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Energy
EnergyProcedia
Procedia160 (2019) 000–000
00 (2017) 769–776
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018, 13–15 December 2018,
2nd International Conference on Energy and
Sydney, Power, ICEP2018, 13–15 December 2018,
Australia
Sydney, Australia
Effect of cover design on moisture removal rate of a cabinet type
Effect of cover The 15thdesign
Internationalon moisture
Symposium on removal rate of
District Heating andaCooling
cabinet type
solar dryer for food drying application
solar dryer for food drying application
Assessing
Majedul Islam the
a,b* feasibility ofa using the heat
, Md Imrul Islama, Mehedi Tusaraa, Amir demand-outdoor
Hamza Limonaa
temperature
a
Majedul Islam function
a,b*
, Md for Imrula Islam
long-term , Mehedidistrict heatHamza
Tusar , Amir demand Limon forecast
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Chittagong-4349, Bangladesh
School
b a
of Chemistry
Department Physics and
of Mechanical Mechanical
Engineering, Engineering,
Chittagong Scienceofand
University Engineering
Engineering andFaculty, Queensland
Technology (CUET),University of Technology
Chittagong-4349, (QUT),
Bangladesh
a,b,c and Mechanical2 aGeorge a b Faculty, c of Technologyc(QUT),
I. Andrić
School of Chemistry Physics
b
*, A. Pina , P. Ferrão , J. Fournier ., B. Lacarrière , O. Le Corre
street, Brisbane
Engineering, Science CBD,
and QLD 4001,
Engineering Australia
Queensland University
2 George street, Brisbane CBD, QLD 4001, Australia
a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract b
Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
Abstract c
Département Systèmes Énergétiques et Environnement - IMT Atlantique, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, 44300 Nantes, France
The development and investigation of efficient solar drier, particularly meant for drying vegetables and fruit is described in this paper.
Considering
The developmentthe importance of solarofdrying
and investigation efficientthree different
solar types of natural
drier, particularly meantconvection
for drying cabinet
vegetablessolar dryers
and fruit isaredescribed
constructed andpaper.
in this their
performance the
Considering are importance
evaluated atofnatural conditions.
solar drying To do so types
three different moisture removal
of natural rate, moisture
convection cabinetratio
solarofdryers
variousarefoods (Apple,and
constructed Banana,
their
Abstract Guava)
pineapple,
performance are evaluated
are evaluated from 10AM
at natural conditions.to 4PM To for
do many days inremoval
so moisture differentrate,
season. After ratio
moisture analysing the moisture
of various removalBanana,
foods (Apple, rate of
three different
pineapple, Guava)chambers it is appeared
are evaluated from 10AM that total
to 4PMmoisture
for manyremoval
daysof in thin tube season.
different chimneyAftertypeanalysing
chamber is the44.5%,
moisturefor attic
removal space type
rate of
chamber
three
District moisture
different
heating removal
chambers
networksit isisare
33.3%
appeared and
commonly thatfortotal
natural draft
moisture
addressed chamber
in removal
the ofit thin
literature is 58.9%
astube inof6 the
onechimney hours.
type
mostSo,chamber
it is clear
effective from this
issolutions
44.5%, foranalysis
attic
for thattype
space
decreasing the
the
performance
chamber
greenhouse of natural
moisture
gas draftis
removal
emissions chamber
33.3%
from the andis best
building than
for natural other
sector. two
draft
These chambers
chamber
systems isand
it require performance
58.9% hours.ofSo,
in 6investments
high attic space
itwhich
is clear type
are fromchamber is worst.
this analysis
returned through theThis
that the
heat
issales.
due toDue
performance the toreflection
of natural loss in
draft
the changed inclinedis
chamber
climate glass
best than
conditions of attic
andspace
other two type
building dryer and
chambers
renovationcompared to other
performance
policies, of chambers.
heat attic
demand spaceinBesides,
type the performance
the chamber
future is worst.
could of
This
decrease,
chimney
is due to chamber
prolonging thethe is better
reflection
investmentlossthan attic
in inclined
return space
period. type
glass of chamber.
attic space It type
is also seencompared
dryer that moisture removal
to other rate after
chambers. 1pm isthe
Besides, higher than before
performance of
1pm
Theas
chimney solar
main irradiation
chamber
scope is this
of was
better than
paper higher to after
isattic space
assess 1 pm
typein
the best performance
chamber.
feasibility ofIt using
is alsothedays.
seen Besides,
that
heat moisture
moisture
demand removal
removal
– outdoor rate of
rate after
temperature Pineapple
1pm forisheat
is higher
function the highest
than before
demand
asforecast.
1pm water level
The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted ofrate
as solar and porosity
irradiation was is so
higher much
after high
1 pm and
in for
best guava is
performance the lowest
days. as water
Besides, level and
moisture porosity
removal is
rate low.
of Moisture
Pineapple removal
is the highest
665
of banana
as is higher than guava sobut lower thanandapple. guava is the lowest as water level and porosity is low. Moisture removal rate
buildings thatand
water level varyporosity
in bothis construction
much high periodfor and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
of banana is higher than guava but lower than apple.
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© compared
2019 The with results from a dynamic
Authors. heatLtd.demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
©
This2018 The
is an open accessPublished
Authors. Published
article under by
by Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.
the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
The isresults
This an open showed
accessthat when
article onlythe
under weather change is considered,
CC BY-NC-ND the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an and
Selection openpeer-review
access article underresponsibility
under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and
(the errorand
Selection in annual demand
peer-review under wasresponsibility
lower than 20% for scientific
of the all weather scenariosofconsidered).
committee However, Conference
the 2nd International after introducing
on Energyrenovation
and
Selection
Power,
Power, and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and
ICEP2018.
ICEP2018.
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
Power, ICEP2018.
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
Keywords: Solar drying; Thin tube chimney type dryer; Attic space type Dryer; Natural convection solar dryer; Moisture removal.
decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and
Keywords: Solar drying; Thin tube chimney type dryer; Attic space type Dryer; Natural convection solar dryer; Moisture removal.
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the
coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review
* under responsibility
Corresponding author. Tel.: of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
+61470699447.
Cooling.
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +61470699447.
E-mail address: murad99me@yahoo.com.
E-mail address: murad99me@yahoo.com.
Keywords:©Heat
1876-6102 2018demand; Forecast;
The Authors. Climatebychange
Published Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open
1876-6102 access
© 2018 Thearticle under
Authors. the CC BY-NC-ND
Published license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection
This is an and
openpeer-review under
access article responsibility
under of the scientific
the CC BY-NC-ND licensecommittee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018.
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018.
10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.181
770 Majedul Islam et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 769–776
2 Majedul Islam/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

1. Introduction

World’s population is increasing in a faster rate and demand of food is increasing as well. With the developments
of agricultural technology, production of food is expanding to meet the demand. Solar drying is one of the renewable
forms of food storage that can reduce processing cost for storage. However, it has some problem of product discoloration
in drying, might cause microbial infestation, and requires longer time for moisture removal, loss of product in the process.
Production of certain agricultural goods is higher in a particular season than demand but scarce in another season in
Bangladesh. As a result, price falls in production season but rises higher in scarce time. Peasants cannot store their
products due to lack of storage and high cost affiliated with it. So, food is wasted every year which might have been
utilized to serve the countries growing population. Similar things happen in our fisheries sector. But solar drying in open
environment which is naturally carried on. Besides solar energy is not available at night and its intensity fluctuates with
time. So, improvement in drying performance is necessary to reduce its drying time. For proper distribution of food
around the globe their need a proper food production, supply and storage management for favor of mankind. Every
year a huge amount of produced food is wasted due to proper storage of foods. This occurs for limited storage capacity,
high charge of storage, lower price of produced food, transportation problem. So, farmers make waste of the food
when it is loss for them. In developed countries they produce biofuel from the excess of produced food, but it is a
controversial fact as it effects human and animal food supply. Most of the developing countries are facing difficulty
in solving their food problems as their population are vastly increasing but food quality and quantity is deteriorating
due to inferior processing capability and storage shortage. During the production season of any food its quantity is
abundant so it’s more than demand and as a result price drop. So, farmers need to preserve food for a longer period to
supply it later when the foods are not available in the market. For proper circulation of food among the population,
reduction of the spare food losses during harvesting season is necessary [1]. There are many methods available for
preservation of food like canning, chemical treatment, moisture removal, refrigeration, controlled atmospheres use of
subatomic particles of which moisture removal is the tolerable approach providing solar radiation as the major energy
source[2]. Amin Ziafooughi et al. [3] presented an indirect solar assisted intermittent infrared dryer to investigate the
effective parameters in the drying system. But in this case high amount of electric energy is needed which might not
be afforded for the rural people of Bangladesh. Moisture removal is most suitable method for foods drying, which
have high moisture content, prone to microbial infestation. Different foods have maximum temperature and heating
rate limitation as drying is a slow energy consuming process otherwise its quality will be ruined [4-5]. Solar drying is
a promising alternative for food drying in Bangladesh, because mechanical drying is largely used in industrial countries
and is not applicable to little farms in developing countries due to high investment and operating costs. A mixed mode
type solar dryer consisting of dryer and collector was studied by Hossain et al. [6]. The dryer is composed of drying
chamber, drying tray, and vent and used for chilly drying. An energy analysis of solar drying of jackfruit in a solar
tunnel dryer was presented by Chowdhury et al [7]. Jackfruit was dried from an initial moisture content of about 76%
(w.b.) to 11.88% moisture content (w.b.). Kaewkiew et al. [8] studied the performance of a large-scale greenhouse
dryer to dry red chili in Thailand. They dried 500 kg of red chili using this dryer and reduced the moisture content
from 74% to 9% in 3 days. Use of solar energy is a viable solution for moisture removal. Drying foods using solar
energy are carried by open sun drying and solar drying. Products are directly subjected to sun in open sun drying. This
method is the cheapest and economical option for drying foods, but it is a labor intensive process, leads to
contamination of the food, requires larger area, slower drying rate and sudden exposure to rain, may result in
discoloration of the product, lead to microbial infestation and product loss due to contamination, animal or bird eating
[9-10]. Various types of open sun drying are specified based on the location, procedure of processing or the way solar
radiation is utilized. For these reasons solar drying is a feasible alternative which can provide clean, hygienic drying
of food maintaining national and international standards. Solar dryers can be classified according to their structure,
mode of solar energy collection, drying method (Fig. 1) [11]. In this study performance of three different types of
natural convection cabinet direct solar dryer chambers, i.e. thin tube chimney type chamber, attic space type chamber,
natural draft chamber, was evaluated. In direct solar dryers foods to be dried are placed in an enclosed chamber, with
a transparent cover over the chamber. Heat is generated by absorption of solar radiation on the product itself as well
as on the interiors of the drying chamber [12].
 Majedul Islam et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 769–776 771
Majedul Islam/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 3

Fig. 1. Classification of drying using solar energy.

Nomenclature

Wi initial weight of the sample

Wf final weight of the sample
M moisture content
Mo initial moisture content
Mt moisture content at t time
Me equilibrium moisture content
Mt+dt moisture content at t+dt time

2. Methodology

2.1 Experimental parameters

In the experiment some glass plates are used as shown in Fig. 2(a). The dimension of the glass is 18×8 inch2 in
each chamber and the thickness of glass is 3mm. Four pieces glass were used to cover three chambers. Porous and
fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woods (Fig. 2(b)) are used to make the main
structure. In the setup, it is performed as a support function. It also acts as a heat insulation and sealing member for
the experiment. Wood has low heat conductivity rate and strong member for supporting the heavy load. It is convenient
to use wood to make the base structure for the chamber. One weight measuring device shown in Fig. 2(c) was used to
measure the mass of the fruits before and after drying period to measure the moisture content.
a b c

Fig. 2. (a) Glass plate; (b) Wood; (c) Weight measuring device.
772 Majedul Islam et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 769–776
4 Majedul Islam/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

2.2 Experimental setup

These dryer setups are fabricated using Mahogany wood and conventional glass as shown in Fig. 3. It has a base
length and width of 28inch and 19inch. The base is supported in four 2×2inch columns made from Mahogany wood
and has a fixed inclination of 18.5ᵒ to capture maximum amount of solar radiation at the Chittagong latitude of
22.3475° N. The length and shape of the supporting columns are kept providing the desired inclination of base. These
experimental dryers are composed of three chambers (three different types of dryer) each having an internal dimension
of 18×8inch and separated by 1inch thick wall. The thin tube chimney type chamber has a hole of 1inch diameter in
the bottom where a flexible rubber pipe of 20feet length and 1-inch diameter is fitted. The pipe hangs from the rooftop
of a three storied building where solar cabinet dryer is placed and it acts as a chimney to provide natural draft. This
chimney type chamber is covered with 18×8inch glass panel (3 mm thick) and a hole of 1.5inch diameter is made in
the topside of the cover. Attic space type chamber has an attic shape provided by two glass covers both inclined at 50ᵒ
with the horizontal of 18×6inch and 18×8inch dimension. These two inclined glass pieces are surrounded with two
glass pieces which have a 1.5-inch hole on it. There is an open space above the cover for passing out hot air. Natural
convection cabinet is a solar dryer covered with 18×8-inch glass panel. It has two rectangular ventilation port
(15×1inch on the side for air in and 6×1inch for air out) to provide natural circulation of air across the chamber. Since
performance evaluation of these dryers is one of the main concerns so joints and contacts of wood and glass or rubber
is properly sealed.
a b

Fig. 3. Experimental Setup (a) Top view; (b) Side view.

2.3 Drying mechanism

In direct solar drying, fruits are placed inside a glazing roof box which has two openings (hot air exit and cold air
inlet). It can be called cabinet drying. Some part of solar radiation incident on the glass plate is reflected back to
surroundings. The rest part of solar radiation is transmitted into the chamber12. The only heating mechanism of these
dryers was solar energy. Irradiated solar energy transmitted from sun passes through transparent glass covers of these
dryers and is absorbed by the base and foods is shown in Fig. 4. So, the temperature of the surface of absorber and
food rises. It heats up the adjacent air enclosed in the dryer thus reduces its density. So, hot air rises in the upward
direction and leaves the chamber entraining moisture from food to be dried resulting in suction using another port in
the lower side. Since radiated energy from sun is absorbed in the dryer but cannot dissipate outside due to greenhouse
effect in the chamber, temperature in the dryer rises. So, air in the chamber is less dense. As, this dryer is placed in
the roof of a 3 storied building a pipe is used as chimney in dryer 1. The suspended inlet of the pipe is positioned in
cool place. So, air flows upward in the pipe due to the pressure difference between drying chamber and pipe inlet.
Since no other opening is provided in this chamber thus air flow is only due to pressure difference. In dryer 2 air enters
through the circular holes as shown in figure 2 and exits using the gap of two inclined glass plates. As air inlet size is
comparatively small wind velocity have minimum effect for this chamber. For dryer 3 air enters using the side opening
and exits using through upward opening. Dryer 3 has privilege of natural wind velocity as it has larger openings. Wind
velocity has a significant effect in moisture removal from food. In the dehydrating process food losses moisture to
adjacent air and air reaches equilibrium with food so moisture removal ceases.
 Majedul Islam et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 769–776 773
Majedul Islam/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 5

Fig. 4. Constructed dryer, (1) Thin tube chimney type dryer; (2) attic space type dryer; (3) natural convection type dryer; (4) chimney.

Circulating air breaks the equilibrium by carrying the adjacent air away and increase moisture removal rate. In
order to simplify the evaluation, heating source of this dryers was solar energy during day time (10am to 4 pm). The
objectives of the trials are:
• To evaluate moisture removal rate of different fruits i.e. apple, banana, guava, pineapple and moisture content at
different drying period.
• To evaluate drying rate of different fruits in different chamber at different drying time interval.
• To evaluate the performance of three different types of natural convection cabinet direct solar dryers chamber

3. Data Reduction

The dryer was constructed and tested in the rooftop of Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong
University of Engineering & Technology, Chittagong, (22.4600° N, 91.9710° E) Bangladesh. The performance of
these dryers was evaluated during July-August 2017. For these assessment, thirteen data were collected at these
intervals from which three data were chosen as follows: first day, highest performance day and last day. All the
experiments were done from 10 AM to 4 PM. Apple, Banana, Guava and Pineapple are chosen to compare the different
dryer performance and also to check their drying performance. Three pieces of each sample were placed in individual
compartments after weighing at 10 AM. At 1 PM and 4 PM the dehydrated samples were weighted again. From these
data percentage of moisture lost, drying rate, moisture ratio of Apple, Banana, Guava and Pineapple during drying
experiment in different chambers were calculated using the following equations:

Moisture removal rate (gm/gm)

𝑊𝑊𝑖𝑖 −𝑊𝑊𝑓𝑓
× 100 (1)
𝑊𝑊𝑖𝑖

Drying rate (gm water/gm dry matter. min)

𝑀𝑀𝑡𝑡 −𝑀𝑀𝑡𝑡+𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
(2)
𝑀𝑀×𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷×𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

Moisture ratio

𝑀𝑀−𝑀𝑀𝑒𝑒
(3)
𝑀𝑀𝑜𝑜 −𝑀𝑀𝑒𝑒

𝑀𝑀
The moisture ratio was simplified to of the equation 3[13].
𝑀𝑀𝑜𝑜
774 Majedul Islam et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 769–776
6 Majedul Islam/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

4. Results and Discussion

The data collection period was started 9th April 2017. Usually data was taken in sunny day for getting proper
moisture removal rate. Some data were avoided because of erroneous data collection technique at the beginning from
9th April 2017 to 23th May 2017. Then the data collecting technique was corrected and data was taken three times in
a day such as 10am, 1pm and 4pm. After analysing moisture removal rate of before 1pm and after 1pm the performance
of each chamber can be identified. Banana, pineapple, apple and guava were the food samples. In induced draft
chamber, the moisture removal rate of pineapple is 56% in which 21% moisture removal is occurred before 1pm and
35% moisture removal is happened after 1pm. Total moisture removal rate of Apple is 54.2% in this chamber in which
20.2% moisture removal is completed before 1pm and 34% moisture removal is occurred after 1pm. For banana
moisture removal rate is 46.8% in where 15.6% moisture removal is completed before 1pm and 31.2% moisture
removal is completed after 1pm.In this chamber, moisture removal rate of guava is 46.75% in which 17% moisture
removal is occurred before 1pm and 29.75% moisture removal is completed after 1pm. After analysing the moisture
removal rate of the samples of induced draft chamber it is seen that the moisture removal rate of pineapple is the
highest as water level in pineapple is highest among these four samples and it is 87% .Besides, for guava moisture
removal rate is lowest as water level of guava is lowest than other samples and it is around 58%.Moisture removal
rate of apple is lower than pineapple but higher than banana. 84% water is contained in apple and 74% water is existed
in banana. Besides, moisture removal rate of banana is higher than guava but lower than apple. It is also appeared that
total moisture removal rate of induced draft chamber is 44.5% in which 13.2% is occurred before 1pm and 31.3% is
completed after 1pm.

Fig. 5. Moisture removal rate of three different direct solar dryer.

After analysing the moisture removal rate of the samples of attic space type chamber it was also seen that the
moisture removal rate of pineapple is the highest as water level in pineapple is highest among these four samples and
it is 87%. Besides, for guava moisture removal rate is lowest as water level of guava is lowest than other samples.
Moisture removal rate of apple is lower than pineapple but higher than banana. Besides, moisture removal rate of
banana is higher than guava but lower than apple. It is also appeared that total moisture removal rate of attic space
type chamber is 33.3% in which 11.2% is occurred before 1pm and 22.1% is completed after 1pm. In natural draft
chamber, the moisture removal rate of pineapple is 66.33% in which 23.3% moisture removal is occurred before 1pm
and 43.03% moisture removal is happened after 1pm. Total moisture removal rate of Apple is 63.8% in this chamber
in which 22.4% moisture removal is completed before 1pm and 41.4% moisture removal is occurred after 1pm. For
banana moisture removal rate is 53.6% in where 19.8% moisture removal is completed before 1pm and 33.8%
moisture removal is completed after 1pm.In this chamber, moisture removal rate of guava is 54.75% in which 20.62%
moisture removal is occurred before 1pm and 34.13% moisture removal is completed after 1pm. After analysing the
moisture removal rate of the samples of natural draft chamber it is also appeared that the moisture removal rate of
pineapple is the highest as water level in pineapple is highest among these four samples. Besides, for guava moisture
removal rate is lowest as water level of guava is lowest than other samples and it is around 58%. Moisture removal
 Majedul Islam et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 769–776 775
Majedul Islam/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 7

rate of apple is lower than pineapple but higher than banana. Besides, moisture removal rate of banana is higher than
guava but lower than apple. It is also appeared that total moisture removal rate of natural draft chamber is 58.9% in
which 20.5% is occurred before 1pm and 38.4% is completed after 1pm. It is appeared that total moisture removal
rate of induced draft chamber is 44.5%, for attic space type chamber moisture removal rate is 33.3% and for natural
draft chamber it is 58.9%. So, it is cleared from this analysis that the performance of natural draft chamber is best than
other two chambers and performance of attic space type chamber is worst. Besides, the performance of induced draft
chamber is better than attic space type chamber. It is also seen that moisture removal rate before 1pm is lower than
after 1pm.Besides; moisture removal rate of pineapple is the highest as water level is so much high and for guava is
the lowest as water level is low. Moisture removal rate of apple is lower than pineapple but higher than banana.
Different fruits have different rate of moisture loss percentage in a day. As shown in Fig. 6 moisture loss rate of each
fruits is maximum in natural draft chamber and minimum at attic space type chamber in each of the three days.
Moisture loss percentage is minimum for pineapple as it contains maximum amount of water among these four items.
Moisture loss percentage is maximum for Guava as it contains less amount of water among these four items.

a b

c
d

Fig. 6. Moisture loss rate for (a) Apple; (b) Banana; (c) Pineapple; (d) Guava.

Fig.7(a) shows the drying rate of different fruits (Apple, Banana, Guava) in different chambers with time. First
drying rate analysed from 10am to 1pm and then 1pm to 4pm. It is seen from Fig.7 that drying rate is maximum in
natural draft chamber for all the sample. Because maximum air can be passed through natural draft chamber. Drying
rate is found maximum at 2nd period of drying time(1pm-4pm). Because temperature was keep rising from 10am and
become maximum at mid noon of those days. Drying rate of Apple is maximum as it contains highest level of water
and this rate is maximum between 1pm to 4 pm. Drying rate of guava is minimum as it contains lesser level of water.
Its drying rate is maximum between 1pm to 4pm. Drying rate of Banana is higher than Guava but lower than Apple
because it contains higher quantity of water than Guava but lower amount of water than Apple. Fig. 7(b) shows the
moisture ratio of different fruits (Apple, Banana, Guava) in two different times of 1pm and 4pm. Moisture ratio of the
samples was lower at 4pm and higher at 1 pm. Because moisture removal rate was increasing higher after 1 pm. Fig.8
indicates more moisture was removed during 1pm to 4pm instead of 10am to 1pm. As well as more convenient
chamber was natural draft chamber at which most moisture content was removed from those fruits. Attic type chamber
was found less efficient among the three chambers in which moisture ratio was higher for every sample. Induced draft
chamber was less efficient than natural type chamber but more efficient than attic type chamber.
776 Majedul Islam et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 769–776
8 Majedul Islam/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

a b

Moisture ratio
Fig. 7. (a) Drying rate of different fruits in different chambers with time; (b) moisture ratio of different fruits in different chamber.

5. Conclusion

In the study three different types of natural convection cabinet direct solar dryers chamber, i.e. induced draft chamber,
attic space type chamber, natural draft chamber, were used. Performance of natural draft chamber was the best and
attic space type chamber was the worst among three chambers. Because the total moisture removal rate of natural draft
chamber was 58.9% which was highest among the three chamber and 33.3% for the attic space type chamber which
was lowest among them. The performance of induced draft chamber was better than attic space type chamber with
total moisture removal rate of 44.5%. Moisture removal rate of pineapple was the highest and lowest for guava among
four samples. Moisture removal rate of apple was lower than pineapple but higher than banana. Besides, moisture
removal rate of banana was lower than apple but higher than guava. Drying rate after 1pm was higher than rate of
before 1pm. As natural draft chamber was a wooden chamber, so much cheap to make and performance is the best
among three chambers, so it can be told that natural draft chamber will be most effective for the coastal area of
Bangladesh.

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