COPRA DRYERS AND COPRA DRYING TECHNOLOGIES

by

Dr. Klaus Dippon1 and Engr. Rose VillarueP

ABSTRACT

T h is p a p e r b r ie f ly d is c u s s e s th e b a s ic p r in c i p le s o f d r y in g c o c o n u ts
f o llo w e d b y th e f in d in g s o f th e p e r f o r m a n c e e v a lu a tio n o n e x is tin g d r y e r s
( T a p a h a n D r y e r, M o d if ie d K u k u m D ry e r, U P L B D r y e r ) in th e P h ilip p in e s
a n d th e d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w c o c o n u t d r y e r s . T h e r e s u l t s r e f l e c t th e i r
p e r f o r m a n c e r e g a r d in g th e u n if o r m ity o f d ry in g , la b o r r e q u ir e m e n ts a n d th e
q u a lity p r o d u c e d . A s e rie s o f d r y in g tria ls w a s c a rr ie d o u t to d e te r m in e th e ir
m a in a d v a n ta g e s a n d d is a d v a n t a g e s . B a s e d o n th e r e s u l t s a n d a d d it i o n a l
i n f o r m a tio n o n th e p e r c e p tio n o n w h a t a c o c o n u t d r y e r s h o u ld b e , a s e t o f
c r ite r ia w a s e s ta b lis h e d . S in c e th e re w a s n o d r y e r a m o n g th e te s te d w h ic h
c o u ld m e e t th e s e c r ite r ia , a n e w in d ir e c t d r y e r a n d a s o la r d r y e r w e r e
d e v e lo p e d a n d te s te d . T h e p a p e r a ls o d e s c r ib e s th e m a in f e a tu re s o f th e s e
d r y e r s a n d th e r e s u lts o f th e te s tin g d o n e s o far.

1. Introduction

D r ie d c o c o n u t m e a t ( C o c o s n u c if e r a L .) is c a lle d c o p r a . In c o u n tr ie s
lik e th e P h ilip p in e s u n d In d o n e s ia th e c o c o n u t tre e p la y s a n im p o r ta n t r o le in
th e e c o n o m y . A c c o r d in g to th e la te s t s ta t is t ic s th e c o c o n u t i n d u s t r y in th e
P h ilip p in e s c o n tr ib u te s a b o u tU S S 971 m illio n to th e n a tio n a l e x p o r ts ( a b o u t 7
% ( 1 9 9 0 ) o f th e to ta l m e r c h a n d is e e x p o rts ). A b o u t 8 0 % o f th e p r o d u c tio n is
e x p o r t e d m a in ly a s c o c o n u t o il ( C N O ) a n d c a k e . T h e a m o u n t o f c o p r a
e x p o r te d is s te a d ily d e c r e a s in g a n d a c c o u n te d f o r 3 5 0 0 0 M T in 1 9 9 5 . 12

1 Post Harvest Consultant GTZ (Deutsche Gesselschaflfur Technische Zusammenarheit nibH;

German Agency fo r technical Cooperation)

2 Project Development Officer 111, 1C A (Philippine Coconut Authority) and Counterpartfo r

GTZ Postharvest Consultant

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 The oil is used as raw material for industrial products and food. C o p ra cake is part
o f animal feed com pounds. It is know n, that im properly dried coconut m eat will result
in a bad quality. Aside from high contents o f free fatty acids (ffa) and bad color, m olds
p ro d u c in g aflatoxin will gro w if drying is not b rought dow n to a safe m oisture content
level. P roperly dried co co n u ts will result in aflatoxin free copra.

In m ost cases, copra produced in the Philippines is o f inferior quality e g. high ffa,
aflatoxin and m oisture content, bad color and odor. T he oil derived therefrom is also o f
p o o r quality and needs additional refining to m eet international standards. P o o r quality
is subject to an autom atic price deduction o f 10 to 15% in the w orld m arket, thus
resulting in annual losses o f m ore than US$ 40 mill. As long as no quality based pricing
system is introduced and applied, farm ers will continue producing p o o r quality copra.
T hey can n o t be blam ed for the existing situation, since their behavior is ju st rational.
P ro d u c in g goo d quality copra, e.g. w hite in color, low ffa content and aflatoxin free
reduces their incom e since copra is paid according to weight.

2. B asic P rin c ip le s o f C o c o n u t D ry in g

M o st o f w hat is discussed in the next paragraphs can be applied to all coconut

dryers no m atter w here they are used and how they look like.

Drying can be described as a process, w herein w ater is dislodged and evaporated.

Even under ambient conditions, evaporation will take place as long as the actual m oisture
c o n te n t o f the p roduct is above its equilibrium m o isture content (E M C ). T he E M C is
determ ined by the properties o f the product, tem perature, hum idity and the pressure o f
the ambient air. At this point the w eight o f the product does not change anym ore. U nder
the prevailing w eather conditions in the Philippines the EM C for copra stands at 6 to 7%.
T his m eans that drying dow n to a low er m oisture content is w asting tim e and m oney,
since copra will absorb w ater until the EM C is reached.

D rying starts with the evaporation o f surface w ater follow ed by the diffusion o f
m o istu re from inner layers tow ard s the surface. As long as the m oisture m igration is
higher than the evaporation on the surface, the rate o f drying will rem ain constant.
Evaporation, i.e. the rate o f drying, is mainly affected by tem p eratu re and hum idity o f the
drying air. Quality requirem ents on the product determ ine the highest drying air
tem p e ra tu re possible. Hum idity, tem perature and am bient pressure define th e w ater
holding capacity o f air. Table 1 show s the effect o f changes in tem p eratu re and hum idity
on the w ater holding capacity at tw o different locations. Since the drying air pressure can

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be considered constant, while drying co c o n u ts in natural d raught dryers, table 1 is based
on a co n stan t air p ressure o f 1 bar.

Table 1: Water holding capacity of air

» ) t r o p ic a l c o u n t r y ( x - 2 1 . 9 g V g d r y a ir at 3 0 ° C a n d 8 0 % ) h) mediterranean country (x-8.2 ft/Wg dry air »1 30**C nx) 30%)
temperature humidity max. water AX
temperature humidity max. water AX
m 1*1 absorption [fcVg dry air] absorption [g/Vgiyair)
[g/k* dry air) ro 1*1

30 80 22.9 1 .0
30 30 15J 7.1

40 46 26.4 4.5 40 18.3 15.9 7.7

50 29 29.6 7.7 Maai«>aaiaB&

llgjjS^ jBSoM
«U B « S 3 * 1MK3B 60 6.9 22.0 13.8

70 10.9 36 2 14,3 70 46 249 16 7

80 6.5 39.6 17.7 80 3.4 28.1 19.9

90 4.1 43.6 217 90 2.6 31.4 23.2

100 3.0 46.4 24 5 KM) 2 1 34 9 26 7

T h e rate o f drying at a given tem p eratu re and hum idity is fastest right after
splitting the coconuts. The low er the m oisture content the m ore difficult it g ets to further
dry dow n F ig u re 1 show s a drying curve (tim e is plotted against m oisture co n ten t) for
coconut m eat at a drying tem p e ra tu re o f 95°C . In this case 2.5 hours are needed to bring
dow n the m oisture content from 45% to 35% . In contrast, 8.5 h o u rs are needed to dry the
coconut meat from 20% dow n to 10% , o r m ore than three tim es longer. D rying dow n to
a m o istu re co n ten t that is still accepted by the buyer is the logical co n seq u en ce o f this
drying curve even if a price ded u ctio n is applied for high m o isture content.

E vaporation has to be followed by the rem oval o f the m oisture from the pile This
requires a certain air velocity to tran sp o rt the ev ap o rated w a te r to the outside.

As far as a c o co n u t dryer is concerned the m ost im portant facto rs affecting the

p erform ance o f a dryer are:

o p ro p erties o f the p ro d u ct (size, age, initial m oisture co n ten t, etc.)

o d ry in g m anagem ent (n u ts arrangem ent, pile height, tim e lag from splitting to start
o f drying)
o physical pro p erties o f the drying air (hum idity, tem p e ra tu re and velocity)

N either size, age nor initial m oisture content are constant. T h e av erage diam eter
o f n u ts o f different varieties may vary from 10 to 20 cm. T he higher the difference in
d iam e te r in a batch, the higher the percen tag e o f overlapped nuts, th u s resulting in a
higher p ercen tag e o f w et copra. Y o ung nuts (less than 11 m onths old) are m ore difficult

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to dry than old, m ature nuts (13 to 14 m onths old). If the nuts are not properly drained
a fte r splitting and/or splitting and loading is done on a rainy day, m ore w ater has to be
e v a p o ra te d . In this case the drying tim e has to be extended thus resulting in a low er
efficiency.

B ased on drying trials, the arrangem ent o f the nuts is not significantly affecting
the quality o f the copra, hence arranging the nuts (first layer facing up and all o th er layers
facing dow n) will require additional four hours per 2000 nuts.

T he higher the pile o f co co n u ts loaded, the m ore difficult it is for the drying air
to pass through the nuts. This will be reflected in a m ore uneven drying o f bo tto m and top
layer. F orm er will be overdried while the to p layer still has a high m oisture content.
T h e re are no specific d ata in the literature on the optim um bed height. D as [1]
recom m ends a bed height o f 20 - 30 cm; L ozada [2] 45 cm and Ly, T ung and E dilberto
A. Hinay 50 cm [3],

Similar to the bed height a w ide range o f tem peratures are m entioned in the
lite ra tu re . Q uite often the authors recom m end a tw o stage drying. A high tem perature
initial stage is follow ed by a period o f low er tem perature. A ccording to W o o d ro o f [4] a
tem perature o f 66°C for the first 8 hours follow ed by 60°C until drying is finished. Trials
d o n e by G u arte [5] revealed that even tem peratures o f 90°C are acceptable, since the
quality is slightly affected. H ence L ozada et al recom m ends [6] a drying tem p eratu re o f
35°C to 50°C for the first 16 hours o f drying follow ed by 50°C to 55°C during the next
phase until a final m oisture content o f 8 to 10 % is reached.

M uhlbauer, Kellert and G uarte [5] stated, that an increase in air velocity from 0.1
m /s to 1.0 m /s will reduce the drying tim e by 48% for a final m oisture content o f 7 % .
A ccording to D um aluan and L ozada [7] drying rates w ere not greatly influenced by the
air flow rate.

Since the average air flow rate in natural draught dryers is below 1.0 m/s,
additional blow ers are needed to achieve higher velocities.

Loading should be done right after splitting (after the w ater is drained off). D rying
trials have show n a slight discoloration o f nuts loaded m ore than fo u r hours after
splitting. T he m ore drying is delayed the higher the percentage o f discoloration.

C oconut dryers can be characterized by the classification given in Figure 2.

Since copra is considered as a low value product, sophisticated dryers are not a
necessity. Even the use o f ventilators for a m ore constant air flow can not be

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recom m ended due to econom ic reasons. W hat is left are natural d raft dryers (d irect and
in d ire c t), sun and solar dryers. This classification is applicable to m ost o f the co co n u t
pro d u cin g countries.

Dryers wherein the com bustion g ases com e in c o n ta c t w ith the co c o n u t m eat are
classified as d ire c t d ry ers. W henever heat exchangers are used to heat up am bient air for
drying p urposes, th e dryer is considered in d ire c t.

T h e sun is the so u rce o f energy for both s u n d r y in g and s o la r d ry in g . T he

d iffe re n c e is that a stru c tu re (very sim ple to high so p h isticated ) is used to enhance the
effect o f the insulation. In simple w o rd s solar dryers can be considered as m edium to trap
th e su n ’s heat.

3. D e te rm in a tio n o f W o rk in g P e r fo r m a n c e o f D ry e rs

3.1 Dryers in l /se

A series o f tests w ere carried ou t in o rd e r to get enough d a ta for a th o ro u g h

evaluation o f the dryers used in the Philippines.

3.1.1 T apahan D ryer

This dryer is one o f the com m only used direct dryers in th e Philippines. It com es
in different versions, starting w ith an open pit filled w ith husks and co v ered by a bam boo
flo o rin g up to m ore advanced dryers w h ere th e drying platform is provided w ith a wall
(hollow blocks, plyw ood, etc.) In F ig u re 3 the m ain c o m p o n en ts and the air/heat flow are
shown. The capacity o f a standard tapahan dryer is 2 0 0 0 nuts (volum e o f drying bed: 2.69
m3)

3.1 .2 U P LB D ryer

The body o f the UPLB D ryer is cubical in form m easuring 1.91 m in length, 1.83
m in w id th and 1.77 m in height. L um ber m easuring 1.5“ x 2" and 1.5“ *x 1“ is used for
the basic stru ctu re. T h e w o o d en stru c tu re is lined w ith G I-sh eet to form drying bed and
heating chamber. At the front side a sw inging d o o r and tw o trails allow the placem ent o f
one burner inside at a tim e (see F ig u re 4). A heat d e c ip a to r (m ad e o f G I-sh e e t) betw een
b u rn er and drying bed is provided to give an uniform tem p e ra tu re distribution. F o u r air
inlets (18 x 8 cm ), located at each side betw een drying bed and G I-S h e et, allow a steady

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air flow , essential for convectional drying. The dryer has a capacity o f about 1000 nuts
(volum e o f drying bed: 1.47 m3).

3.1.3 M odified K ukum D ryer

T h e m odified K ukum D ryer is an indirect natural draught dryer m easuring 1.83

m in w id th , 3.66 m in length and 2.13 m in height (see F ig u re 5). A bout 20 0 0 nuts
(average size) can be accom m odated (volum e o f drying bed: 2.8 m3). Its heat exchanger
is m ade up o f three standard oil drum s w elded to g eth e r w ith five sem i-circular baffles
installed alternately inside the drum s at distance o f 0.46 m. T he furnace m easures three
fee t in length and tw o feet in w idth and is m ade o f steel plastered w ith 6 cm thick
cem e n t-a sh m ixture inside. The furnace is provided w ith a slanting g rate and d o o r to
reg u late air entry. A butterfly valve is also provided at th e chim ney to control the
tem perature.

3.1.4 Sun Drying

D rying trials w ere done in connection w ith the perform ance evaluation o f solar
dryers. The splitted nuts w ere exposed on a pavem ent and slightly tilted area to allow the
w ater to drain off.

3.2 Data Gathering

Table 2 contains all sensors, their accuracy and location used for the perform ance
evaluation. T hese sensors are connected to a com puter based data acquisition system .
P rogram m ed softw are is used for collecting the d ata in 6 m inutes intervals from each
sensor. T h e value saved to the hard disk is actually the m ean taken from 20 readings at
each sensor every 6 minutes. This is necessary to keep the effect o f voltage and frequency
flu ctuation on the actual reading at a minimum level. T he analog signals are converted
into digital signals and then transm itted to the com puter via A /D -converters (see F ig u re
6). Up to 26 tem perature, nine hum idity and four w eath er data sensors w ere used.

T he sam ples for the initial m oisture content w ere taken after loading the dryer.
A special scooping tool w as used to cut o ff small pieces from 20 nuts taken random ly
from th e w hole batch. A nother 10 nuts w ere taken from the batch o f splitted nuts to
determ ine the initial m eat to shell ratio.

In order to m onitor the reduction in m oisture content at different locations during

the trial, nine baskets (U PL B dryer: 5 baskets) w ere placed inside the drying bed. Each
basket was divided into three layers (top, m iddle and bottom layer) w ith '/2 " w elded wire.
W eighing was done every tw o to four hours. W ith this setup, a detailed description o f the
drying process within the drying bed in different layers could be given.

T he final m oisture content o f the w hole batch o f co p ra w ere determ ined by

getting a segm ent o f copra from to p to bottom from all representative points o f the

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d ry er. T he sam ples w ere then sco o p ed and m ixed thoroughly. Five kilos o f co p ra w ere
then tak en and knife milled for qualitative analyses, i.e., m o isture co n ten t, ffa co n ten t,
oil color, oil c o n te n t and aflatoxin content.

C o p ra g rading (visual inspection) w as d one im m ediately after unloading and

scooping based on m oisture content, insect attack s and m old g ro w th . In som e trials about
10 kg c o p ra w e re tak en from the batch sam ple after sco o p in g for fo u r w eek s sto rag e
b e fo re being visually inspected. P art o f this sam ples (5 kg) w ere taken for qualitative
analyses.

3.3 Results

3.3.1 T ap ah an D ryer

T he results have show n a fairly distributed tem p e ra tu re w ithin the drying bed. An
av erag e te m p e ra tu re o f 86, 95 and 88°C w as m easured from front m iddle and back
sectio n , respectively. T he tem p e ra tu re w as fluctuating w hich is reflected in a high
s ta n d a rd dev iatio n (see T able 3). H igher tem p e ra tu re s in th e m iddle section are caused
by the fuel co n cen tratio n at the m iddle. T h e higher tem p e ra tu re in the m iddle section is
also reflected in a low er m o isture c o n te n t in this area. D uring th e testin g th e follow ing
fuel feed rate w ere used: first firing: 40 husks, a fter 35 m inutes a n o th e r 25 husks follow ed
by 15 husks per 15 m inutes until drying is finished. T here is no tem p e ra tu re controlling
device except a change in the fuel feed rate. A higher fuel feed rate as m entioned is not
recom m endable b ecau se the risk o f burning the d ry er and co p ra is high.

Q uite often scorched co p ra w as found in the b o tto m layer, w hile th e m iddle layer
w a s b e tte r in color. P arts o f the to p layer still had w et nuts, especially at the front and
back.

S ince th e fuel (husks) is burned inside a pit un d ern eath the drying bed, the dryer
has to be atten d ed to w hen in o peration to prevent the dryer from burning.

O n average, about 20 h o u rs firing are needed to reach a final m o istu re co n ten t o f

about 10 % (see F ig u re 7). T his m eans, th at in m ost cases drying has to be d o n e on tw o
days. C ontrary to the claims o f users, it is not possible to bring dow n th e m o isture content
to 10% in 16 h o u rs w ith o u t having lots o f scorched co p ra o r higher share o f w e t copra.
F o r th e 2 0 0 0 n u ts capacity T apahan dryer a w o rk in g tim e o f 6.9 m inutes w as com puted
to p ro d u ce one kilo copra.

B ased on a firing time o f 20 hours, the am ount o f energy consum ed (input) stood
at a ro u n d 94 kW h. T he ratio betw een o u tp u t (ev a p o ra te d w ater) and input is called

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thermal efficiency. It is betw een 12 and 13% at a specific energy consum ption o f 19 MJ
per kg evaporated water.

S m oke drying is also know n as source o f PA H s (polycyclic arom atic

hydrocarbons). Results o f Tapahan dried copra show ed figures as high as 79.8 p g /k g [8],
T h e ad v a n ta g e o f sm oke drying is its effect on the storage (quality) because o f the
preservative properties o f sm oke. Less aflatoxin producing m olds will grow .

3.3.2 U PLB D ryer

The tem perature in the bottom layer w as fluctuating and uneven (see table 4). In
some locations a maximum tem perature o f m ore than 180°C w as recorded, but the center
sh o w ed a relatively low tem perature. Even after seven burners (m ore than 20 hours
drying), the center portion in the drying bed w as still w et (see Figure 8), while the nuts
in the bo tto m layer in other locations o f the drying bed w ere scorched.

T he average fuel capacity (cracked coconut shells) per burner is 15 kgs. It takes
2.5 to 3.3 hours to consum e one burner. F or this dryer the w orking tim e (including
dehusking and splitting) to produce one kilo copra w as com puted at 5.44 m inutes. A bout
24% o f this tim e is needed to break the shells used as fuel.

The therm al efficiency o f 24.5% w as m easured at a specific energy consum ption

o f less than 10 M J per kg evaporated w ater.

The average PA H content w as m easured at 60.7 p g /k g [8],

Since the dryer is collapsible, it can easily be transferred to an o th er location.

3.3.3 M odified K ukum D ryer

T em p era tu re is quite even betw een left, middle and right side. T he lengthw ise
distribution is m ore uneven. H ighest tem peratures w ere m easured at the front section,
while low est at the back (see Table 5). T he difference in tem perature betw een front and
back section o f the drying bed is about 20 to 25 Kelvin. Cold spots w ere observed at the
back section within the top layer. The fuel feed rate used in o p erating the K ukum dryer
w as betw een 6 and 10 husks per 10 m inutes. H ow ever, a higher fuel feed rate w as used
for the initial stage (first drying day).

A bout 30 hours are needed to dry one batch dow n to less than 10%. B ased on a
10 h o u rs operation tim e per day, drying will take three days (see Figure 9). A bout 8.7
m inutes are needed to produce one kilo copra with the m odified K ukum dryer.

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 As far as copra quality is concerned, this dryer show ed the best results am ong the
tested dryers. H ow ever, m aintenance and repair c o sts are th e highest. They are attributed
by th e m etal p arts o f the dryer w hich start to c o rro d e as soon as th e d ry er is being
c o n s tru c te d . F req u en t use o f the dryer will reduce co rro sio n , but never sto p it. Since
co p ra is a low value p ro d u ct, the use o f stainless steel or even the application o f prim er
m ak e s no sense. T he ex p o su re to high tem p eratu res, aggressive fum es and w a te r will
induct corrosion.

Sim ilar to th e tapahan dryer, a therm al efficiency o f 12.7% w as co m puted at a

specific energy con su m p tio n o f 19 M J p er kg ev ap o rated w ater.

4. D e v e lo p m e n t o f C o c o n u t D ry e rs

W ithin the Philippine Germ an C o co n u t P roject, a solar and an indirect dryer w ere
d ev elo p ed and tested. F o rm er is designed to cope w ith the drying needs o f individual
c o c o n u t farm ers (2 to 5 has w hich equal to about 10000 to 25000 nuts/year) w hile the
later is mainly designed for c o co n u t gro w in g co o p erativ es a n d /o r bigger plantations. O ne
unit o f this dryer is sufficient for a b o u t 40 ha o f coconuts.

4.1 Development o f Indirect Dryer

T h e o u tp u t o f a b o u t 80 drying trials on different dryers as well as additional

in fo rm a tio n from farm ers m eetings, visits o f farm ers to the p ro ject and personal
e x p e rie n c e on w hat a co co n u t dryer should be, lead to the form ulation o f different
criteria. T h e se are: 12345

1. w o rk in g perform ance
2. durability
3. ease o f o peration
4. co sts
5. ease o f co n stru ctio n

T he m inim um requirem ents on the w orking perform ance are as follow s:

o n o t m ore than tw o drying days

o less than 10% final m oisture co n ten t and uniform dried
o less than 20 ppb aflatoxin content
o fuel usage low er than 90% o f the husks o f nuts loaded

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The lifespan o f the essential dryer com ponents should be at least five years. C onstruction
should not require any special tools and the total co sts should not be higher than any
alternative indirect dryer.

Since none o f the tested dryers m et these criteria, w e decided to develop a new
indirect dryer. D ue to the disadvantages o f direct dryers like so o t (P A H ) contam ination
and sc o rc h e d copra, w e decided in the early stage o f o u r research to go for indirect
dryers. T able 6 contains the grading o f different dryers including the new ly developed.

Prelim inary trials w ith bricks as heat exchanger show ed a prom ising potential to
replace the m etal. B ricks are know n for their high strength (fire and w eath er resistance),
durability (long service life) and dim ensional stability.

Several prototypes w ere constructed to optim ize shape and size o f the b u rn er and
to determ ine the appropriate thickness o f the bricks. T he final version o f this brick dryer
is called COCOPUGON (see in Figure 10)

The dimensions o f the dryer are set to 260 cm in width, 360 cm in length and 200
cm in height. Standard fire bricks and 2.5" crow n bricks w ere the m aterials used for the
chimney and the heat exchanger, respectively. T he dryer can accom m odate 2500 average
sized nuts per batch (volum e o f drying bed: 3.33 m3). T o facilitate ease o f loading and
unloading, the right side o f the drying bed wall is rem ovable. A one step stair and
platform is also provided on the sam e location.

U nlike dryers w ith m etal heat exchangers, preheating is needed for this dryer.
Firing should be done first before loading the splitted nuts. T he burner can accom m odate
about 200 to 300 husks. Refuelling has to be done every 3 to 5 hours. T he heat stored in
the bricks will be released slowly after the last firing on the first drying day, such that
drying will continue for several hours w ithout adding fuel (husks).

Figure 11 shows the average drying and burner tem perature for one specific trial
(first day five firings, second day th ree firings). The last firing on the first drying day w as
at 2 1 :00. W hen fuel w as added next m orning (7:00) the tem perature still stood at 52°C.
T he slope o f the line added to Figure 11 indicates the increase in tem p eratu re p er tim e
interval.
T he equation for the slope o f the line is: y = 30.0 + 6.6 x

After a preheating time o f 3.5 hours and a loading tim e o f tw o hours, the average
te m p e ra tu re in the bottom layer is 66.3°C . The burner then has to be fed five to seven
tim es for the w hole drying period. F orm er could be accom plished in only one day at a
feeding interval o f about three to four hours at a constant fuel feed rate. U nloading could

88
b e d o n e a fte r the dryer has cooled dow n on the second day. I f o p e ra te d on a tw o days
schedule, five firings are needed on the first day and an o th er tw o to th ree firings on the
se co n d day. U nloading will be d one th e next m orning to utilize th e heat sto re d in the
b ric k s. I f th e baffle in th e chim ney is closed during night tim e, em ber can still b e found
in sid e the b u rn er on the follow ing m orning m aking it easy to continue firing. T he
te m p e ra tu re curve for the burner has several small peaks indicating the m axim um
tem p e ra tu re per feeding interval. T h e effect on the drying bed tem p e ra tu re is minimal,
thus having an alm ost co n stan t drying tem perature. Even if the b u rn er is fully loaded, the
resulting tem perature in the drying bed w ont exceed 90 to 95°C , th u s elim inating the risk
o f p ro d u cin g scorched copra.

S in ce th e heat exchanger o r the burner c o v er alm ost the w h o le area inside the
d ry e r body, the tem p e ra tu re distribution is very uniform . T he difference in tem p e ra tu re
betw een th e highest and low est value is less than 5 Kelvin. A standard deviation o f 3
K elvin indicates a very co n stan t tem p eratu re (see F ig u re 12 and T able 7).

D u rin g o p e ra tio n , the d ry er o p e ra to r spends tw o h o u rs p er batch at the dryer,

m ean in g the labor requirem ents w ere cut dow n by m ore than 50 % to 4 1 m inutes per
k ilo g ra m c o p ra com pared w ith the m odified K ukum dryer. T h e o p e ra to r can leave the
d ry er in b etw een fuel feedings and use his tim e for o th e r activities.

T he thermal efficiency w as very constant w ith an av erage o f a b o u t 15% resulting

in a specific energy consum ption o f about 17 M J p er kg w ater..

T h e drying cost p er kg o f copra (see table 8) w as determ ined to be 2 .6 C ents

(P esos: 0.66).

T h e c o p ra quality w as found to be far b etter than the m inim um req u irem en ts set
for goo d quality c o p ra for d o m estic use, i.e., 14% m oisture co n ten t, 5% free fatty acid
c o n te n t o f oil (as lauric); 10% m old infection; and 20 ppb aflatoxin content. T h e color
o f oil is n o t m uch o f concern, how ever, a 9 red and 50 yellow c o lo r is required for
e x p o rt o r m erchantable quality. T he quality o f co p ra p ro d u ced also m et the criteria set
for the dryer. G ood quality copra p ro duction w as attributed to the ap p ro p riate p ro ced u re
o f drying, i.e., fast; sm oke-free, and p ro p er tem peratures. B row nish c o p ra w as produced
fro m th e b o tto m layer. T his is due to higher tem p eratu re ex p o su re for a lo n g er period
D ue to delayed drying som e brow n colored co p ra w as also p ro d u ced from the to p layer
O n average, about 80% per batch w as w hite. A bout 1% o f the total c o p ra p ro d u ced w as
w et at optim um drying set up. T he av erage ffa content o f m ore than 20 drying trials
s to o d at 0.21 (Oil color: 0.55 red; 2.75 yellow (L ovibond)). A verage fuel consum ption
is about 80% o f the husks from the total nuts loaded

89
4.2. Development o f a Solar Dryer

S o la r dryers m ake use o f an effect, which is sim ilar to the well know n
greenhouse effect. Figure 13 contains all essential com ponents to describe energy flow
in solar dryers. C om pared with sun drying, solar dryers can generate higher air
tem peratures at a lower relative hum idity which both conducive to im proved drying rates
and lower final m oisture contents [9]. In addition, the negative effects o f rainfall, insects,
dust and m olds on the quality o f copra produced by sun drying can be minimized.

The basic criterion for the developm ent o f a solar dryer w as to provide the small
c o c o n u t farm er an alternative to sun drying at the low est cost possible. T herefore the
d ry er has to be transportable and small while utilizing locally available m aterials and
k e e p in g th e labor requirem ent for coconut drying lesser than sun drying.

At the start o f the project the potential o f solar dryers for coconuts w as proven and
co n seq u en tly further developed. Based on the findings o f these initial trials, several
designs using different m aterials w ere build, tested and analyzed. Since the results w ere
q u ite similar, the main criterion for selecting the best dryer w as to minimize farm ers
expenses. T he cost is low est for a bam boo based design. T he price per square m eter is
less than US$ 0.75. For rattaiVbam boo, rattan and w ater pipe designs the co sts are US$
1.8, 2.3 and 6.9, respectively.

The bam boo type solar dryer is show n in Figure 14. A com plete bill o f m aterials
can be found in table 9. T he main parts are the bam boo fram e and the plastic sheet. At
a length o f 3 m and a width o f 1.75 m, an area o f about 5.25 m 2 is covered - enough to dry
200 - 250 nuts per batch. Farm ers can easily m ake their ow n dryers since bam boo poles
are available throughout the country. They only need a hand saw , nails o r w ood glue and
the plastic sheet for the construction. The plastic sheet is the m ost essential part o f the
dryer thus requiring a careful selection.

In general the follow ing standards for plastic sheets used as cover in solar dryers
should be followed: 1

1 life span: minimum tw o years (U V -protection needed)

2: gauge: min. 0.004 (0.10 mm)
3: width: min. 50" (tube type)
4: T ransparency: min. 80 %
5: Price: less than 1 US $ per m2.
6: ecologically friendly

90
 S in ce P V C (Poly-V inyl-C hloride) is expensive and not environm ent friendly
(so ttin g ag en ts and dioxin are em itted w hen disposed), PE (P oly-E thylene) w as chosen
b e c au se o f its low price and availability th ro u g h o u t th e country. O th ers like P T F E
(P o ly -T etra-F lo u r-E th y len e) w ould give the best optical and m echanical properties, but
until n o w not p ro d u ced in the Philippines.

In o rd e r to g et a life span o f at least tw o years, the plastic sheet has to be U V -

stab ilized , m eaning light stabilizers are added to prevent p h o to -o x id ativ e dam age.
U n p ro tec te d plastic sheets will be d estroyed w ithin w eek s d epending on the region and
level o f solar radiation.

F o r th e solar d ry er a blend o f L L D P E (linear low density P S ) and L D P E (low

d e n sity P S ) at a ratio o f 40: 60 w as used. M ixing these tw o m aterials will result in a
higher tensile stren g th and tea r dilation. T able 10 contains the m ost im p o rtan t pro p erties
o f th ese tw o m aterials. T h e sheet w as ex truded in D av ao , Philippines, w ith the
specification o f a life span not less than tw o years

W ith this sheet attach ed to different designs, a series o f drying trials w ere
c o n d u c te d to co m p are sun and solar drying. W eath er data (rainfall, tem p eratu re,
hum idity, w ind speed and radiation), tem p eratu res and hum idities inside the solar dryers
as w ell as co p ra quality related p aram eters w ere recorded and analyzed. T he dryer is
operated in such a w ay that after splitting, the nu ts are spread on the g ro u n d and covered
with the dryer. Since the d ry er w eighs less than 20 kgs, one w o rk e r can do the job. O nce
the nuts are covered, the next w o rk that has to be d one are unloading and scooping. The
results are as follows:

C om pared to sun drying, a m axim um tem p eratu re o f up to 65 °C can be reached

in the solar d ry er during noon tim e, about 30 Kelvin m ore than the am bient tem p eratu re
(se e F ig u re 15). H o w ev er, drying tim e for sun dried c o c o n u ts u n d er optim um w eath er
conditions is slightly longer, b ecau se the u ncovered c o co n u t m eat also absorbs the solar
radiation, th u s increasing m eat tem p e ra tu re w hich in tu rn accelerates drying. T h e results
sh o w , th at the difference in average m eat tem p eratu re betw een solar and sun dried
co c o n u ts on sunny days w as in the range o f only 3 to 6 Kelvin.

O n average, drying tim e is cut dow n by about 2 days to 4.5 days w hen using solar
dryers (see F ig u re 16). T his is th e result o f com parative drying trials d o n e for a b o u t half
year. H ow ever, having three to four straight sunny days w ith o u t rainfall, sun drying could
be finished in alm ost th e sam e time.

91
 The average radiation per day was m easured at 5.1 kW h/m 2. B ased on an average
drying tim e o f 4.5 days about 23.4 kW h/m 2 are needed to bring the m oisture content
d o w n to lO % .

Drying trials done throughout the year showed that the co lo r o f alm ost 50% o f the
solar dried coconuts w ere white after reaching the final m oisture content o f less than 10%
com pared to 18% o f sim ultaneously sun dried co co n u ts w hile about 71% w ere moldy.
T o obtain goo d quality copra, the first drying day should be sunny. U nder w eather
conditions favorable for the gro w th o f aflatoxin producing m olds, the average aflatoxin
content in solar dried co co n u ts w as 1/10th o f sun dried coconuts. F o rm er w as about 10
ppb while the later resulted in aflatoxin content o f m ore than 100 ppb. Solar drying will
reduce the red color and ffa content by 28% and 32% , respectively.

Front and back side have to be kept open to allow a steady air flow to rem ove the
m o istu re from inside. T he dryer should be aligned to the main w ind direction to
maximize air flow. U nder th e existing w eather conditions at the D avao R esearch C enter
(Southern M indanao) the theoretical w ater absorption capacity o f this dryer is about 100
kg per day. Assuming a drying time o f 4.5 days and a load o f 100 kg co co n u ts (m eat-shell
ratio: 1.8) to be dried dow n from a m oisture content o f 50 to 10%, about 6.6 kg w ater
have to be evaporated per day. This indicates, that even in areas w ith a low er air velocity
the dryer can be used.

R a tta n is not as durable as bam boo. T hat is w hy only go o d bam boo should be
used as m aterial for the fram e. T he attachm ent o f the plastic sheet is done w ith nails
cushioned with canvas (tarpaulin). So far no problems w ere noticed except the attachm ent
w ith double seam ed loops w here the plastic w as to rn apart along the seam s after five to
six m onths. A fter less than a year som e o f the joints m ade o f splice rattan w ere broken.
If bamboo is used, holes can be drilled in the poles to fit in the ends o f the arc. The joints
should be sealed with w ood glue.

S ince the h alf cups are usually turned upside dow n in the evening or w hen rain
is anticipated, m ore labor is required for sun drying.

Except grass, any surface can be used as long as the underground is slightly tilted
to p rev e n t w ater accum ulation inside the dryer. Anim als should be kept aw ay from the
dryers, since the plastic sheet can be easily destroyed by stepping on it.

W hen placed on a clean surface o r paved area, the cost for drying (B am boo type)
w ere determ ined to be US $ 0.014 per kilogram copra (as o f 5/95). T he assum ption for
this calculation are listed in table 11.

92
 T he average form size o f three hectares needs tw o solar dryers to dry th e co conut
p ro d u c e annually. T his will cost th e farm er less than U SS 30. T o m aintain a goo d
p erfo rm an ce th e plastic sheet should be cleaned occasionally and replaced every tw o
years, approxim ately. A n ew sheet will cost about U S $ 3 p e r dryer. R eplacem ent can be
easily d o n e by th e farm ers them selves.

Aside from coconuts, the d ry er can also be utilized fo r drying o th e r p ro d u c ts like

m ango, rice etc.

93
 33rd COCOTI-CII Meeting, July I 5 -19. 19%. Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia

Drying Time [h]

Figure 1: D r y i n g C urve

In d irect D rying

[natural draught] forced air

Standard Ceylon
Kiln Modified Kukum
Improved Ceylon Dryer
Kiln Cocopugon
Malaysian Kiln
Tapahan Dryer Village Copra Dryer
Tapahan de Vapor (Western Samoa)
Dryer
WSTEC Dryer
UPLB Dryer
Marschallese Dryer

Figure 2 : C o c o n u t d r y e r c la ssific atio n

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

94
 33rd COCOTECH Meeting, July 15-19, 1996, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ft ambient air

Figure 3: Tapahan Dryer

F r o n t View Side View

Figure 4; UPLB Dryer

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

95
 33rd COCOTP.CII Meeting, July 15-19. 19%, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

T able 2: M easuring equipm ent for dryer testing

Location Measurement Device Manufacturer Accuracy Range

dryer w eight dig ital A & 1) 50g 0 . . I 5 0 kg
b a la n c e s Satori us lg 0.. 12 k g

dryer l im e trip le t im e r - - -

dryer tem perature C u/C u-N i ROssel + /- 0 .5 ° C -2 0 0 ..3 5 0 °C

T herm o­
c o u p le s

w e a t h e r sta tio n rel. h u m id i t y h u m id i t y E + E E le c tr o n i c + /- 2 % 0 ..I0 0 %

tra n s m i t te r

w e a t h e r sta tio n tem perature PTIOO T hics 0.1 ° C a t 0 ° C -30..80°C

w e a t h e r sta ti o n w i n d sp e e d anem om eter T h ie s - 0 . 5 .. 3 5 m /s

w e a t h e r sta tio n g l o b a l ra d ia tio n pyranom elcr K ipp und Zonen m ax . 0 . . 4 0 0 0 W/m* + /- 2 %

Note: The weather station is composed of several measuring instruments that arc attached to a computer in a nearby data
monitoring center (the "Hohenheim Container") which could automatically record data both on ambient conditions and other set-ups.

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

96
 33rd COCOTECH Meeting, July 15-19, 1996, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Trial 22

T ria l 23
x
Trial 24
v

Trial 26

A vg.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
firing time [h]
Figure 7: Drying curve tapahan dryer

Table 3: Average tem perature and sd in bottom layer o f tapahan dryer

avg.
right middle left
Tem peratures

bottom sd bottom sd bottom sd

front 86.6 19.1 86.9 18.8 84.9 17.0

middle 93.1 21.7 98.3 21.5 93.1 20.4

back 87.5 17.4 89.4 20.6 86.1 17.9

Table 4: Average tem perature and sd in bottom layer o f UPLB dryer

avg.
right middle left
Tem peratures

bottom sd bottom sd bottom sd

front 105.4 22.4 103.8 25.1 115.8 28.1

middle 90.7 20.1 80.1 18.2 112.5 26.7

back 106.9 26.1 93.8 25.2 115.4 30.2

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

97
 33rd CO COTLCII Meeting, July 1 5-l‘L I ‘>%. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

F i g u r e 8 : M o i s t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n in U P L B d r y e r

Table 5: Average temperature and sd in bottom layer of modified kukum dryer

avg.
right middle left
Temperatures

bottom sd bottom sd bottom sd

front 99.2 8.9 104.4 9.8 97.5 8.4

middle 98.1 9.1 96.5 8.9 100.8 9.6

back 71.7 6.7 78.1 6.3 79.6 6.6

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

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 33rd C O C O T liC II Meeting, July 15*19, 1996, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

0 10 20 30 40 50 60
time [h]
F i g u r e 9: D r y i n g c u r v e M o d i f i e d K u k u m d r y e r

T a b le 6: A d v a n tn e c s /D is a d v a n tn g c .s o f d iffe re n t c c o m it d ry e rs

Tapahan Tapahan M o d ified UPLB Cocopugon S o la r/S u n

de V apor D ryer Kukum D ryer dryer
D ryer

Q u a lity - - + - + +/-
Labor - - - - + +
re q u ire m en t

D u ra b ility
M a in te n a n c e
C o n stru c tio n
O p eratio n
C o sts (D ry er)
- - - - + -
+/- +/- - - + +
- + + +
- - - + + +
+ + - - - +

C o sts/k g copra 0.025

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

99
 33rd COCOTECI I Meeting, July 15-19. 1996, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia

Figure 10: B r i c k d ryer (C o copugon)

Coconut Dryer und Drying Technologies

100
 33rd COCOTECH Meeting, July 15-19, 1996, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Figure 11: Temperature on burner surface and in bottom layer

100
Distance between drying bed
and soil: 1.75 m D ryer: C o co p u g o n

CJ Trial No.: 136 ’______

o 90
L— I

CJ

a 80
a
CJ
CL
£
~ 70
CJ
CO
2
CJ
>
a 60

50
F ro n t M id d le B ack

Figure 12: T e m p e r a t u r e d istrib u tio n o f C o c o p u g o n

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

101
 33rd COCOTliCI I Meeting, July 15-19. 1990, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia

Table 7: Average temperature and standard deviation (sd) in bottom layer ol eoeopugon

avg. middle left

right
temperature
bottom sd bottom sd bottom sd

front 73.9 3.1 77.1 3.4 77.1 3.2

middle 77.3 2.9 78.1 2.9 78.4 2.6

back 74.4 3.3 74.8 2.9 74.2 2.9

Particulars

Dryer cost (excluding shed) USS 970

estimated burncr/licat exchanger service life 5 years

estimated door service life 1 year

estimated chimney service life 10 years

cost of coconut husks USS 3.2/1000 PCs.

direct labor rate USS 0.64/hour

dryer load 2.500 nuts

COMPUTATIONS:

Direct Labor Cost [USS]

dryer loading = 0.14 min/nut x 2500 = 5.84 hrs. 3.7

dryer operation:
a liring/fucling: 15 min x 8 times x 1 person =* 2 hrs 1.27
b fuel prepuralion/hauling: 1.335 x 2 persons - 2.67 hrs. 1.70

dryer unloading: 1.67 hrs (2 or 3 persons) 1,06

Direct Muterial Cost

husks for fuel ( 80% of nuts loaded) = 2000 PCs. x USS 0.0032/pc 6.4

fixed Overhead Cost

Repairs and Maintenance

burncr/licat exchanger: US$ 169.8 (10%/ycar)/96 loads 0.18
chimney: USS 99.6 (10%/ycar)/96 loads 0.10
door US$43.1 (IO%/ycar)/96 loads 0.04

Depreciation: USS 970 ycars/96 drying loads every year @ 2 loads per week (full utilization) 2.02

TOTAL DRYING COST PER BATCH (USS) 16.5

Total copra produced 625 kg

Cost/kg copra USS 0.026

Note; 1 he computation only included the activities from loading to unloading since the other activities in copra making
arc assumed the same for all the other dryers.

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

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 33rd COCOTECH Meeting, July 15-19, I ‘>96, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Solar Radiation
Reflection Cover outside

Tronsmission Cover

Reflection Cover inside

Reflection Coconut

Heat Conduction

Figure 13: Working principle of solar dryer

Figure 14: Solar dryer for coconuts

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

 33rd C0C0TEC11 Meeting, July 15-19, 1996, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I able 9: Bill of materials [US$] for bamboo made solar dryer: (Size: 08" x 120")

u n it q u a n tity s u b to ta l

Bamboo poles "Tinik'V'Tunukon" pole 2 2.00

Nails (3 x 65) kg 0.25 0.25
Nails (3x80) 0.25 0.25
Woodglue (water resistent) 1 0.25 0.80
Gasoline 1 0.5 0.18
Sandpaper piece 2 0.80
Canvas strips m2 0.04 0.12
LDPE-plastic film UV-protected m2 5.7 2.20
(0.125mm x 55")

T o ta l 6 .6 0

Table 10: Assumptions Solar Drying:

Drying cycles/year 52 Working time (per 1000 nuts)

Drying capacity [nuts/sq.m.] 33 arranging 10
Deprivation time 2 loading/unloading 15
Maintenance/repair 0 labor cost [US$] 0.32
kg copra/nut 0.2

Table 11: Properties of LLD- and LD-Poly-Ethylene plastic sheets [10]

PE-type LLD LD
Melting point [°C] 120- 130 105-115
Molecular structure - linear branched
Gauge [-(mm)] 0.006 (0.15) 0.006 (0.15)
Tensile strength (lengthwise) [N/mm2] 33.1 22.3
Tensile strength (crosswise) [N/mm2] 34.7 19.7
Tear dilation (lengthwise) [%] 1360 510
Tear dilation (crosswise) [%] 760 1480

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologies

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 33rd COCOTECH Meeting, July 15-19, 1996, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

C
O
03
T3
03

time [h]

Figure 15: Radiation and tempature (meat, air and ambient) during solar drying

Figure 16: Drying curve solar and sun drying

Coconut Dryer and Drying Technologic*

105
1. Das, K. P.; The stale of art: Copra prodution in India. In: Coconuts Today/December 30, 1986. United Coconut
Association of the Philippines, Inc. (UCAP), Manila, Philippines

2. Lozada, P.E.: The Los Banos Multi Crop Dryer. Philippine Coconut Research and Development Foundation, Inc..
Quezon City, Philippines, 1987.

3. Tung L., Hinay E.A. Copra Drying. 1. Comparison between the recommended pratice and fanners practice of
splitted-nut arrangement before drying, hi: Annals of Tropical Research (Baybay, Philippines) Oct. 1979

4. Woodroof, I.G. Coconuts: Production, Processing. Westport, Connecticut: The AVI Publishing Co, hie.

5. Guarte, R.; Miihlbauer, W.; Kellert, M.: Influence of drying air jmrameters on the drying charateristics of copra
and the qualtiy of copra and coconut oil. In: Postharvest Biology Technology.

6. E.P. Lozada; Jeremias, B. Benico; Vicente R. Hao Chin , Jr. : hi: The Aflatoxin Problem: The driving force to
improve Productivity of the coconut Industry. Proceedings of the 2nd National Coconut week Symposium on “The
coconut Farmers: A Look in to the future" PCA Auditorium, Diliman, Quzon City, 26 August 1988.

7. D. L. Dumaluan; E.P. Lozada: TheDrying characteristics of coconut meat. In: Philippine Agricultural Engineering
Journal

8. KloBmann, H.: Influence of Direct Drying on the Quality of Copra and Coconut Oil. Thesis at the Institute of food
technology, Fulda, 1995.

9. Brenndorfer, B; Kennedy L.; Oswin Bateman, C.O.; Trim, D.S.; Mrema, G.C.; Wereko-Brobby, C.: Solar
Dryers - their role in post-harvest processing. Conunonwealth Science Council, Marlborough House, Pall Mall,
London SW1Y 5HX. 1987.

10. Nentwig, J.: Kunststoff-Folien: Herstellung, Eigenscliaften, Anwendung. Hanser Verlag. Munich (Germany),
1994.

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