Int. J. Postharvest Technology and Innovation, Vol. 5, No.

2, 2015 105

Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar

dryer for paddy seed

Md. Ashrafuzzaman Gulandaz*

Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering Division,
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute,
Gazipur-1704, Bangladesh
Email: gulandazfmpe.bari@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author

Md. Rostom Ali

Department of Farm Power and Machinery,
Bangladesh Agricultural University,
Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
Email: rustom412@yahoo.com

Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan

Janata Bank Limited Bangladesh,
Bangladesh
Email: mmhassan_bau@yahoo.com

Md. Nur-A-Alam
Department of Farm Power and Machinery,
Bangladesh Agricultural University,
Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
Email: mnalam.bau@gmail.com

Nusrat Jahan and Md. Mashiur Rahman

Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering Division,
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute,
Gazipur-1704, Bangladesh
Email: noha05@yahoo.com
Email: mashi.fpm@gmail.com

Abstract: A modified hybrid solar dryer having capacity of 500 kg was

constructed to carry out the study. Performance of the dryer was evaluated
based on the drying rate, collector performance, collector efficiency, drying
efficiency and quality of paddy (Oryza Sativa L.) seed. A 0.50 kW, 220 V
centrifugal variac connected blower was used to control air flow. The drying air
was heated up in the solar collector and passed to the drying chamber. Seeds
were collected having initial moisture content of 23.86% (wb). Tetrazolium
and standard germination tests were used to evaluate seed. This study

Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

106 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

found maximum germination (86%) percentage at 44ºC and viability at that

temperature was 97.5%. The germination percentage decreases with increasing
drying temperature and 44ºC temperature is completely safe for paddy seeds.
This study also observed that amongst nine models Page model is best fitted
model based on highest R2 and lowest RMSE values.

Keywords: paddy seed; drying temperature; hybrid solar dryer; seed

germination; thin layer model.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Gulandaz, M.A., Ali, M.R.,
Hasan, M.M., Nur-A-Alam, M., Jahan, N. and Rahman, M.M. (2015)
‘Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed’, Int. J.
Postharvest Technology and Innovation, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp.105–124.

Biographical notes: Md. Ashrafuzzaman Gulandaz is currently working as a

Scientific Officer at Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering
Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Gazipur, Bangladesh. He
obtained his MS in Farm Power and Machinery degree from Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh in 2014.

Md. Rostom Ali is graduated from Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka,
Bangladesh in 2003. He received his MS in Farm Power and Machinery degree
from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
He did his Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) from Tohoku University, Japan.
Currently, he is working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Farm
Power and Machinery, BAU. Recently, he worked as a Visiting Research
scholar for six months period at Kyoto University, Japan. He has published
more than 25 research articles in peer reviewed national and international
journals. He has successfully completed three research projects as a principal
investigator. Currently, he is working on post-harvest loss reduction of paddy
through improve storage systems.

Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan is currently working as a Senior Officer at

Janata Bank Ltd, Bangladesh. He obtained his MS in Farm Power and
Machinery degree from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh,
Bangladesh.

Md. Nur-A-Alam obtained his MS in Farm Power and Machinery degree from
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh in 2014. He
worked at the Department of Farm Power and Machinery as a researcher. He
has published three papers in peer reviewed journals.

Nusrat Jahan is currently working as a Scientific Officer at Farm Machinery

and Postharvest Process Engineering Division, Bangladesh Agricultural
Research Institute Gazipur, Bangladesh. She obtained her MS in Irrigation and
Water Management from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh,
Bangladesh.

Md. Mashiur Rahman is currently working as a Scientific Officer at Farm

Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering Division, Bangladesh
Agricultural Research Institute Gazipur, Bangladesh. He obtained his MS in
Farm Power and Machinery degree from Bangladesh Agricultural University,
Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 107

1 Introduction

Rice provides vital nutrients for both human and animal populations. At present, the low
quality paddy seed is an important problem facing a large number of farmers. After
harvesting, farmers generally store a proportion of their crops for sowing in the next
growing season. Some varieties of rice are harvested in rainy season, leading to high
moisture content and risk of degradation. As a consequence, a large number of farmers in
Bangladesh experiences seed quality losses due to delayed or improper drying caused by
the lack of knowledge and adequate drying facilities. It is observed that germination
was 85% for rice seed dried in the dryer, compared with 70% for sun drying (Hien
et al., 1997).
Quality seed can alone increase 15–20% yields of the crops. One of the important
factors affecting the quality of seed is the moisture content and it must be in the suitable
range (14% wb or less) for long-term storage. High moisture leads to deteriorate seed
quality as a result of the microorganism growth and premature germination. In contrast,
low moisture can cause unnecessary energy consumption and crack seeds during drying
the process (Kelly, 1988). Seeds are susceptible to drying injury in several ways. First,
they are sensitive to high temperatures, depending on the species (Kernick, 1961). To
obtain a good dryer performance with seed moisture content, depth of seed in bin, air
temperature and air volume must be controlled. A farmer wants to dry seed quickly, but
high temperature may damage seed viability and vigor. The effect of high temperature is
most damaging when the moisture content of the seed is high (Almekinders and
Louwaars, 1999).
Drying of agricultural products in Bangladesh is normally carried out by traditional
sun drying. Although open sun drying is a well-known food preservation technique and it
offers a cheap and easy method of drying but the drying rate is very slow and often
results inferior quality due to weather conditions and vulnerability. As an alternative to
sun drying, solar drying can be considered for crop drying in developing countries
because of mechanical drying is mainly used in industrial countries and is not applicable
to small farms due to high investment and operating costs (Esper and Mühlbauer, 1996).
The natural convection solar dryer appears to have potential for adoption and application
in the tropics and subtropics. It is suitable at a household level for drying of 10–15 kg of
fruits and vegetables. In the natural convection, solar dryer suffers from limitations due to
extremely low buoyancy induced airflow inside the dryers (Bala and Woods, 1994).
Besides, comparatively high investment, limited capacity and the risk of crop spoilage
during adverse weather conditions have up to now prevented the wide acceptance of
natural convection solar dryers (Schirmer et al., 1996; Esper and Mühlbauer, 1996). On
the other hand, hybrid solar dryer is one in which drying is continued in off sun shine hrs
by back up heat energy or storage heat energy. Therefore, drying is continued and
product is saved from possible deterioration by microbial infestation (Gauhar et al., 1999;
Hossain et al., 2008).
Thin-layer drying is a water of removal process from a porous media by evaporation,
in which excess drying air is passed through a thin layer of material until the equilibrium
moisture content (EMC) is reached. Moisture removal from an agricultural product
108 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

depends on their drying temperature, velocity and relative air humidity, variety and
maturity. Hence, various isolated and combined parameters are involved in moisture
removal from a grain (Fonseca et al., 2002). Therefore, it is very difficult to establish a
precise mathematical model for grain drying control (Cao et al., 2004). Although some
mathematical models of drying process itself have been established, their structures are
often too complex to be used for control model and hence effective control is very
difficult to be realised (Marchand, 1985; Courtosis, 1995). In the study, drying of seed in
modified hybrid solar dyer is characterised through comparison of experimental data with
several thin-layer drying models. The main objectives of the study was developed a
modified hybrid solar dryer which is able to dry seed during sun shine as well as off sun
shine period by back up energy. The specific objectives of the study were evaluated
performance of dryer and compared experimental data with thin layer drying model to
find the best fitted model.

Figure 1 Schematic view of a hybrid solar dryer

Notes: (1) Leg, (2) base plate, (3) wheel, (4) tray, (5) floor, (6) insulation,
(7) absorber plate, (8) glass cover, (9) reflector, (10) and (11) reflector frame,
(12) reflector adjusting support, and (13) hinge
Source: Hossain and Hoque (2008)
 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 109

Figure 2 Schematic view of modified hybrid solar dryer

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Design of modified hybrid solar dryer

In the study the initial version of hybrid solar dryer (Hossain and Hoque, 2008) for
vegetables drying was modified for drying paddy seed. Hybrid solar dryer is one in which
drying is continued in off sun shine hrs by back up heat energy or stored heat energy.
Temperature of modified hybrid dryer is regulated by thermal sensor which was absent in
hybrid dryer. Therefore, drying is continued and product is saved from possible
deterioration by microbial infestation during off sunshine period (Gauhar et al., 1999;
Hossain et al., 2008). Initially the dryer basically consists of a solar collector and a drying
unit as shown in Figure 1. In respect to the demand of the dryer for different purposes, it
was needed to modify some parts. So a modified dryer having capacity of 500 kg
(0.5 ton) was designed to increase its performance where tray was made of iron frame
and reflector was separated into three parts as shown in Figure 2.

2.2 Solar collector

A 2.3 × 1.6 × 0.5 m3 polystyrene insulated flat plate concentrating solar collector with
4 mm thick clear glass transparent cover was placed on 4 legs having 140 mm wheel to
turn the solar collector horizontally and change its direction according to the change of
the sun’s angle. A 2 mm black painted corrugated iron sheet was used as absorber plate
110 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

with about 200 mm beneath of the glass cover. To increase the efficiency, flat type
reflector made of glass mirror having same dimension was added on top of the solar
collector so that it could be used as a reflector in day time and cover in night time or in
adverse weather. This reflector had adjustable angles that could be changed according to
the change of the sun’s angle during the day to collect higher amount of sun rays that fall
down on the solar collector. A 0.50 kW, 220 V centrifugal variac connected blower was
used to control air flow, draw the atmospheric air in the collector and push out the heated
air to the dryer with a desired air velocity. For auxiliary heating, two electric heaters
(2 × 2 kW = 4 kW) were installed at the entry of the collector. A temperature controller
was set to maintain constant temperature in the dryer.

2.3 Dryer unit

A 2.30 × 1.60 m2 solar dryer (same as the collector) was divided into four parts with
equal dimensions, located directly under the solar collector and 200 mm beneath of the
absorber plate. Each of the part there were 2 trays for drying made of wooden frame and
plastic net with a dimension of 1.04 × 0.78 m2. The drying air was passed across the
products placed in thin layers on 8 horizontally stacked trays and arranged in two vertical
columns. The drying air was heated up in solar collector and passed to the drying
chamber. The drying air from the solar collector was passed through a curved passage
downward to flow top to bottom of all drying trays and exhausted through an outlet. The
temperature in the dryer was maintained constant at desired temperature ± 1ºC using
temperature controller and adjusting airflow by a variac.
A magnetic cut out sensor type temperature controller (model no. XMTD 2001) was
used to that accuracy. The same sensor was also regulated variac connected fan and
electric heater. If the temperature exceeded the desired temperature by more solar
insulation, it was reduced by increasing air flow using variac connected fan.

2.4 Experimental procedure

2.4.1 Collection of seeds
Paddy seeds were collected and initial moisture content was determined by taking five
samples of seed (randomly from bulk harvest) straight away after harvest and by drying
at 105ºC in oven for 24 hr long. Moisture percentage was calculated following the
procedures described by ISTA (1976a, 1976b).

2.4.2 Treatments and experimental designs

Five different temperatures, i.e., 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48ºC were used as temperature
treatments at different lengths of time. Different temperatures, i.e., 40, 42, 44, 46 and
48ºC were considered for 7.5, 6.5, 6, 5.5 and 5 hr drying time, respectively.

2.4.3 Drying in hybrid solar dryer

Drying experiments were performed at different drying temperature to determine the
optimum drying temperature of seeds from June to December, 2013. Before starting the
experiment, the whole apparatus was operated for an hr to stabilise the drying air
temperature and air velocity in the dryer. The temperature of the drying air was adjusted
 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 111

by an electric heater. If the temperature exceeded the desired temperature by more solar
insulation, it was reduced by increasing air flow using variac connected blower. Seeds
were weighed in a balance before placing in the tray of dryer. All the samples were
distributed on the trays of dryer evenly and spread in a single layer. The loading capacity
of the dryer was 80–85 kg per batch. Drying was started and continued until it reached
the constant moisture content.

Figure 3 (a) Digital thermometer (K202, Germany) (b) Lux meter (LX-9626, China)
(c) Thermo-anemometer (AM-3848, England) (d) Thermo-hygrometer
(E200, Germany) (e) Electronic balance (CP423S, Germany) (see online version
for colours)

Figure 4 Different position of thermocouples and air flow direction

Ambient temperature and temperatures in different positions inside the dryer were
measured with a digital thermometer [Figure 3(a)] connected with k type thermocouples
which are placed in different positions of solar collector, drying chamber and ambient air
112 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

near the dryer as shown in Figure 4. Solar radiation, velocity of air, relative humidity
and weight of the samples were measured by a lux meter, thermo-anemometer,
thermo-hygrometer and electronic balance, respectively as shown in Figure 3(b)–3(e).
During day time (9:30–17:30 hr), the positions of collector and reflector were adjusted
with solar angle to capture maximum solar radiation. After 17:00 hr, the collector was
covered by reflector and both stored energy and electrical energy are simultaneously used
for drying. After completion of drying, the dried samples were collected, cooled in a
shade at ambient temperature and then sealed it in the plastic bags.

2.5 Thin layer drying model

Mathematical models for thin-layer drying of paddy seeds were analysed using direct
least square method between moisture ratio (MR) and drying time (t). MR may be
defined as follows:
Mt − Me
MR = (1)
M0 − Me
where Mo = initial moisture content, Me = equilibrium moisture content and
Mt = moisture content. Me values were obtained from drying curves and set equal to
moisture content at which sample weight became constant with drying time. Nine
commonly used thin layer models were selected to fit the experimental data of drying
seeds by direct least square method using SPSS 11.5 and shown in Table 1. All models
were evaluated in terms of coefficients of determination. A primary criterion for selecting
the best equation it is necessary to describe the drying curve equation. Coefficients of
determination (R2), root mean square errors (RMSE), χ2 (chi-square) may be defined as:

(∑ M M )
2
exp pre
R2 =
∑M ∑M exp
2
pre
2

1/2
⎡1 n
2⎤
RMSE = ⎢
⎣⎢ N
∑ ( MR
i =1
pre,i − MR exp,i ) ⎥
⎦⎥
(2)

∑ ( MR − MR pre, i )
2
exp, i
i =1
χ2 =
N−n
where MRexp = experimentally observed MR, MRpre = predicted MR, MRexp, i = ith
experimentally observed MR, MRpre, i = ith predicted MR, N = no. of observations, n = no.
of constants in drying model. Residuals of each model were plotted with experimental
moisture contents. If residual plots indicate a systematic pattern, there is a systematic
error in model prediction (Chen and Morey, 1989; Kaleemullah and Kailappan, 2004). A
model was considered to be the best when the residual plots indicate uniformly scattered
points having minimum RMSE value and maximum R2 (close to 1.0).
 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 113

Table 1 Mathematical models applied to the drying curve

Model name Model equation

Newton equation (Bala and Woods, 1992) MR = exp(-kt)
Page equation (Page, 1949; Bala and Woods, 1992) MR = exp(-ktn)
Modified page (Overhults et al., 1973) MR = exp[(-ktn)]
Henderson and Pabis (1969) MR = exp(-kt)
Geometic (Chandra and Singh,1995) MR = at-n
Wang and Singh (1978) MR = 1+at+bt2
Two term exponential (Sharaf-Eldeen et al., 1980) MR = exp(-kt)
Logarithmic (Ertekin and Yaldiz, 2004) MR = a exp(-kt) + (1-a) exp (-kat)
Midilli equation (Midilli et al., 2002) MR = a exp[(-ktn) +bt]

2.6 Thermal efficiency

Considering global solar radiation, the thermal efficiency of the solar collector was
calculated using following equation (3):
 a Cpa ( Ti − To )
m
ηcdg = (3)
A c Ig

where ηcdg = collector efficiency, m a = mass flow rate of air, kg/s, Cpa = specific heat of
air, kJ/kgK, Ti = inside the dryer air temperature, ºC, To = outside the dryer air
temperature, ºC, Ac = area of collector, m2, and Ig = global solar radiation, W/m2.

2.7 Seed quality test

Seed viability was tested by Tetrazolium test. Seeds collected from each experimental
runs were soaked in water for overnight to allow absorption of water, active the enzyme
system and soften the embryo and endosperm. Then seed coats were removed to expose
the embryo and facilitate the contact of embryo with 0.1-0.5% tetrazolium solution for
two hrs long. Finally, seeds were examined under magnifying glass. Red or purple colour
of embryo is a symptom of living seed where colour less embryo indicates dead seed.
Standard germination test was also performed to determine germination percentage. Seed
samples were kept in aluminium dishes and plastic plates overnight under ambient
condition to equilibrate with the ambient temperature and reduce stress. Then the seed
samples were placed on moist sand trays. Three replications of 100 seeds were taken for
each sample and kept under room temperature for germination. After 5, 9 and 12 days,
germinated seeds having root or shoot longer than 2 mm were counted.

3 Results and discussions

3.1 Development of modified hybrid solar dryer

A modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed according to Figure 2 was developed to
increase the performance and ease the labour at the time of handling as shown in
Figure 5.
114 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

Figure 5 Pictorial view of modified hybrid solar dryer (see online version for colours)

Figure 6 Effect of drying temperature on drying time

 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 115

3.2 Drying of paddy seeds

The effects of drying time and temperatures on the moisture content of paddy seeds
are shown Figure 6. The initial moisture content of seeds after harvest was
23.86 % (wb). There is a relationship between drying time and temperature. To reduce
the moisture content at the same level in different temperature, a longer drying time is
required for low drying temperature compared to high drying temperature as shown in
Figure 6.

3.3 Performance of collector

The concentrating solar collector as well as solar dryer was tested during drying of
paddy. During this drying period, the highest global solar radiation was 534 W/m2;
absorber plate temperature at mid noon, the highest collector outlet air temperature and
average ambient air temperature in day were 52.5, 51.9 and 30.7ºC, respectively shown in
Figure 7. In day time, collector outlet air temperature was about 20ºC higher than the
ambient air temperature. The solar collector was completely insulated with 25 mm cork
sheet so that the air temperature in the collector did not drop drastically at the time of low
solar radiation. Air temperature developed in the day time at the outlet of the collector
was sufficient for paddy seed drying.

Figure 7 Variations of ambient air temperature, air temperature at outlet and inlet of the collector
with global solar radiation (see online version for colours)

3.4 Performance of dryer

Dryer air temperatures were measured at inlet, outlet and inside of the dryer during solar
drying of paddy seed. The temperature of the dryer was maintained at 40–48ºC by 4 kW
(2 × 2 kW) air heaters when the solar radiation was low in afternoon or adverse
116 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

environmental condition (cloudy-rainy sky). The internal temperature of the dryer was
varied from 39.35–49.9ºC whereas the average ambient air temperature was 30.7ºC as
shown in Figure 8. In day time, the average dryer temperature was about 15ºC higher
than the average ambient air temperature.

Figure 8 Variations of ambient air temperature and average air temperature inside the dryer with
global solar radiation in day time (see online version for colours)

3.5 Efficiency of collector

The total solar radiation was the summation of direct global radiation on the plastic cover
and incoming reflected radiation from the reflector. An average increase in total radiation
was found to be 28.26% over the global radiation on plastic cover of a typical day and
shown in Figure 9(a). Total radiation from the global radiation was calculated by
following regression equation (4).

I t = 1.1392 I g + 50.012 ( R 2 = 0.97 ) (4)

where It = total radiation, Ig = global radiation. Variation of collector efficiency followed

a similar pattern of the solar radiations with global solar radiation at different times as
shown in Figure 9(b). In sunny days, collector efficiency with global radiation 500 W/m2
was found where the highest 36% at mid noon and varied from 20–36%. Collector’s
internal temperature was found around 49.9ºC with 29ºC ambient temperature due to flat
reflector effect.
 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 117

Figure 9 (a) Relationship between total radiation and global radiation on the plastic cover
(b) Variation of collector efficiency with global solar radiation at different times of a
typical day

3.6 Fitting of experimental data to the models

Paddy seeds were dried in hybrid dryer at varying temperature to find out its effect on the
drying of paddy seeds in thin layer. The drying characteristics of paddy seeds were fitted
to the thin layer drying equations to estimate the parameters of the best fitted equation at
different temperatures presented in Table 2. Table 2 shows that page model is the best
fitted and ranked one model than those of other models for the highest R2 and lowest
RMSE values. The agreements between predicted and experimental results from page
equation for drying of paddy at different temperatures are very close and shown in
Figures 10(a)–10(e).
118 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

Table 2 Model parameters of thin layer drying models

Temp,
Model name K A b n a0 R2 RMSE χ2 Rank
ºC
Newton 40 0.2324 0.9253 1.516 1.961 8
equation 42 0.2624 0.9029 1.729 2.272
44 0.2886 0.8887 1.883 2.561
46 0.3061 0.8770 1.993 2.63
48 0.3433 0.8790 2.00 2.463
Page equation 40 0.3660 0.6731 0.9973 0.292 0.072 1
42 0.4167 0.6314 0.9979 0.254 0.051
44 0.4573 0.6168 0.9973 0.294 0.064
46 0.4817 0.5867 0.9970 0.313 0.067
48 0.5067 0.5714 0.9980 0.254 0.042
Modified 40 0.4639 0.5010 0.9253 1.516 1.961 9
page 42 0.5742 0.4570 0.9029 1.729 2.272
44 0.6304 0.4578 0.8887 1.883 2.561
46 0.9496 0.3223 0.8770 1.994 2.630
48 0.4443 0.7390 0.8704 2.068 2.654
Henderson 40 0.1978 0.8886 0.9681 0.989 0.718 5
and Pabis 42 0.2199 0.8810 0.9547 1.180 0.907
44 0.2398 0.8753 0.9456 1.317 1.065
46 0.2530 0.8739 0.9376 1.420 1.131
48 0.2530 0.8739 0.9376 1.451 1.211
Geometric 40 0.6539 0.3831 0.9057 1.283 1.594 6
42 0.6232 0.3769 0.9220 1.095 1.037
44 0.5975 0.3773 0.9216 1.065 0.925
46 0.5843 0.3682 0.9232 1.015 0.785
48 0.5721 0.3654 0.9370 0.890 0.56
Logarithmic 40 0.3479 0.7422 0.01 0.20 0.9851 0.677 0.315 3
42 0.4448 0.7117 0.01 0.23 0.9815 0.723 0.315
44 0.5131 0.7025 0.01 0.24 0.9779 0.838 0.427
46 0.5767 0.6886 0.01 0.26 0.9746 0.907 0.474
48 0.6730 0.6779 0.01 0.28 0.9763 0.885 0.435
Wang and 40 –0.231 0.018 0.9398 1.360 1.389 7
Sing 42 –0.267 0.025 0.9274 1.496 1.502
44 –0.296 0.030 0.9178 1.618 1.643
46 –0.317 0.035 0.9102 1.704 1.682
48 –0.346 0.042 0.9112 1.712 1.594
Two-terms 40 1.2223 0.1555 0.9770 0.842 0.564 4
exponential 42 1.3473 0.1585 0.9654 1.033 0.772
44 1.4640 0.1604 0.9563 1.181 0.959
46 1.5715 0.1586 0.9489 1.283 1.037
48 1.6649 0.1599 0.9451 1.347 1.084
 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 119

Table 2 Model parameters of thin layer drying models (continued)

Temp,
Model name K A b N a0 R2 RMSE χ2 Rank
ºC
Midilli 40 –0.0849 0.6795 –0.06 –300.8 0.9753 0.544 0.336 2
equation 42 –0.0791 0.6604 –0.07 –310.2 0.9806 0.439 0.194
44 –0.0839 0.6437 –0.07 –310.6 0.9808 0.421 0.171
46 –0.0729 0.6413 –0.07 –317.8 0.9848 0.357 0.115
48 –0.0633 0.6338 –0.08 –343.1 0.9857 0.324 0.082

Figure 10 Comparison of predicted data from page equation and experimental data for drying at
(a) 40ºC (b) 42ºC (c) 44ºC (d) 46ºC (e) 48ºC temperature (see online version
for colours)
120 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

Figure 11 Parameters of Page model (a) k (b) n as a function of temperature

Figure 12 Experimental and predicted moisture content for single layer drying of paddy seeds at
(a) 40ºC (b) 42ºC (c) 44ºC (d) 46ºC (e) 48ºC temperature using page model
(see online version for colours)
 Performance evaluation of modified hybrid solar dryer for paddy seed 121

Figure 12 Experimental and predicted moisture content for single layer drying of paddy seeds at
(a) 40ºC (b) 42ºC (c) 44ºC (d) 46ºC (e) 48ºC temperature using page model
(continued) (see online version for colours)

3.7 Estimation of different drying parameters

The parameters of Page model at variable temperatures (40–48ºC) are found to be a linear
function of air temperature. Following regression equations (5) and (6) were developed
for the parameters of page model as a function of temperature shown in Figures 11(a)
and 11(b).

k = 0.0173Ta − 0.3167 ( R 2 = 0.9718 ) (5)

n = 17.292Ta − 0.8822 ( R 2 = 0.9808 ) (6)

Substituting the values of k and n from equations (5) and (6) into the page model and
obtained the following equation (7) in terms of temperature. Figure 12 shows the
comparison between the experimental and predicted moisture content from the page
model for different drying temperature. The predicted data mainly banded around the
straight line which showed the suitability of the model in describing single layer drying
behaviour of paddy seeds.

M = M e + ( M o − M e ) exp ( − ( 0.0173Ta − 0.3167 ) t (17.292 Ta − 0.8822 ) ) (7)

3.8 Seed quality test

In the experiment the germination percentage at temperature 40ºC, 42ºC, 44ºC, 46ºC and
48ºC of dried paddy seeds were 79%,81%, 86%,72% and 66%, respectively and viability
was 97.5%. Figure 13 shows that after 44ºC temperature, germination percentage
decreased with increasing temperature. At 44ºC, maximum germination percentage
recorded (86%).
122 M.A. Gulandaz et al.

Figure 13 Effect of drying temperatures on germination percentage of paddy seeds (see online
version for colours)

4 Conclusions

Solar energy for crop drying is environment friendly and economically viable for
developing country like Bangladesh. The hybrid solar dryer provided with a flat plate
concentrating solar collector and an air heater performed better than sun drying method
as well as any other solar dryer. It is simple in structure and has no complexity. The
hybrid solar dryer may ensure paddy seed with safe moisture content before putting it
into store, planting for next season or other purposes. It may be an ideal dryer in terms of
drying rates, grain quality and energy costs. The performance of hybrid dryer is also good
in terms of thin layer equation. The optimum drying temperature for the selected seed
grains have been established. It was found that 44ºC was completely safe for paddy
seeds.
The hybrid solar dryer provided with a flat plate concentrating solar collector and an
air heater performed better than sun drying method as well as any other solar dryer. The
average air temperatures at collector outlet and inside the dryer were found about 20°C
and 15°C higher than the average ambient air temperature, respectively. The collector
efficiency varied from 20% to 36% depending on the global solar radiation. The page
model was considered the best for describing the thin layer solar drying behaviour of
paddy.

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