A REVIEW OF SOALR DRYER AND EXPERIMENTAL

INVESTIGATION OF DIFFERENT SOLAR DRYERS SUITABLE FOR

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE DRYING 

ABSTRACT 
DRYING IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PROCESSES WHICH AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS GO
THROUGH. DRYING IS HELPFUL IN REMOVING MOISTURE FROM THE PRODUCTS THUS HELPING IN PRESERVING THEM
FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. IN MODERN WORLD WE USE MANY WAYS TO DRY THESE PRODUCTS, SUCH AS SOLAR
DRYING, HOT AIR DRYING, CONTACT DRYING, INFRARED DRYING, FREEZE-DRYING AND DIELECTRIC DRYING ETC.
SOLAR DRYING IS THE OLDEST AND MOST COMMON METHOD USED FOR DRYING.  SINCE THE ANCIENT TIMES THIS
METHOD IS BEING USED FOR DRYING CROPS AND OTHER STUFF. SOLAR ENERGY IS INEXHAUSTIBLE WHICH MAKES IT
EVEN MORE OF A TOPIC WHICH IS WORTH SPENDING THE TIME RESEARCHING AND REVIEWING IN. EXTRACTING THE
ENERGY OF THE SUN IS THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY. A REVIEW PAPER IS MADE TO STUDY SOLAR DRYER, ITS TYPES,
APPLICATIONS AND VARIOUS DESIGNS OF SOLAR DRYER AND A RESEARCH EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF
DIFFERENT SOLAR DRYERS SUITABLE FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLE DRYING CONDUCTED BY VINOD KUMAR
SHARMA,* ANTONIO COLANGELO AND GIUSEPPE SPAGNA IS STUDIED. THIS RESEARCH PAPER PRESENTS AN
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOLAR DRYER BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE OF
NATURAL AS WELL AS FORCED CONVECTION. EFFORTS HAVE ALSO BEEN MADE TO SELECT THE MOST APPROPRIATE
DESIGN TO BE USED ON A HOUSEHOLD, FARM OR INDUSTRIAL SCALE
 INTRODUCTION
DRYING IS THE PROCESS OF REMOVING MOISTURE FROM AGRICULTURAL OR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS. MOST OF THE AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTS CONTAIN THE HIGHER MOISTURE OF 25–80% BUT GENERALLY FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AROUND 70%, [1]. SUCH HIGH
AMOUNT OF MOISTURE CONTENT CAUSES SPOILAGE OF THESE PRODUCTS. THE POPULATION OF THIS WORLD IS INCREASING. IT WILL
INCREASE WITHIN THE NEXT 30 YEARS BY AROUND 3 BILLION PEOPLE, [2]. THIS GRADUAL INCREASE IN POPULATION IS INEVITABLY
GOING TO LEAD US TOWARDS INCREASED FOOD DEMAND. IN A WORLD WHERE FULFILLING FOOD DEMANDS MIGHT TURN OUT TO BE
QUITE A CHALLENGE, IT IS GREATLY IMPORTANT TO REDUCE THE POST-HARVEST LOSS OF PRODUCTS. NEARLY 10 UP TO 40 % OF THE
CROPS HARVESTED IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEVER REACH THE CONSUMER DUE TO SPOILAGE, WASTE, PEST, ETC [3].
THEREFORE IT IS UTTERLY NECESSARY TO PERFORM DRYING OF FOOD PRODUCTS IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THEM FOR A LONG TIME. 
     SOLAR DRYING IS THE OLDEST METHOD IN PRACTICE. THIS WAS DONE PARTICULARLY BY OPEN SUN DRYING UNDER THE OPEN SKY.
THE SUN DRYING PROCESS HAS MANY DRAWBACKS. IT IS A VERY SLOW PROCESS AND CONTAINS THE RISK OF GETTING INSECT
INFESTATIONS, EXPOSURE TO DUST, GROWTH OF MICROORGANISMS WHICH MIGHT ALSO LEAD TO REDUCTION OF NUTRIENTS. THE
PRODUCT LIES UNDER OPEN SKY WHICH LEAVES IT VULNERABLE TO BAD CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. IN SHORT SUN DRYING HAS A HIGH
RISK OF RUINING THE PRODUCT QUALITY. SOLAR DRYING IS THE BEST ALTERNATIVE AS A SOLUTION OF ALL THE DRAWBACKS OF
NATURAL DRYING AND ARTIFICIAL MECHANICAL DRYING [4]. 
      SOLAR DRYING IS ALWAYS A BETTER OPTION THAN REST OF THE DRYING OPTIONS WHICH USE NON-RENEWABLE SOURCES OF
ENERGY. NEARLY FOUR MILLION EXAJOULES (1 EJ = 1018J) OF SOLAR ENERGY REACHES THE EARTH ANNUALLY, CA. 5 × 104 EJ OF
WHICH IS CLAIMED TO BE EASILY HARVESTABLE [5]. CONSIDERING THE ABUNDANCE OF SOLAR ENERGY, THE TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCEMENT IN THIS FIELD IS A BIT DISAPPOINTING. THE COST OF SOLAR DRYERS SERVES AS MAJOR ISSUE AND BARRIER TO
THE WORLDWIDE ADOPTION OF THE PRODUCT. ANOTHER MAJOR PROBLEM IS ITS NON-FUNCTIONALITY AT NIGHT TIME ALTHOUGH
DRYERS WITH THERMAL STORAGE ARE BEING RESEARCHED AND REVIEWED TO OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM. THE MAIN PROBLEMS,
HOWEVER, ARE TO IDENTIFY THE MOST APPROPRIATE AND ECONOMIC DESIGN BEST SUITED TO THE NEEDS OF THE USERS,
AND DIFFUSION OF SUCH SYSTEMS AMONG THE REAL USERS. IN AN ATTEMPT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS MENTIONED ABOVE, THE
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE DRYING EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED USING THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOLAR
DRYERS HAVE BEEN ANALYSED. A BRIEF DESIGN DESCRIPTION, DETAILS OF THE EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED AND THE
CONCLUSIONS DRAWN, ARE THE PROMINENT FEATURES OF THE PRESENT PAPER.
CLASSIFICATION OF
SOLAR DRYERS 

SOLAR DRYERS CAN BE CLASSIFIES INTO TWO

MAJOR GROUPS. 
• ON THE BASIS OF METHOD OF AIR CIRCULATION,
SUCH AS ACTIVE SOLAR DRYER (FORCED
CONVECTION) AND PASSIVE SOLAR DRYER
(NATURAL CONVECTION).
• ON THE BASIS OF TYPE OF DRYING, SUCH AS
DIRECT SOLAR DRYING, INDIRECT SOLAR
DRYING AND MIXED MODE SOLAR DRYING.
PASSIVE SOLAR DRYERS 
PASSIVE SOLAR DRYERS’ ALSO KNOWN AS NATURAL CONVECTION SOLAR
DRYERS ARE LOW COST DRYERS IN WHICH AIR IS HEATED AND CIRCULATED
NATURALLY. ITS SIMPLE MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN THE REASON FOR ITS
POPULARITY. IT CONSISTS OF A COLLECTOR, A TRANSPARENT SHEET, AND A
UNIT FOR DRYING; IT IS COVERED BY A SHADE ON TOP. THESE PARTS ARE
CONNECTED IN A SERIES, COMPRISING A SYSTEM THAT CAN OBTAIN VERY
SATISFACTORY DRYING RATES [7]. 

ACTIVE SOLAR DRYERS 

ACTIVE SOLAR DRYERS ARE ALSO KNOWN AS FORCED CONVECTION SOLAR
DRYER. IN ACTIVE SOLAR DRYERS THE AIR IS HEATED BY THE MEANS OF
SOLAR ENERGY AND CIRCULATED BY EXTERNAL MEANS LIKE FANS OR
PUMPS. ACTIVE SOLAR DRYERS COMBINE SOLAR ENERGY WITH
ELECTRICITY OR FOSSIL FUELS TO PROVIDE HEAT AND AIR CIRCULATION;
THEREFORE THESE ARE NOT OPTIMAL FOR RURAL AND ISOLATED AREAS [8]. 
DIRECT SOLAR DRYERS 
DIRECT SOLAR DRYING CAN BE CALLED AN IMPROVED VERSION OF OPEN SUN DRYING. IN THIS
METHOD THE PRODUCT IS DRIED BY EXPOSING IT DIRECTLY UNDER THE SUNLIGHT INSIDE A
CHAMBER. THIS IS CLOSE TO THE OPEN SUN DRYING TYPE OF DRYER ONLY DIFFERENCE IS FOOD
PRODUCT IS COVERED WITH A TRANSPARENT COVER [9]. THIS TRANSPARENT COVER CAN BE MADE
OUT OF GLASS OR PLASTIC AND IT PROTECT THE PRODUCTS FROM RAIN AND DUST AND ALSO HELPS IN
REDUCING HEAT LOSSES. CIRCULATION MODE OF THE HEATED AIR THEN DECIDES WHETHER THE
DRYER IS ACTIVE OR PASSIVE. 
INDIRECT SOLAR DRYERS 
INDIRECT SOLAR DRYER IS ALSO KNOWN AS DISTRIBUTED SOLAR DRYER. IT IS CALLED DISTRIBUTED
SOLAR DRYER BECAUSE IT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO SECTIONS: THE AIR IS COLLECTED AND HEATED IN
THE FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR THEN THE HEATED AIR FLOWS THROUGH THE CABIN WHERE THE
PRODUCTS ARE BEING KEPT. JUST LIKE THE DIRECT SOLAR DRYER THE EFFICIENCY OF INDIRECT
SOLAR DRYER CAN ALSO BE CONTROLLED BY THE AIR CIRCULATION MODE. FOR HIGHER EFFICIENCY
AIR IS CIRCULATED BY A FAN OR A BLOWER (ACTIVE DRYING). 
MIXED MODE SOLAR DRYER 
MIXED MODE SOLAR DRYER IS THE COMBINATION OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT TYPE OF SOLAR DRYER.
THIS KIND OF DRYER HAS PROVEN TO BE DELIVERING BETTER DRYING RATES THAN DIRECT AND
INDIRECT SOLAR DRYER. JUST LIKE INDIRECT SOLAR DRYER THIS DRYER ALSO CONSIST OF 2
SECTIONS. AIR IS HEATED IN A COLLECTOR AND THEN THIS HOT AIR IS SUPPLIED TO THE DRYING
CHAMBER AND DRYING CHAMBER TOP IS MADE UP OF GLASS COVER WHICH CAN DIRECTLY ABSORB
SOLAR RADIATION TOO [9]. THIS TYPE OF DESIGN MAKES THE DRYING FASTER THAN THE PREVIOUS
DRYERS. 
 DESCRIPTION OF THREE DIFFERENT SOLAR
DRYER TESTED

THE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOLAR DRYERS USED FOR THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION ARE :
(1) A CABINET-TYPE NATURAL CONVECTION SOLAR DRYER;
(2) A MULTI-STACKED NATURAL CONVECTION SOLAR DRYER; AND 
(3) AN INDIRECT-TYPE MULTI-SHELF FORCED CONVECTION SOLAR DRYER. 

THE CRITERIA USED FOR THE FABRICATION OF THE DESIGNS MENTIONED ABOVE WERE BASED ON
FACTORS SUCH AS :
(A) MODE OF OPERATION (NATURAL OR FORCED CONVECTION) ;
(B) QUANTITY OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT TO BE DRIED ; AND
(C) AVAILABILITY OF TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW, RESOURCES AND GRID POWER.
EXPERIMENTS

A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED DURING SUMMER DAYS

IN THE CLIMATE OF SOUTHERN ITALY DURING THE MONTHS OF JUNE
AND JULY 1993. THE PRODUCTS CHOSEN FOR THE STUDY WERE
MUSHROOMS, GREEN CHILIES AND TOMATOES. NO CHEMICAL
PRETREATMENT WAS GIVEN TO THE PRODUCTS BEING DRIED. IN ALL
THE EXPERIMENTS, DRYING OPERATIONS STARTED AT THE SAME TIME.
THIS WAS DONE IN ORDER TO COMPARE THE DRYING
CHARACTERISTICS UNDER THE SAME SET OF CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.
DURING THE EXPERIMENT, THE AIR TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE DRYER
AND THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE WERE MEASURED BY
USING A PT 100 SENSOR. SAMPLES PLACED INSIDE THE DRYERS WERE
WEIGHED AFTER REGULAR INTERVALS OF 2 H USING A PHYSICAL
BALANCE. INITIAL AND FINAL MOISTURE CONTENTS OF THE
PRODUCTS WERE DETERMINED BY THE OVEN METHOD.
 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
THE DRYING OF VEGETABLES WAS CARRIED OUT USING THREE DIFFERENT SOLAR DRYERS DESIGNED AND
FABRICATED AT ENEA C.R.E. TRISAIA. THE TESTS WERE PERFORMED ON CLEAR SUNNY DAYS DURING THE
PERIOD JUNE/JULY 1993. THE SOLAR INSOLATION, AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, RELATIVE HUMIDITY, ETC.
MEASURED ON THE DAYS OF THE EXPERIMENTS ARE PRESENTED IN FIG. 4, WHEREAS THE AIR TEMPERATURE
INSIDE THE DIFFERENT DRYERS, I.E. THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH THE ACTUAL DRYING TAKES PLACE, IS
PRESENTED IN FIG. 5. IT CAN BE OBSERVED FROM THE AIR TEMPERATURE CURVES PRESENTED ABOVE THAT
THE SYSTEMS INVESTIGATED CAN BE USED TO DRY A VARIETY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. THE INITIAL
AND FINAL MOISTURE CONTENTS OF THE MATERIAL DRIED WERE DETERMINED USING THE OVEN METHOD.
THE TOTAL WEIGHT LOSSES FOR DIFFERENT DRYING MATERIALS, MEASURED INSTANTANEOUSLY
THROUGHOUT THE DRYING OPERATION, ARE PRESENTED IN FIG. 6. IT IS CLEAR FROM THE CURVES THAT THE
MOISTURE CONTENT OF THE DRYING SAMPLE DECREASES EXPONENTIALLY WITH DRYING TIME. TO
CALCULATE THE AMOUNT OF WATER EVAPORATED, THE PRODUCTS IN EACH EXPERIMENT WERE WEIGHED AT
A REGULAR INTERVAL OF 2 H USING A PHYSICAL BALANCE. SIMILARLY, THE VARIATION OF WATER LOSS (%)
AS A FUNCTION OF DRYING PERIOD WAS OBSERVED AND THE SAME HAS BEEN PRESENTED (SDP/PI; %) IN FIG.
7. OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING DRYING RATE (DP/PP*H) AS A FUNCTION OF DRYING TIME, RECORDED FOR
EACH PRODUCT TWICE OR THREE TIMES A DAY, ARE PRESENTED IN FIG. 8 
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
TEMPERATURE VARIATION 
WEIGHT LOSS
DRY MATTER LOSS 
DRYING RATE 
 CONCLUSIONS 

IT IS POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE MODERATELY HEATED AIR AT A LOW ENOUGH INVESTMENT

LEVEL EVEN USING SOME SIMPLE DESIGNS. THE DESIGNS DISCUSSED IN THE PRESENT
PAPER ALLOW PRODUCTION EITHER BY USERS THEMSELVES, USING CHEAP AND
LOCALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS, OR BY SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES. THE FOLLOWING
ARE THE MAIN CONCLUSIONS OF THE WORK REPORTED HERE. 
(1) THE CABINET-TYPE NATURAL CONVECTION SOLAR DRYER IS VERY WELL SUITED TO
DRYING SMALL QUANTITIES OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES ON THE
DOMESTIC/HOUSEHOLD SCALE.
(2) THE INTEGRATED SOLAR-COLLECTOR/DRYING SYSTEM CAN BE USED BY USERS
WITH LIMITED CROP VOLUMES ON THE FARM ITSELF.
(3) THE INDIRECT-TYPE MULTI-SHELF DRYER IS SUITABLE FOR USE ON A LARGE SCALE
BY INDUSTRIES. FROM THE EXPERIMENTS PERFORMED ON THE SYSTEM, IT IS EVIDENT
THAT ITS PERFORMANCE IS QUITE SATISFACTORY AND, WITH SLIGHT MODIFICATION
OF THE EXISTING DESIGN, COULD BE IMPROVED FURTHER.
 REFERENCE
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