SOCIAL ETHICS AND RESPONSIBLITIES

Implementation of “Solar-biomass hybrid tunnel dryers” at

Balochistan

Submitted by
Mahrukh Batool . REG. # 46889

Abdul Samad . REG. # 46796

Muhammad Zeeshan REG. #43798

Saman Shakir REG.#61629

Course Instructor
Yasrab Shah
TABLE OF CONTENT

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INTRODUCTION …….……………………………………………………….……….……3

PROBLEM STATEMENT …………………………………………………………......…..3

BUSINESS PLAN ………………..………………………..…………………………..…….4

SUSTAINABILITY …………………………………………..……………………..………4

UPCYCLE AND RECYCLE ……………………………………………………..………..5

BUSINESS PROJECTION ………..……………………………………………..………...6

WORKING OF PRODUCT ………………………………………………………..………6

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS ………………………………………………………..……...7

MARKET ANALYSIS………………………………………………………..…………….9

PRODUCT MARKET FIT………………………………………………………..……….10

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………..……………………10

PRODUCT VISUALIZATION………………………………………………………..…...10

Keywords— Renewable energy, solar drying, solar tunnel dryer,

solar-biomass hybrid tunnel dryer.

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Introduction:
Agriculture, a mainstay for the people and development in Balochistan during the last four
decades, has been largely driven by increases in the canal command area and the proliferation of
tube-wells. Despite the low yield of crops, agriculture remains a crucial sector for providing
employment and livelihood opportunities to rural areas at low wages in Balochistan. Population
pressure on resources (land and other) to meet growing demand has resulted in a decline in the
factor productivity of the cropping systems. Nevertheless, the agricultural potential can be
harnessed by addressing the yield gaps and by, expanding the cultivated area as the province has
a cultivated area of 3.19 million hectares, and additionally, the cultivable wasteland is 3.86
million hectares out of the total geographic area of 34.72 million hectares, if access improves to
water, surface, and ground, for agriculture.

Problem statement:
Drying, refrigeration, freezing, salting (curing), sugaring, smoking, pickling, canning, and
bottling are several techniques adopted for food preservation. Among these drying is the most
suitable technique for developing countries. The process of removal of moisture from the product
to a specified value by using heat energy is known as drying. Open sun drying is one of the
oldest methods of drying agricultural products. It is a simple and cheap process. However, this
method has many disadvantages such as spoilt products due to rain, wind, dust, insect infestation,
animal attack, and fungi. Furthermore, it
requires a large land area for drying. Hence sun drying is modified to solar drying to protect
agricultural products from spoilage, and improve the quality of the product. The open sun drying
method has almost no capital cost and very low running cost, for example, labor work required to
move the sheets in and out each
day, so this method is the cheapest method of drying.

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 Comparison of open-air sun drying and greenhouse solar drying in Thailand:

Business Plan:
This report presents the design of a suitable and feasible solar-biomass hybrid tunnel dryer for
the drying of several fruits and vegetables and fabricates a dryer from materials having great
efficiency and at an affordable cost. Agriculture is often considered the backbone of Pakistan’s
economy. With technological advancements, farmers should switch from traditional farming
techniques to innovative methods that can increase production and maximize sales.

Sustainability:
 Increasing farmer revenue by bringing solar technology to the fruit drying process.
 If fruit drying is managed efficiently, we can earn good revenue not only in the local
industry but also in the form of foreign exchange by exporting these items.
 Solar-biomass hybrid tunnel dryers utilize the energy of the sun and wind to dry
agricultural products, preparing them for storage and processing. The fruit is spread
evenly on drying racks inside the tunnel. The air below the semi-transparent collector is
heated by the sun and spreads throughout the tunnel. The increased temperature decreases
the relative humidity of the air, thereby allowing the air to dry the fruits efficiently.
 Also, the product is completely protected from external environmental impacts such as
rain, insects, and animals.

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How it can be upcycled and recycled?
As it is the composition of two energies, biomass and solar.
So the whole biomass energy uses recycle method to form -- How?
Biomass contains stored chemical energy from the sun. Plants produce biomass through
photosynthesis. Biomass can be burned directly for heat or converted to renewable liquid and
gaseous fuels through various processes.
Upcycle:
Biomass energy can be made from:
 Wood and wood processing wastes—firewood, wood pellets, wood chips, lumber and
furniture mill sawdust and waste, and black liquor from pulp and paper mills.
 Agricultural crops and waste materials—corn, soybeans, sugar cane, woody plants, algae,
and crop and food processing residues, mostly to produce biofuels.
 Biogenic materials in municipal solid waste—paper, cotton, and wool products, and food,
yard, and wood wastes.
 Animal manure and human sewage for producing biogas/renewable natural gas.
Recycle -- Converting biomass to energy

Biomass is converted to energy through various processes, including:

 Direct combustion (burning) to produce heat

 Thermochemical conversion to produce solid, gaseous, and liquid fuels
 Chemical conversion to produce liquid fuels
 Biological conversion to produce liquid and gaseous fuels

Direct combustion is the most common method for converting biomass to useful energy. All
biomass can be burned directly for heating buildings and water, for industrial process heat, and
for generating electricity in steam turbines.

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Business Projection (Budgeting):
Manufacturing the dryer with affordable cost is the main focus in this research and to make it
user friendly. The whole setup of the solar tunnel dryer is portable and can easily reassemble and
shifted to other places.

Working of Product:

The solar-biomass hybrid tunnel dryer can be operate in two modes, solar drying and hybrid
drying. The solar tunnel dryer takes total of 32 hours (4 days) for complete drying, as it was
operated in only solar mode. In the open sun, drying a tomato takes 72 hours, which means 9 to
10 days to complete the drying. The drying time is reduced by half in the solar tunnel dryer.
The solar tunnel dryer takes a total of 66 hours to complete drying, when it is operated in hybrid
mode. During day time the solar tunnel dryer is facilitated with additional solar collector. While
at night time it backup with biomass burner linked with the heat exchanger providing heat to the
drying chamber. The drying process of the fruits and vegetables takes 3 complete days and
nights. In the open sun drying, different vegetables take 5 to 7 days, depending the initial
moisture content present. The quality of the fruits and vegetables is preserved, and taste and
aroma are also preserved.

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Competitor Analysis:
1. China- 340 GW

 China’s solar prowess is staggering. With a whopping 340 GW, the country is the largest
producer of solar energy in the world.
 In the first six months of 2022, the nation has deployed more than 30.88 GW of Solar PV
systems. Moreover, it has set goals to install 108 GW of solar power this year.
 The nation is also the largest manufacturer of solar equipment. According to reports,
China has invested over 50 billion USD, in new PV supply capacity since 2011. This
figure is ten times greater than the amount invested by the entire continent of Europe in
the same industry.
 China’s share in all manufacturing phases of solar panels exceeds 80%. Today, subsidy-
free solar power has become cheaper than coal in China.

2. The United States of America- 102.9 GW

 With 102.9 GW of solar power capacity, the USA stands second in the list of top solar countries.
From a measly capacity of 0.34 GW in 2008, the nation has come a long way in the solar domain.

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 Presently, 3% of the US’s electricity is sourced through solar power plants.
 Moreover, US’s solar potential is huge. According to a report by National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, an area the size of Lake Michigan (around 22,000 sq. miles), covered with solar
panels, would be enough to power the entire country. If the efficiency of the panels is raised, this
area could be reduced by half.

3. Japan- 78.5 GW

 A few years ago, Japan stood 4th in terms of solar power capacity. Now, with a
cumulative capacity of 78.5 GW, the nation is occupying the 3rd spot.
 Solar Power accounted for close to 10% of Japan’s total electricity generation in 2021.
This is an excellent growth, compared to the mere 0.3% of the energy mix in 2010.
 The nation is considered the fastest growing in terms of promoting Solar PV. Further,
with 45% of the world’s photovoltaic cells manufactured in Japan, the country leads the
world in the photovoltaic market.

4. Germany- 62+ GW

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 Germany leads the European countries in renewable energy. As of 2021, the nation’s
solar capacity was 59 GW. In the first half of 2022, Germany added more than 3.8 GW of
capacity to the figure.
 In 2021, solar power accounted for 10% of the country’s electricity consumption.
 The Ukraine war has created tension between many European nations and Russia.
Germany is also facing the consequences of this friction in the form of a shortage of gas.
To manage this energy crisis, the German government is striving to introduce policies
and expand the renewable energy capacity.

5. India- 57 GW

 With an installed solar capacity of over 57 GW, India is the 5th largest solar country in
the world. The country has vast solar potential, as most states of India receive sunshine
for more than 300 days a year.
 To harness this potential, the Indian government is constantly churning out policies and
initiatives that encourage the shift to solar among the population. The nation is also
determined to reduce import dependence in the solar sector and build domestic
manufacturing capabilities.

Market Analysis:
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)

a- Strengths: Renewable energy source, reduces electricity bills, low maintenance cost, and
technology development.
b- Weaknesses: Cost, Solar energy storage is expensive, and uses lots of space.
c- Opportunities:
- Poverty reduction.
- By implementing solar hybrid systems it can increase Balochistan's economic
income, growth, employment, and social development.

d- Threats: Weather dependent and Low public funding for setup implementation.

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Product- Market Fit:
The uniqueness of this system is that we have a solar dryer with a biomass backup that enables
24/7 operation, which ensures high product quality. The hybrid tunnel dryer product satisfies a
strong market demand, as it can make the process easy for farmers, and it’s very user-friendly.
Also, we can run the dryer round the clock, reducing the processing time by 50 percent! The
entire system consists of four major components – the tunnel, the biomass burner, the collector,
and the electrical system. It is an electromechanical device that operates only on solar radiation
and biomass as sources of energy. It is a hybrid system that integrates three renewable energy
sources – solar PV, solar thermal, and biomass.

Conclusion:
This applied research project focused on the design, development, testing and commercialization
of solar dryers to process persimmons and other fruits in the agricultural environment. Solar-
biomass hybrid tunnel dryers utilize the energy of the sun and wind to dry agricultural products,
preparing them for storage and processing. The fruit is spread evenly on drying racks inside the
tunnel. The air below the semi-transparent collector is heated by the sun and spreads throughout
the tunnel. The increased temperature decreases the relative humidity of the air, thereby allowing
the air to dry the fruits efficiently. Also, the product is completely protected from external
environmental impacts such as rain, insects, and animals.

Visualization of Product:

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