 C to 40 C.
94
Fig. 0-1: Psychrometric chart (Mollier-Chart) with example points.
Answers
1. XA= 0.068 kg per kilogram of dry air (find the intersection of the 60 C and 50 % RH
lines, and then follow the chart vertically down to read off the absolute humidity)
2. 46.5 C (from the intersection of the 60 C and 50 % RH lines, move left parallel to
the wet bulb lines to read off the wet-bulb temperature)
3. 20 % (find the intersection of the 45 C and 75 C lines and follow the sloping RH line
downwards to read off the % RH)
4. 36 C (find the intersection of the 55 C and 30 % RH lines and follow the wet-bulb
line down until the RH reaches 100 %)
5. 50-13 % (find the intersection of the 39 C wet-bulb and the 50 C dry-bulb
temperatures, and follow the vertical line to the intersection with the 80 C dry-bulb
line; read the sloping RH line at each intersection (this represents the changes that
take place when air is heated prior to being blown over food))
6. 10-70% (find the intersection of the 35 C wet-bulb and 70 C dry-bulb temperature,
and follow the wet-bulb line down until the intersection with the 40 C dry-bulb line;
read sloping RH line at each intersection (this represents the changes taking place as
the air is used to dry food; the air is cooled and becomes more humid as it picks up
moisture from the food).
The heating of air from temperature TA to TB is represented by the line AB (red line in Fig.
0-2). During heating the absolute humidity remains constant at XAA (XAA = XBA) whereas the
relative humidity falls from RHA to RHB. As air moves through the grain bed it absorbs
moisture. Under (hypothetical) adiabatic drying sensible heat in the air is converted to latent
head and the change in air conditions is represented along a line of constant enthalpy, BC.
The air will have increased in both absolute humidity, HC, and relative humidity, RHC, but
fallen in temperature, TC. The absorption of moisture by the air would be the difference
between the absolute humidities at C and A (XCA - XAA).
95
If unheated air was passed through the bed the drying process would be represented along
the line AD. Assuming that the air at D was at the same relative humidity, RHC, as the
heated air at C then the absorbed moisture would be (XDA - XAA), considerably less than that
absorbed by the heated air (XCA - XAA).
Fig. 0-2: Part of a Mollier-chart showing processes of drying with pre-heating (red) and without (blue):
Drying Mechanisms
There are two basic mechanisms involved in the drying process; the migration of moisture
from the interior of an individual grain to the surface, and the evaporation of moisture from
the surface to the surrounding air. The rate of drying is determined by the moisture content
and the temperature of the grain and the temperature, the (relative) humidity and the velocity
of the air in contact with the grain.
96
Fig. 0-3: Drying and drying rate curves.

Fig. 0-3 demonstrates the drying of a single layer of grain exposed to a constant flow of air.
The moisture content falls rapidly at first but as the grain loses moisture the rate of drying
slows. In general the drying rate decreases with moisture content; increases with increase in
air temperature; or decreases with increase in air humidity. At very low air flows increasing
the velocity causes faster drying but at greater velocities the effect is minimal indicating that
moisture diffusion within the grain is the controlling mechanism.
If a new type of drier is to be used, or if a different type of food is to be dried, it is necessary
to do some experiments to find the rate of drying. The information can then be used to find
the time that the food should spend in the drier before the moisture content is low enough to
prevent spoilage by micro-organisms. The rate of drying also has an important effect on the
quality of the dried foods and (in artificial driers) the fuel consumption.
For a simplified method of drying rate determination you will need a clock/watch and a set of
scales. Food is weighed, placed in the drier and left for 5 10 minutes. It is then removed,
reweighed and replaced. This is continued until the weight of the food no longer changes.
The interval between weighing can be increased when the changes in weight start to become
less. You should also make a note of the wet and dry bulb temperatures of the air inside the
drier and the air outside. The results are plotted on a graph. The simplified approach
assumes two distinct phases of drying - the 'constant' and falling rate periods, Fig. 0-4.
97
Fig. 0-4: Ideal drying and drying rates.
In the constant rate the surface of the food remains wet and it can therefore be spoiled by
moulds and bacteria. In the falling rate the surface is dry and the risk of spoilage is much
smaller. The food should therefore be dried to a weight that corresponds to the end of the
constant rate period as quickly as possible (however see 'case hardening' below).
Drying rate can be calculated for each 10 minute period as follows:
Drying rate
initial weight - final weight

[g/s], [kg/hr]
time interval (eg 10 minutes)
The moisture content of both the fresh food and the final dried food can be found by weighing
the food, heating at 100C in an oven for 24 hours and reweighing. The moisture content x
(%wb) is found as follows:
x
initial weight - final weight

100 %wb
initial weight
Other values of moisture content during the drying period can be found by relating these two
results to the weights of food recorded during the drying experiment and applying similar
factors to intermediate weights. Fig. 0-4 gives two important pieces of information:
1. The actual drying rate during the constant rate period which shows how efficient the
drier is.
2. The final moisture content of the dried food which shows whether it will be stable
during storage.
Typically, a drying rate of 0.25 kg/hr would be expected for solar driers depending on the
design and climate, and 10-15 kg/hr for artificial driers.
If the drying rate is lower than this, the air temperature or speed is too low and/or the RH is
too high. This can be checked by the temperature measurements made during the
experiment and by using the psychrometric chart. Normally the air in the drier should be 10-
98
15 C above room temperature in solar driers and 60-70 C in artificial driers. The RH of air
entering the drier will vary according to local conditions, but should ideally be below about 60
% RH.
Grains are hydroscopic and will lose or gain moisture until equilibrium is reached with the
surrounding air. The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is dependent on the relative
humidity and the temperature of the air; EMCs for a range of grains are shown in Table 0-1.
Table 0-1: Grain Equilibrium Moisture Contents3 (BROOKER et.al., 1974)
Grain
30
Barley
Shelled Maize
Paddy
Milled Rice
Sorghum
Wheat
8.5
8.3
7.9
9.0
8.6
8.6
Relative Humidity (%)

40
50
60
70
80
90
Equilibrium Moisture Content xe [%wb] at 25 C
9.7
10.8
12.1
13.5
15.8
19.5
9.8
11.2
12.9
14.0
15.6
19.5
9.4
10.8
12.2
13.4
14.8
16.7
10.3
11.5
12.6
12.8
15.4
18.1
9.8
11.0
12.0
13.8
15.8
18.8
9.7
10.9
11.9
13.6
15.7
19.7
100
26.8
26.8
/
23.6
21.9
25.6
It is very important to appreciate the practical significance of the EMC. Under no

circumstances is it possible to dry to a moisture content lower than the EMC associated with
the temperature and humidity of the drying air; for example, the data in Table 0-1 show that
paddy can only dry to a moisture content of 16.7% when exposed to air at 25C and 90%
relative humidity. If paddy at moisture content less than 16.7% is required then either the
temperature of the drying air has to be increased or its humidity reduced.
The drying of grains in thin layers where each and every kernel is fully exposed to the drying
air can be represented in the form:
MR = f(T, RH, t)
Equ. (1)
where
MR
X
Xi
Xe
(the moisture ratio);
Xe
Equ. (2)
X is the moisture content of the grain at any level and at any time [%db];
Xe is the equilibrium moisture content [%db];
Xi is the initial moisture content of the wet grain [%db];
T is the air temperature (C);
RH is the air relative humidity (%); and
t is the drying time (s).
Empirical data have been used to determine mathematical approximations of the relationship
between drying rate and air conditions. Relationships for many grains have been
summarized by Brook & Foster (1981). For example, a thin layer equation for paddy (Teter
1987) is:
B
MR = exp (-A * t )
Equ. (3)
Brooker D B. Bakker-Arkema F W and Hall C W (1974). Drying Cereal Grains. Westport: Avi Publishing Co. Inc.
265 pp.
99
Where
A = 0.026 - 0.0045 RH + 0.01215 T; and
B = 0.013362 + 0.194 RH - 0.000177 RH2 + 0.009468 T,
with RH expressed as a percentage, and T in C.
In the drying of grain in a deep bed, whilst individual kernels may all be losing moisture at
different rates, the overall drying rate will remain constant for a long period. The air absorbs
moisture as it moves through the bed until it becomes effectively saturated and moves
through the remaining layers of grain without effecting further drying.
Fig. 0-5: Drying zone in fixed-bed drying.[9]
Fig. 0-5 shows the three zones present within a thick drying bed at an intermediate time
within the drying operation. Drying takes place within a discrete zone, the size of which
depends on the moisture content of the grain and the temperature, humidity and velocity of
the air. Below the drying zone is the dried zone where the grain is in equilibrium with the air.
Above the drying zone is the un-dried zone wherein the grain remains unchanged from its
initial condition. In a shallow bed as in Fig. 0-5 B the drying zone is thicker than the bed
depth and drying would occur initially throughout the bed.
The change in temperature and humidity of air as it moves through a bed of grain depends
on the rate at which moisture is being evaporated from each kernel as an individually
exposed element. Knowledge of the effect of grain moisture content, other grain properties,
the temperature, humidity and flow rate of the air upon fully exposed kernels is essential to
an understanding of how drying would proceed within a bed.
Unfortunately no theory has been developed that accurately and practically describes the
thin layer drying rate. As described above many empirical relationships have been
established and these have to be used in prediction of drying time (see below). Accurate
prediction of drying time is further inhibited by the variability of key factors encountered in
practice, particularly so for the simple drying systems that are the most appropriate for use in
developing countries. For example the moisture content of individual grains is likely to vary
considerably within a batch and in the case of drying with a heater of constant heat output
the temperature of the drying air will vary with changes in ambient air temperature.
100
Estimation of Drying Time

A basic design procedure for the field worker is best illustrated for the design of a batch type
dryer, although the principles can be applied to a certain extent in the design of continuous
multi-stage systems.
Assumed ambient air conditions are a dry bulb temperature of TA and a relative humidity of
RHA; from the psychrometric chart the wet bulb temperature, TA,W, the enthalpy, HA, and the
absolute humidity xA can be derived. The air is heated to a selected safe drying temperature,
TB, thereby raising the enthalpy of the air to xB.
The wet grain of equivalent bone-dry mass mG has a moisture content of XW [%db] and is to
be dried to a moisture content of XD [%db]. A mass air flow of V is available.
The moisture, mW, to be removed,
mW = mG * (Xi XD)
Equ. (4)
It is assumed that throughout the drying period the air will exhaust from the bed at a constant
wet bulb temperature and in equilibrium with the uppermost layers of grain. Initially the
exhaust air will be in equilibrium with grain at Xi moisture and finally in equilibrium with grain
at Xe moisture. By superimposing equilibrium moisture content data on to the psychrometric
chart for the initial and final moisture contents the humidity of the exhaust air at the beginning
and end of drying can be found. An average of the initial and final exhaust air relative
humidities, RHi,e is taken for calculation of drying time, tD:
tD
mW
V (RH e RHi,e )
More rigorous approaches to the design of drying systems have been developed. These
include the methods based on thin layer drying equations described by Brook & Foster
(1981) and Brooker et al. (1974). Many of these have been developed into sophisticated
simulation techniques (Brooker et al. 1974).
Drying Efficiency
The efficiency of the drying operation is an important factor in the assessment and selection
of the optimum dryer for a particular task. There are three groups of factors affecting drying
efficiency:
those related to the environment, in particular, ambient air conditions;
those specific to the crop;
those specific to the design and operation of the dryer.
There are several different ways of expressing the efficiency of drying, of which the sensible
heat utilization efficiency (SHUE), the fuel efficiency, and the drying efficiency are the most
useful.
The SHUE takes into account the sensible heat attributable to the condition of the ambient
air and any heat added to the air by the fan as well as the heat supplied by combustion of the
fuel. It is defined as:
SHUE
Heat Utilized for Moisture Re moval

Total Sensible Heat in the Drying Air
101
The fuel efficiency is based only on the heat available from the fuel:
Fuel Efficiency

Heat Supplied from Fuel
It can be appreciated that the fuel efficiency would be significantly different for the operation
of the same dryer at two locations with widely different ambient conditions. With low
temperature drying, particularly in dry climates, the heat supplied from the fuel may be less
than half of the total sensible heat and the fuel efficiency may exceed 100%. Direct
comparison of the performance of dryers at separate locations is not possible using the fuel
efficiency.
The drying efficiency, defined as:
Drying Efficiency

Heat Available for Moistrue Re moval
is the expression to be used for evaluation of dryer designs or comparison between dryers,
since it is a measurement of the degree of utilization of the sensible heat in the drying air.
Foster (1973) evaluated the fuel and drying efficiencies of several types of dryers used with
maize. Over a wide range of conditions, continuous-flow dryers were found to have a fuel
efficiency of 38% and a drying efficiency of 51%, batch dryers 42% and 58%, dryeration 61%
and 78%, and two-stage drying, 60% and 79%, respectively.
Physical Properties of Grain

Comprehensive data on the numerous physical and thermal properties of grain are available
in texts such as Brooker et al. (1974) and Brook & Foster (1981).
Bulk Density
The bulk density of grain is the weight per unit volume. Moisture content has an appreciable
effect on the bulk density.
Resistance to Air Flow

The energy required to force air through a bed of grain is dependent on the air flow, the grain
depth and physical properties of the grain such as surface and shape factors, the kernel size
distribution, moisture content, and the quantity and nature of contamination, stones, straw,
weeds etc.
The relation between air flow and the pressure drop generated across the bed for selected
grains is illustrated in Fig. 0-6. The data generally refer to clean and dry grain and correction
factors of up to 1.4 are used for very wet and dirty grain (Teter 1987).
102
Fig. 0-6: Resistance of Grains and Seeds to Air Flow.[9]
Effect of Drying on Grain Quality

The drying operation must not be considered as merely the removal of moisture since there
are many quality factors that can be adversely affected by incorrect selection of drying
conditions and equipment. The desirable properties of high-quality grains include:
low and uniform moisture content;
minimal proportion of broken and damaged grains;
low susceptibility to subsequent breakage;
high viability;
low mould counts;
high nutritive value;
consumer acceptability of appearance and organoleptic properties.
Moisture Content
It is essential that the grain after drying is at a moisture content suitable for storage. As
discussed the desired moisture content will depend on the type of grain, duration of storage,
and the storage conditions available. It is also important that the drying operation is carried
out to minimize the range of moisture levels in a batch of dried grain. Portions of under-dried
grain can lead to heating and deterioration.
Stress Cracking and Broken Grains

Drying with heated air or excessive exposure to sun can raise the internal kernel
temperature to such a level that the endosperm cracks. The extent of stress cracking is
related to the rate of drying. Rapid cooling of grain can also contribute to stress crack
development.
103
Nutritive Value
Grain constituents such as proteins, sugars and gluten may be adversely affected when the
grain attains excessive temperatures. The feeding value of grains can be lowered if
inadequately dried.
Grain Viability
Seed grain requires a high proportion of individual grains with germination properties. The
viability of grain is directly linked to the temperature attained by grains during drying
(Kreyger 1972).
Case hardening
Case hardening is the formation of a hard skin on the surface of fruits, fish and some other
foods which slows the rate of drying and may allow mould growth. It is caused by drying too
quickly during the initial (constant rate) period and can be prevented by using cooler drying
air.
Mould Growth
Many changes in grain quality are linked to the growth of moulds and other microorganisms.
The rate of development of microorganism is dependent on the grain moisture content, grain
temperature, and the degree of physical damage to individual grains. Mould growth causes
damage to individual grains resulting in a reduction in value. Under certain circumstances
mycotoxin development can be a particular hazard.
Appearance and Organoleptic Properties

The colour and appearance as perceived by the customer and/or consumer. For example,
the colour of milled rice can be adversely affected if the paddy is dried with direct heated
dryers with poorly maintained or operated burners or furnaces.
Food preparation and treatment

The colour of many fruits can be preserved by dipping in a solution of 0.2-0.5% sodium
metabisulphite or by exposing to sulphur dioxide in a sulphuring cabinet, Fig. 0-7.
Vitamin losses are often greater during peeling/slicing etc than during drying. Loss of fat
soluble vitamins can be reduced by shade drying and loss of water soluble vitamins by
careful slicing using sharp knives. Blanching of vegetables is necessary before drying and
water soluble vitamins are also lost in this stage. It should be noted that dried food does not
destroy micro-organisms and only inhibits their growth.
So heavily contaminated fresh food will become heavily contaminated dried and rehydrated
food. Blanching is one method of reducing the levels of initial contamination. Thorough
washing of fresh foods should be done routinely before drying.
104
Fig. 0-7: Sulphuring Cabinet.
The stability of a dried food during storage depends on its moisture content and the ease
with which the food can pick up moisture from the air. Clearly the risk of moisture pick up is
greater in regions of high humidity. However, different foods pick up moisture to different
extents (compare for example the effect of high humidity on salt or sugar with the effect on
pepper powder -salt and sugar pick up moisture, pepper doesn't).
For foods that readily pick up moisture it is necessary to package them in a moisture proof
material.
Low moisture content is only an indication of food stability and not a guarantee. It is the
availability of moisture for microbial growth that is more important and the term 'Water
Activity' (AW) is used to describe this. Water Activity varies from 0-1.00 and the lower the
value the more difficult it is for micro-organisms to grow on a food.
Examples of moisture contents and AW values for selected foods and their packaging
requirements are shown in Table 0-2.
Table 0-2: Food type characteristics and packaging requirements.
Food
Fresh meat
Bread
Rice
Wheat flour
Raisins
Nuts
Spices
Dried vegetables
Moisture
Content %
70
40
15-17
14.5
27
18
5-8
5
Water activity
Degree of protection required
0.985
0.96
0.80
0.72
0.60
0.65
0.50
0.20
Package to prevent moisture

loss
Minimum protection or no
packaging required
Package to prevent moisture
uptake
105
Glossary of Terms [10]

AC (Alternating Current): Electric current in which the direction of the flow is reversed at
frequent intervals, 100 times per second in the Philippines (50 cycles per second). The
current coming from household electric sockets is normally of this type.
B.t.u.: British thermal unit
Biomass briquetting: Making compressed blocks from loose biomass materials, e.g.
ricehusk, saw dust etc.
Biomass: Matter constituting and originating from living beings.
British thermal unit (BTU): The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1
pound of water at its maximum density, 1F.
C. wt.: Current weight
C.O.D. Wt.: Calculated ovendry weight
Casehardening: A condition of stress and set in dry wood in which the outer fibers are under
compressive stress and the inner fibers under tensile stress, the stresses persisting when the
wood is uniformly dry.
Commercial energy: Literally, energy traded in the market for a monetary price, usually
conventional energy, such as coal or oil, but also wood energy, which is traded in urban and
semi-urban areas in many developing countries. Often used to refer to conventional fuels,
such as coal, gas and electricity, thus ignoring commercially traded woodfuels. The term
non-commercial energy is often used to refer to biomass energy, ignoring the commercial
trade of woodfuels and other biomass fuels.
Conditioning: In kiln drying, a process for relieving the stresses present in the wood at the
end of drying. Consists of subjecting the stock while still in the kiln to a fairly high dry-bulb
temperature and an eqilibrium moisture content condition 3 to 4 percent above the desired
average moisture content for the stock. The process should be of sufficient duration to
eliminate casehardening through the reduction of compression and tension sets.
Conventional energy: Fossil-based fuels, such as oil, coal, natural gas and their
derivatives, for which large-scale mechanism for exploration, conversion and distribution
exist.
D.B.: Dry bulb
DC (Direct Current): Electricity that flows continuously in one direction as contrasted with
alternating current (AC). DC is required by many electronic devices; batteries and solar cells
produce DC.
Decay: The softening, weakening, or total decomposition of produce substance by fungi.
Depression, wet-bulb: The difference between the dry- and wet-bulb temperatures.
Diffusion: Spontaneous movement of water through produce from points of high
concentration to points of low concentration.
Diffusivity: The measure of rate of moisture movement through produce as a result of
differences in moisture content.
Discoloration: Change in the colour of produce due to fungal and chemical stains,
weathering, or heat treatment.
Dry kiln: A room, chamber, or tunnel in which the temperature and relative humidity of air
circulated through parcels of lumber, veneer, and other wood products can be controlled to
govern drying conditions.
Dryer: Air moving and directing equipment used to accelerate the air drying of produce.
Drying rates: The loss of moisture from lumber or other wood products per unit of time.
Generally expressed in percentage of moisture content lost per hour or per day.
Drying record: A daily or weekly tabulation of dryer or kiln operation including sample
weight, MC, and temperature readings or recorder-controller charts.
Drying: The process of removing moisture from produce.
EMC: Equilibrium moisture content
Equalization and conditioning: In kiln drying the process of increasing the equilibrium
moisture content condition in the final stages of drying lumber and other mill products to-(l)
106
reduce the moisture content range between boards, (2) flatten the moisture content gradient
within boards, and (3) relieve drying stresses. Usually equalization and conditioning are two
separate stages in final kiln drying.
Equilibrium moisture content: The moisture content at which wood neither gains nor loses
moisture when surrounded by air at a given relative humidity and temperature. EMC is
frequently used to indicate potential of an atmosphere to bring wood to a specific MC during
a drying operation.
F.S.P.: Fibre saturation point
Free water: In wood technology, water that is held in the lumens or the grosser capillary
structure of the wood.
Fungi: Low forms of plants consisting mostly of microscopic threads (hyphae) that traverse
wood in all directions, dissolving materials out of the cell walls that they use for their own
growth.
G. Wt.: Green weight
Greenhouse Effect (relating to buildings): The characteristic tendency of some materials
(such as glass) to transmit radiation of relatively short wavelengths (for example, sunlight)
and block radiation of longer wavelengths (for example, radiation emitted by objects at
relatively low temperatures) causing an accumulation of heat within the space enclosed by
such a material.
Greenhouse Effect (relating to climate): The warming of the earth due accumulation of
certain trace gases (the so-called greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere.
Hardwoods: Generally one of the botanical groups of trees that have broad leaves in
contrast to the conifers or softwoods. The term has no reference to the actual hardness of
the wood.
High temperature dryers: High temperature dryers are necessary when very fast drying is
desired. They are usually employed when the products require a short exposure to the drying
air. Their operating temperatures are such that, if the drying air remains in contact with the
product until equilibrium moisture content is reached, serious over drying will occur. Thus,
the products are only dried to the required moisture contents and later cooled. High
temperature dryers are usually classified into batch dryers and continuous flow dryers. In
batch dryers, the products are dried in a bin and subsequently moved to storage. Thus, they
are usually known as batch-in-bin dryers. Continuous-flow dryers are heated columns
through which the product flows under gravity and is exposed to heated air while descending.
Because of the temperature ranges prevalent in high temperature dryers, most known
designs are electricity or fossil-fuel powered. Only a very few practically-realised designs of
high temperature drying systems are solar-energy heated.[11] In kiln drying wood, use of drybulb temperatures of 212F or more.
Humidity: The moisture content of air.
Hybrid System: An energy system that does not rely on only one source of energy, for
example, wind- diesel, PV-diesel, wind-PV-diesel etc.
Hygroscopicity: The property of a stance, such as wood, which permit absorb and lose
moisture readily.
Insolation: The intensity of solar radiation that strikes a surface, usually expressed as watts
per square meter.
kgoe (kilogram of oil equivalent): A unit of energy, 1 kgoe 12.82 kWh
Kiln: A chamber or tunnel used for drying and conditioning lumber, veneer, and other lood
products in which the temperature and relative humidity of the circulated can be varied.
kW (kilowatt): A unit of power - one thousand watts.
kWh (kilowatt-hour ): A unit of energy (power expressed in kW multiplied by time expressed
in hours).
Losses, drying: In. drying products, the reduction in volume and grade quality that can be
attributed to the drying process.
Low temperature dryers: In low temperature drying systems, the moisture content of the
product is usually brought in equilibrium with the drying air by constant ventilation. Thus, they
do tolerate intermittent or variable heat input. Low temperature drying enables crops to be
dried in bulk and is most suited also for long term storage systems. Thus, they are usually
107
known as bulk or storage dryers. Their ability to accommodate intermittent heat input makes
low temperature drying most appropriate for solar-energy applications. Thus, some
conventional dryers and most practically-realised designs of solar-energy dryers are of the
low temperature type.[11]
Lumber: The product of the sawmill and planing mill not further manufactured than by
sawing, resawing, passing lengthwise through a standard planing machine' cross cutting to
length,
and
matching.
Boards: Yard lumber less than 2 inches thick and 1 or more 2 inches wide:
Common lumber: A classification of medium and low-grade hardwood lumber and/or
softwood lumber suitable for general construction and manufacturing but not suitable for
finish
grade.
Dimension lumber: As applied to hardwood lumber, a term loosely used but generally
referring to small squares or pieces of rectangular cross section used for furniture and like
purposes
(small
dimension).
Dressed lumber: The dimensions of lumber after drying and surfacing with a plaining
machine.
Finish lumber: A collective term for upper grades of lumber suitable for natural or stained
finishes.
Flooring lumber: Generally, a grade of either hardwood or softwood boards that have been
found to produce maximum quantity of flooring of the desired quality.
Nominal size: As applied to timber or lumber, the size other than the actual size, by which it
is
known
and
sold
in
the
market.
Rough
lumber:
Lumber
as
it
comes
from
the
saw.
Structural lumber: Lumber that is nominally 2 or more inches thick and nominally 4 or more
inches wide, intended for use where working stresses are required. The grading of structural
lumber is based on the strength of the piece and the use of the entire piece, e.g., stud, joist,
beam,
plank,
girder,
rafters,
franiing,
etc.
Yard lumber: Lumber of all sizes and patterns that is intended for general building purposes.
The grading of yard lumber is based on the intended use of the particular grade and is
applied to each piece with reference to its size and length when graded, without
consideration
to
further
manufacture.
Moisture content: The amount of water contained in the wood, usually expressed as a
percentage
of
the
weight
of
the
ovendry
wood.
Average moisture content: The moisture content, in percent, of a single section
representative of a larger piec6 of wood or the average of all the moisture content
determinations made on a board or other wood item or of a number of determinations made
on
a
lot
of
lumber
or
other
wood
products.
Final moisture content: The average moisture content of the lumber or other wood product
at the end of the drying process. Initial moisture content. The moisture content of the wood at
the
start
of
the
drying
process.
In-use moisture content: The moisture content that wood items attain in the environmental
conditions
of
usage.
Range: The difference in moisture content between the driest and wettest boards in a
shipment, lot, kiln charge, etc., or between representative samples of the lot.
Moisture gradient: In lumber drying, the distribution in moisture content within the wood.
During drying, the differences are between the low moisture content of the relatively dry
surface layers and the higher moisture content at the center of the piece.
M.C.: Moisture content
Mould: A fungus growth on lumber or other wood products at or near the surface and,
therefore, not typically resulting in deep discolorations. Mold is usually ash green to deep
green in colour, although black and yellow are common.
MW (Megawatt): A unit of power - one million watts.
MWh (Megawatt-hour): A unit of energy - one megawatt of power for a period of one hour.
Natural convection: Flow of currents of a gas (or liquid) in a space due to the existence of
temperature differences. Hot gas (or liquid) has a lower density and therefore moves up
while colder gas (or liquid) moves down.
108
O.D. Wt.: Ovendry weight
Permeability: The ease with which a fluid flows through a porous material (wood) in
response to pressure.
Pile: In air drying, stacking lumber layer by layer, separated by stickers or self stickering, on
a supporting foundation (hand stacked). Also, stickered unit packages by lift truck or crane,
one above the other on a :foundation and separated by bolsters.
Pre-drying: A wood drying process carried out in special equipment before kiln drying.
Primary energy: Energy form as it is available in nature.
Pyrolysis: Thermo-chemical conversion process that occurs when biomass is heated in the
absence of air. The process breaks down biomass into a complex mixture of liquids, gases,
and a residual char. If wood is used as the feedstock, the residual char is what is commonly
known as charcoal.
R.H.: Relative humidity
Radiation: Transfer of energy across open space in the form of electromagnetic waves such
as light.
Recorder-controller: An instrument that continuously records dry- and wet-bulb
temperatures of circulated air and regulates these temperatures in a dryer or kiln by
activating automatic heat and steam spray valves.
Relative humidity: Under ordinary temperatures and pressures, it is the ratio of the weight
of water vapour in a given unit of air compared with the weight which the same unit of air is
capable of containing when fully saturated at the same temperature. More generally, it is the
ratio of the vapour pressure of water in a given space compared with the vapour pressure at
saturation for the same dry bulb temperature.
Renewable energy: Any form of primary energy, for which the source is not depleted by use.
Wind and solar are always renewable, biomass can be renewable if its consumption is
matched by re-growth. Non-renewable energy refers to any form of primary energy, the
supply of which is finite and hence its use depletes the existing stock. It generally refers to
fossil fuels.
Softwood: Generally, one of the botanical groups of trees that, in most cases, have
needlelike or scalelike leaves; the conifers; also, the wood produced by such trees. The term
has no reference to the actual hardness of the wood.
Solar Collector: A system that absorbs solar radiation in order to heat a medium.
Sp. gr.: Specific gravity.
Storage.: Bulk or stickered piling of air- or kiln-dried wood products with protection from the
weather in accordance with the desired level of moisture content; protection might be
tarpaulins, or open, closed, or closed and heated sheds.
Sun shields.: In air drying, plywood panels, boards, or some other type of shield placed to
protect the ends of piles from direct sun. The purpose is to retard end drying, thus minimize
end-checking and end-splitting.
Temperature: May be defined as the condition of a body which determines the transfer of
heat to or from other bodies; it is a measure of the thermal potential of a body.
Dry-bulb temperature: Temperature of air in a yard or drying apparatus indicated by any
temperature-measuring device with its sensitive element or bulb uncovered.
Mean monthly temperature: In air drying, the average dry-bulb temperature over a period
of
a
month.
Usually
obtained
from
Weather
Service
records.
Wet-bulb temperature: The temperature indicated by any temperature-measuring device
the sensitive element of which is covered by a water-saturated cloth (wet-bulb wick).
Vapour barrier: In kiln drying, a material with a high resistance to vapour movement that is
applied to dry kiln surfaces to prevent moisture migration.
Vent: In kiln drying, an opening in the kiln roof or wall that can be opened and closed to
control the wet-bulb temperature within the kiln.
W (watts): SI unit of power. Symbol is W. Multiples like kilowatts (1 kW = 1000 W) or
megawatts (1 MW =1000,000 W) are also used.
W.B.: Wet bulb
W.B.D.: Wet bulb depression
109
Wood: The tissues of the stem, branches, roots of a woody plant lying between the pith and
cambium, serving for water conduction, mechanical strength, and food storage, and
characterized by the presence of tracheas or vessels.
Wp (peak-watts): Unit of the capacity of PV modules. PV modules are rated by their peak
power output. The peak power is the amount of power output a PV module produces at
Standard Test Conditions (STC) defined as module operating temperature of 25 C in full
sunshine (irradiance) of 1000 W/m This is a clear summer day with sun approximately
overhead and the cells faced directly towards the sun. Multiples: peak-kilowatts (1 kWp=1000
Wp), peak Megawatts (1 MWp=106 Wp)
Wt.: Weight
110
References of the Appendix

[1] BUX, M., MHLBAUER, W., BAUER, K., KHLER, B.: Solar crop drying in developing
countries, Berne, (2002).
[2] ITDG: Cocoa and Chocolate, http://itdg.org, Technical Brief
[3] EKECHUKWU, O.V.: Experimental studies of integral-type natural-circulation solarenergy tropical crop dryers, Ph.D. (1987).
[4] BRENNDORFER, B., KENNEDY, L., BATEMAN, C.O.O., MREMA, G.C., WEREKOBROBBY, C.: Solar dryers- their role in post harvest processing., London, (1985).
[5] INTERNATIONAL-LABOUR-ORGANISATION: Solar drying: practical methods of food
preservation, Geneva, (1986).
[6] VANDERHULST, P., LANSER, H., BERGMEYER, P., FOETH, F., ALBERS, R.: Solar
Energy - Small scale applications in developing countries, Amsterdam, (1990).
[7] SHILTON, N.: Food Process Engineering - Drying,
http://www.ucd.ie/food/html/homepage/newdrying.doc,
[8] DRAXLER, J.: Thermische Verfahrenstechnik, Skriptum zur Vorlesung pp (2002).
[10] Technology, D.o.W.S.: Wood Anatomy Lab-Glossary, Kyungpook National University,
http://bh.kyungpook.ac.kr/~sjpark/st3-2-9.htm, (n.y.).
[11] EKECHUKWU, O.V.a.N.B.: Review of solar-energy drying systems II: an overview of
solar drying technology, Energy Conversion & Management 40 pp 615-655,
Pergamon (1999).
[12] IEA, Solar Heating and Cooling Programme: Potential for Solar Drying in the World,
October 1998
Internet Sources
Expert consultation on planning the development of sundrying techniques in Africa
http://www.fao.org/inpho/vlibrary/x0018e/X0018E00.htm
Grain storage techniques
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1838e/T1838E00.htm
Fruit and vegetable processing
http://www.fao.org/docrep/V5030E/V5030E00.htm
Compendium on Post-harvest Operations
http://www.fao.org/inpho/compend/toc_main.htm
The United Nations University Press, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, Volume 7, Number 1,
March 1985
http://www.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F071e/8F071E00.htm

Solar Drying

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SOLAR DRYING

Solar radiation the energy source for solar drying ............................................. 7

Sun drying versus solar drying ............................................................................. 9

Processes during sun drying ............................................................................................... 10

Classification of solar dryers............................................................................... 13

Non-technical aspects ........................................................................................ 38

Applications and experiences ............................................................................. 42

TFNC Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre

mass flow rate, kg/h, kg/s

2 Solar radiation the energy source for solar drying

800 1000 W/m

Fig. 2: Solar constant and global irradiation

2.1 Global radiation

164.9 139.7 100.6

141.4 151.0 154.8 163.7 154.0 164.4

179.8 169.4 179.8

147.2 187.6 169.5 182.9 165.0 178.2

175.1 147.8 163.2

145.8 165.3 178.2 190.3 172.2 172.3

Fig. 3: Yearly average sums of global irradiation

G lo b a l S o la r R a d ia tio n fo r d iffe re n t L o c a tio n s

Fig. 4: Average monthly values of global solar radiation on a horizontal surface

3 Sun drying versus solar drying

3.1.1 Processes during sun drying

Fig. 5: Heat flow influencing sun drying [7]

Fig. 6: Mass flow influencing sun drying [7]

3.1.2 Processes during solar drying

Fig. 7: Solar rice dryer [6]

Moisture absorption capability

4 Classification of solar dryers

Fig. 8: Classification of solar dryers. [6]

4.1 Passive solar dryers

4.1.1 Tent dryers

4.1.2 Box dryers

Fig. 10: Box dryer [6]

4.1.3 Seesaw dryer

Fig. 11: Seesaw dryer [10]

Fig. 12: Seesaw dryer at the DTC, University of Zimbabwe

4.1.4 Cabinet solar dryers

Fig. 14: Loading of a cabinet dryer (Harare, Zimbabwe)

Fig. 15: Solar cabinet dryer with natural convection

Density of the air (kg/m3) (Drop in density, in brackets)

4.2 Active solar cabinet dryers

4.2.1 Active ventilated cabinet solar dryers

Fig. 20: PV-powered solar vegetable and fruit dryer (Zimbabwe)

Fig. 21: The fan is powered by a 6 W PV-panel.

4.2.2 Cabinet dryers with back-up heating

4.2.2.1 Natural convection dryer with additional biomass back-up heater

Fig. 24: Cross section through biomass burner. [15]

4.2.2.2 Hybrid IAE-type-solar-biomass dryer

Capacity per batch

4.3 Greenhouse dryers

4.3.1 Natural convection greenhouse dryer

Fig. 26: Natural convection glass roof greenhouse dryer.[6]

Fig. 27: Natural convection greenhouse dryer with chimney [6]

4.3.2 Greenhouse dryer with forced ventilation

Fig. 28: Greenhouse dryer with forced ventilation.[6]

4.3.3 Continuous production greenhouse drying

Fig. 30: Different views of the Tunnel Greenhouse Dryer. [32]