HISTORICALREVIEWANDRECENTTRENDSINSOLARd RYER

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Historical Review and Recent Trends in Solar Drying Systems
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DOI: 10.1080/15435075.2012.727113
HISTORICAL REVIEW AND RECENT TRENDS IN SOLAR

DRYING SYSTEMS
Downloaded by [Maulana Azad National Institute of Tech], [Om Prakash] at 03:42 18 March 2014
Om Prakash and Anil Kumar

Department of Energy, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal
462051, India
The application of solar drying technology in agricultural area to preserve vegetables,

fruits, and other crops has proved to be practical, economical, and eco-friendly. In this
communication, a comprehensive review of the various designs, details of construction,
and operational principles of many practically realized designs of solar energy drying sys-
tems is presented. Solar drying system is used to dry crops extensively in many countries.
It improves the quality of product, minimizes waste, and employs renewable energy sources.
However, availability of suitable information is missing in many of the countries where
solar drying systems are most needed. Such systems are available in varied range of sizes
and designs and are used for drying various foods and agricultural products. At present,
there are various types of dryers that are available to suit the needs of farmers, food, and
grain distributors. Therefore, the selection of dryers for a particular situation is largely
based on what is available and the types of dryers currently used are widely based on avail-
able circumstances. A synthesis view of classification of solar energy dryers is presented.
Two groups of solar energy dryers can be identified, viz., passive or natural-circulation
solar energy dryers and active or forced convection solar energy dryers. The appropriate-
ness of each design type for application by farmers in developing countries is discussed.
Some recent developments in solar drying technology are also discussed.
Keywords: Solar drying system; Passive solar energy dryers; Active solar energy dryer;
Renewable energy sources; Preserve crops
INTRODUCTION
Drying by the sun under an open sky for preserving food and agricultural crops has
been practiced since ancient times. Conversely, this process has many disadvantages, i.e.,
products get spoiled due to rain, wind, moisture, and dust; loss of produce due to birds and
animals; deterioration in the harvested crops due to putrefaction, insect attacks, and fungi.
Apart from this, this process is labor intensive and time consuming, and requires a large
area for spreading the produce out to dry. Recently developed artificial mechanical drying
is energy intensive. But eventually it increases the product cost. The modern trend of solar
drying equipment offers an exceptional method that can process the vegetables and fruits
in clean, disinfected, and hygienic conditions to national and international standards with
zero energy costs. It uses optimum energy and time and occupies less area. It improves
product quality. It makes the process more efficient and protects from the environment.
Address correspondence to Om Prakash, Department of Energy, Maulana Azad National Institute of

Technology, Bhopal-462051, India. E-mail: 16omprakash@gmail.com
690
SOLAR DRYING SYSTEMS 691
Solar drying may be used for the complete drying process or as a supplement to the
artificial drying process. Solar dryer technology may be used in small-scale food process-
ing industries to produce sanitary and high-quality food products. This can be used also to
promote renewable energy sources. Sharma, Chen, and Vu Lan (2009) have done a detailed
study on solar drying systems.
Many countries produce huge amount of fruits and vegetables for local consump-
tion and export. It was estimated to be 341.9 million metric tons approximately for 1990
(FAO 1991). Even in Asia, India has a production capacity of 27.8 million metric tons,
and China has a production capacity of 21.5 million metric tons. Many types of fruits and
vegetables contain a large quantity of moisture content. Consequently, it has a high ten-
dency for rapid quality degradation, even to the extent of spoilage, if not kept in thermally
controlled storage facilities.
Food industries dealing with commercial food products use high-technology dry-
ing equipment, such as freeze dryers, spray dryers, drum dryers, and steam dryers. The
market value of such dryers is comparably high and only big commercial companies can
afford them. Due to the high initial capital costs, most of the small-scale food companies
dealing directly with farmers are not able to afford the price. Therefore, cost-effective and
user-friendly drying systems have become appealing to such companies and cultivators.
In many, far-off-farming areas on Asian continent, large quantity of natural building mate-
rial and biofuel are plentiful. Nevertheless, they do not apply the modern trend of having
solar dryers due to lack of literacy in science and technology. Agricultural and other food
products have been dried by the sun and wind in the open air for millions of years.
Solar drying is one of the potential decentralized thermal applications of solar energy
in the developing countries (Karekezi and Ranja 1997; Ekechukwu and Norton 1999; Garg
and Prakash, 2000). Still, there is little progress in the field of solar drying technology.
Solar drying technology in developing countries for cash crops (tobacco, tea, jaggery, cof-
fee, grapes raisin, small and big cardamom, chilli, coriander seeds, ginger, turmeric, black
pepper, onion, garlic flakes, etc.) has a huge potential.
For such food products, even with the high capital investment of solar dryers, the
unit cost of solar drying is expected to be a small fraction of the selling price of the dried
product.
Solar drying is different from “open sun drying.” In solar drying, equipment is used
to collect the sun’s radiation in order to harness the radiative energy for drying appli-
cations. In many countries of the South East Asia continent, spice crops and herbs are
regularly dried. Nevertheless, due to climate conditions, the use of sun drying becomes
limited because of spoilage due to rehydration during unforeseen rainy days.
It has also been noticed that direct exposure of agricultural products to solar radiation
during high-temperature days may cause case hardening. In case hardening, a hard shell
develops on the outside of the agricultural products. It traps moisture inside the shell, which
may cause spoilage of the agricultural products. For these reasons, the application of solar
dryers with freely available sun energy can be used. Solar dryers also ensure good quality
of dried product (Kumar and Tiwari 2006).
Drying helps in reducing the moisture content to a level below which deterioration
does not occur and the product can be stored for a definite period. The safe moisture
contents for different agricultural products are given in Table 1 (Sharma, Colnagelo, and
Spagna 1993; Tiwari and Ghosal 2005).
In the present study, an attempt is made toward compilation of recent trends of solar
drying systems and reduction of CO2 emissions by using this system (Brooker, Bakker-
Arkema, and Hall, 1992; Sharma, Colnagelo, and Spagna, 1993).
692 PRAKASH AND KUMAR
Table 1 The Description of Initial and Final Moisture Content and Maximum Allowable Temperature for Drying
for Some Crops
Crop Initial moisture Final moisture Maximum allowable

content (%web.) content (% web.) Temp. (◦ C)
Paddy, raw 22–24 11 50

Paddy, parboiled 30–35 13 50
Maize 35 15 60
Wheat 20 16 45
Corn 24 14 50
Rice 24 11 50
Pulses 20–22 9–10 40–60
Oil seed 20–25 7–9 40–60
Green Peas 80 5 65
Cauliflower 80 6 65
Carrot 70 5 75
Green beans 70 5 75
Onion 80 4 55
Garlic 80 4 55
Cabbage 80 4 55
Sweet Potato 75 7 75
Potatoes 75 7 75
Chillies 80 5 65
Apricot 85 18 65
Apples 80 24 70
Grapes 80 15–20 70
Bananas 80 15 70
Guavas 80 7 65
Okra 80 20 65
Pineapple 80 10 65
Tomatoes 96 10 60
Brinjal 95 6 60
GOVERNING PRINCIPLE
Solar dryers can be broadly classified into direct, indirect, and specialized solar
dryers (Foster and Mackenzie 1980). In direct solar dryers, the material has to be dried
in an enclosure, with a transparent cover on it. The absorption of solar radiation gen-
erates heat inside the drying chamber. This solar radiation is the sum of absorbed
solar radiation on the object as well as on the internal surfaces of the drying cham-
ber. In indirect solar dryers, the air becomes hot in the solar collector. It then passes
through the drying chamber to dry the object (Kreider and Kreith 1981). Specific dry-
ers are designed for particular products. It may include hybrid systems where other
forms of energy are also used (Rabl 1985; Whitfield 2000). Nevertheless, indirect
dryers are less compact when compared with direct solar driers; they are generally
more efficient in drying the product. The rate of drying of hybrid solar system is the
highest.
The three modes of drying by the sun are (i) open sun drying, (ii) direct sun
drying, and (iii) indirect sun drying. The governing principle of these modes depends
on the method of solar energy collection and its conversion into useful thermal
energy.
Open Sun Drying

In open sun drying, the short-wavelength sunrays fall on the uneven crop surface.
Some part of these sunrays is reflected back and the other part is absorbed by the surface
depending upon the color of crops or products as shown in Figure 1 (Belessiotis and
Delyannis 2011). The absorbed solar radiation converts into thermal energy and the temper-
ature of the object increases. The long-wavelength radiations are lost in the ambient air on
passing through the moist air. There is convective heat loss too due to wind passing through
the moist surface over the crop. Moisture of product evaporates and consequently the crop
becomes dry. In addition to that, a part of the absorbed thermal energy conducts into the
interior of the product. Due to this, temperature rises and the formation of water vapor
inside the crop takes place. It then diffuses toward the surface of the crop and finally loses
thermal energy in the form of evaporation. In the preliminary stages, the moisture removal
is very fast as the presence of excess moisture on the surface of the product presents a wet
surface to the dry air. The drying depends upon the rate at which the moisture within the
product moves to the surface by a diffusion process. This also depends upon the type of
the product (Sodha et al. 1985).
In open sun drying process, there is substantial loss due to various reasons such as
rodents, birds, insects, and microorganisms. The unpredicted rain or storm further worsens
the situation. In addition to that, overdrying, insufficient drying, contamination by external
materials like dust, dirt, insects, and microorganism as well as discoloring by UV radiation
are the main drawbacks of open sun drying. Due to inadequacies involved in open sun
drying, a more scientific method of solar energy utilization for crop drying has emerged
which is termed as controlled drying.
Direct Solar Drying

This is also known as cabinet dryer. Some part of the incident solar radiation on the
glass cover is reflected back to the atmosphere and the remaining part is transmitted inside
the cabin dryer as shown in Figure 2 (Ekechukwu and Norton 1997). Some part of the
transmitting radiation is reflected back from the surface of the crop. The crop absorbs the
Figure 1 Open sun drying. Reprinted from Solar Energy, 85(8), Belessiotis and Delyannis, Solar Drying,
pp. 1665–1691, Copyright 2011, with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 2 Typical solar dryer designs. Reprinted from Energy Conversion and Management, 38(14), Ekechukwe
and Norton, Environmental studies of integral-type natural-circulation solar-energy tropical crop dryers,
remaining part. Due to absorption, the temperature of the crop increases. It starts emitting
long-wavelength radiation, which is not allowed to escape to the atmosphere due to the
presence of a glass cover. Therefore, the temperature above the crop surface inside the
chamber increases. The glass cover also reduces the direct convective losses to the ambi-
ent air. Therefore, convective and evaporative losses happen inside the chamber from the
heated crop. The air entering the chamber from below absorbs the moisture and escapes
through another opening provided at the top. A cabinet dryer has the following shortcom-
ings: small capacity; discoloration of the crop; and moisture condensation inside glass
covers reduces its transmissivity.
Indirect Solar Drying

In this drying system, the crop exposes indirectly to the solar radiation as shown
in Figure 2 (Ekechukwu and Norton 1997). By this, it minimizes the discoloration and
Figure 3 An illustration of schematic view of single-tray reverse absorber cabinet dryer: (a) without glass and
(b) with glass. Reprinted from Energy Conversion and Management, 40(4), Goyal and Tiwari, Performance of
a reverse flat plate absorber cabinet dryer: A new concept, pp. 385–392, Copyright 1999, with permission from
Elsevier.
cracking on the surface of the product. Goyal and Tiwari (1999) have analyzed the perfor-
mance of the reverse absorber cabinet dryer (RACD) as shown in Figure 3. In this drying
chamber, crop is kept in the wire mesh tray. The downward facing absorber is set below the
drying chamber at an adequate distance from the bottom of the drying chamber. A cylindri-
cal reflector is set under the absorber. It fits to the glass cover on its aperture to minimize
convective heat losses from the absorber. The absorber may be selectively coated. The
glass cover is 45◦ inclined from horizontal due to the need for maximum reception of solar
radiation.
The surface area of the absorber and glass cover is equal to the area of the bot-
tom of the solar drying chamber. Radiation after passing through the glass cover reflects
by the cylindrical reflector toward an absorber. After passing through the absorber, some
part of this is lost when ambient air passes through a glass cover. The remaining part of
this transfers to the flowing air above it by the process of convection. The temperature of
passing air increases. It then passes through the crop inside the drying chamber. The crop
gets heated up and moisture passes away through a vent provided at the top of the drying
chamber.
TYPES OF SOLAR DRYER

Solar dryers are classified into two major groups: active and passive. Passive dryers
use only the natural movement of warm air. This dryer can be set up with low capital cost
as it is fabricated from locally available materials. It is appropriate for small farms, where
raw construction material such as wood is readily available. In a direct passive dryer, the
crop is exposed directly to the sun’s radiations. Direct passive dryers are best suitable for
drying small batches of fruits and vegetables, such as banana, pineapple, mango, potato,
carrots, and French beans (Jayaraman, Das Gupta, and Babu Rao 2000). This type of dryer
consists of a drying chamber, which is covered by a transparent cover made up of glass
or plastic. The drying chamber is generally a shallow, insulated box with air holes in it.
It allows air to enter and exit the box. In this type of dryer, crops are kept on a perforated
tray that allows the air to pass through it. Figure 4 shows a representation of a simple direct
dryer (Grabowski and Mujumdar 2000). Solar rays passing through the transparent cover
produce low-grade heat. This low-intensity heat is trapped inside the box, which is known
as the “greenhouse effect.”
The short-wavelength solar radiations have the capacity to penetrate the transparent
cover. Active solar dryers are designed scientifically. These dryers contain external means,
like fans/pumps, for transferring solar energy in the form of heated air from the collector
area to the drying beds. Figure 5 shows a diagram of the major components of an active
solar food dryer. The collectors are positioned at an appropriate angle to optimize solar
energy collection. A gear system is designed to manually adjust the angle of the collectors.
Tilting of the collectors becomes more effective than placing them horizontally, for two
reasons. First, a large amount of solar energy can by collected by keeping the collector
surface nearly perpendicular to the sun’s rays. Second, by tilting the collectors, the warmer
and less dense air rises naturally into the drying chamber. In an active solar dryer, the solar-
heated air flows through the solar drying chamber in such a way that it contacts as much
surface area of the food as possible. Thinly sliced foods are kept on drying racks or trays
that are made up of a screen or other material, which allows the drying air to pass through
all sides of the food. The warm air rises up and passes through the stacked food trays inside
Figure 4 An illustration of structure of a passive cabinet food solar dryer. Reprinted from Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13(6-7), Sharma et al., Solar-energy drying systems: A review, pp. 1185–1210,
Copyright 2009, with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 5 An illustration of cabinet-type drier. Reprinted from Energy Conversion and Management, 25(3), Sodha
et al., An analytical and experimental study of open sun drying and acabinet tyre drier, pp. 263–271, Copyright
1985, with permission from Elsevier.
the drying chamber. The drying trays must fit tightly into the chamber so that the heated
air can flow through the mesh and food (Imre 1995).
An improperly fit tray will create gaps around the edges. This leads to escape of large
amount of warm air. Because of this, we will not be able to utilize the maximum potency of
drying air. These dryers are known to be suitable for drying foodstuffs with higher moisture
content, such as papaya, kiwi fruits, brinjal, cabbage, and cauliflower slices.
HISTORICAL REVIEW OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM

Passive Solar Drying System
Shove (1977) has reviewed various types of flat plate collectors employed in grain
drying. The plate collector in which air flows along both sides of the absorber plate is
complicated. A plate collector is more efficient in comparison with bare/covered plate
collector. Sidewall collectors integrating into the drying bin wall have received consider-
able attention and development (Peterson and Bin Sidewall Sollectors 1977; Johnson and
Otten 1980). However, these wall collectors are expensive and have a useful life of only
two or three seasons. Keener et al. (1977) and Chau, Baird, and Bagnall (1980) have pre-
sented interesting configurations of plastic film solar collectors of various shapes. Duffie
and Beckman (1974) and Daniels (1977) have used other types of solar collectors including
focusing collectors.
Sodha et al. (1985) have done a theoretical and experimental study of the solar cabi-
net dryer. The experimental results have shown that, in summer (1–2 June), high moisture
content fruit like mango with 95% initial moisture content and 1 cm thickness dries up to
13% final moisture content in 12 sunshine hours. It has also been realized that the cabinet-
type driers are very useful for domestic applications for drying fruits and vegetables (i.e.,
high moisture content products) in developing countries. The overall efficiency of open sun
drying is much less than that of the cabinet-type drier. The quality of the product is main-
tained in the cabinet-type drier (Figure 5). Ezeike (1986) has designed a modular drying
system consisting of three functional units: a triple-pass flat plate air collector, a drying
cabinet, and a dehumidification chamber. Air flows below the bottom absorber during the
first pass, then in the opposite direction, and finally through the air spaces between the
glazing and top absorber plate and then into a mixing chamber and a drying chamber. The
top air space is divided into two compartments with baffles installed to distribute the air
over the collector surface. The solar drying cabinet has two wall collectors located on the
east–west line to provide additional heat gain and trays are spaced equally on spacers. The
dehumidification chamber of solar drying is a rectangular box fitted with three perforated
trays containing the desiccant, silica gel. It is used to sustain the solar drying process dur-
ing the periods of low isolation. Results of rice paddy and yam slices drying show that the
system dried rice paddy at a layer density of 7.4 kg m−1 from 25.93% (w.b., wet basis) to
5.31% (w.b.) in 10 h and yam slices at a layer density of 5 kg/m2 from 64.90% (w.b.) to
10.66% (w.b.) in 31 h.
The control experiment at ambient condition requires 2 and 4 days, respectively, to
attain the same moisture level. This dryer operates in the indirect mode of solar drying
as shown in Figure 6. It receives air either from collectors or from the dehumidification
chamber. This could be used essentially at night and during periods of low isolation.
Othieno et al. (1981), Grainger, Othieno, and Twidell (1981); Grainger (1982); and
Othieno (1983) had studied an indirect solar maize dryer. This dryer consists of a single
absorber and an air gap of 5 cm from the glazing. Air heating collector was connected to
an insulated drying bin equipped with a chimney. The entire assembly is fabricated from
hardboard. This dryer has a capacity of drying 90 kg of wet maize from a moisture content
of about 20% wet basis to 12% within 3 days on a bright sunny day. Gustafsson (1982)
Figure 6 An illustration of the solar dryer (All dimension in cm). Reprinted from Energy in Agriculture, 5(1),
Ezeike, Development and performance of a triple-pass solar collector and dryer system, pp. 1–20, Copyright
has tested a natural-circulation solar energy cabinet dryer with a chimney in Nicaragua
(Figure 7). The solar dryer has a meshwork floor to allow air entry and a chimney at the
north end of the cabinet. The chimney had been constructed with the help of three verti-
cal wooden poles with an asbestos sheet mounted on the backside and a black PVC foil
absorber on the south-facing front side. It resulted in better drying efficiency in comparison
to a traditional passive cabinet dryer without chimney. Its drying rate is four times more in
comparison to open sun drying.
The initial form of practical natural-circulation solar greenhouse dryers reported by
the Brace Research Institute was a glass roof solar dryer (Saulnier 1976; Lawand 1977;
Kilkis 1981). This dryer (Figure 8) has two parallel rows of drying platforms (along the
long side) of galvanized iron wire mesh surface laid over wooden beams. One fixed slanted
glass roof over the platform allows solar radiation over the product. The horizontally
aligned dryer has black-coated internal walls for improved absorption of solar radiation.
Ezekwe (1981) has reported a modification of the typical designed cabinet dryer as shown
in Figure 9. It was equipped with a wooden plenum to allow the air and a long plywood
chimney to enhance natural circulation. This dryer accelerated the drying rate about five
times over open sun drying.
Das and Kumar (1989) designed a prototype low-cost simple solar dryer. It is coupled
with a vertical flat plate collector chimney for drying 20 kg of field harvest high-moisture
paddy. This unit consists of an inclined collector (20.6◦ ), a batch dryer, and a vertical
Figure 7 An illustration of natural-circulation solar energy cabinet dryer with chimney. Reprinted from
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13(6-7), Sharma et al., Solar-energy drying systems: A review,
Figure 8 An illustration of natural-circulation glass roof solar energy dryer. Reprinted from Renewable and
collector chimney joined in series and positioned south. The absorber and cover for both
the collectors were 2 m × 0.5 m matt black-painted corrugated G.I. sheet and 3 mm
polymethyllmethacrylate, respectively. The experiment was conducted during the winter
months. A 20 kg field-harvested paddy took 9 h to reduce the moisture content from
31 to 13% (d.b.). It saved 7 h compared to open field sun drying. The dryer could also
be successfully used for the drying of other grains, vegetables, fruits, and small fishes effi-
ciently, effectively, and economically. Pande and Thanvi (1991) had designed, developed,
and tested a solar dryer cum water heater (Figure 10). This drying cum water heating sys-
tem can be used for dehydrating fruit and vegetables or heating water exclusively. The
Figure 9 An illustration of experimental setup for modified natural-circulation solar energy cabinet dryer.
Reprinted from Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13(6-7), Sharma et al., Solar-energy drying systems:
A review, pp. 1185–1210, Copyright 2009, with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 10 An illustration of solar dryer cum water heater. Reprinted from Energy Conservation and Management,
31(5), Pande and Thanvi, Design and development of a solar dryer cum water heater, pp. 419–424, Copyright
important feature of this new gadget is that the drying process continues even in the night.
Observations have revealed that 10–15 kg of fruits/vegetables are dehydrated in 3–5 days.
The water heater can supply 80 L of hot water at about 60◦ C in winter afternoons. It is
calculated that the unit can save 418 kWh of electricity as a water heater in addition to
Figure 11 (a) An illustration of fixed-bed dryer with solar collector, plenum chamber, drying chamber, and chim-
ney of the dryer and (b) general view of the dryer. Reprinted from Solar Energy, 59(4-6), Ayensu, Dehydration
of food crops using a solar dryer with convective heat flow, pp. 121–126, Copyright 1997, with permission from
Elsevier.
dehydrating 500 kg of fruits or vegetables in a year. Ayensu (1997) designed an inexpen-

sive, low-temperature, and user-friendly solar dryer to dehydrate farm produce as shown in
Figure 11. This low-temperature operating dryer consisted of a collector with a rock storage
system, drying chamber, and chimney. The drying bed is constructed from a double layer
of poultry netting mesh with an open structure. It allows drying air to pass through the food
sample, but prevents the pieces of food items from falling into the plenum chamber. The
drying chamber consists of three removable wooden panels made of 1.27 cm plywood,
which overlap each other to prevent air leakages when closed or inserted. The top glaz-
ing of the solar drying chamber is provided with additional heating. This also served as an
inspection port. This solar collector can transfer 118 W/m2 thermal power to the drying air.
Thermal exchanges within the dryer were determined from a psychometric chart. Ambient
air at 32◦ C and 80% relative humidity (RH) is heated to 45◦ C at 40% RH for drying. Crops
are dried to a final moisture content of <14%, which can be preserved for a period of
1 year without deterioration. The low-temperature drying system shows the viability of the
seeds for planting. A designed system is used to dry cassava, pepper, okro, groundnuts, and
other food crops. It takes nearly two times longer to dehydrate crops than an open air sun
drying. Ekechukwu and Norton (1997) designed and developed a natural-circulation solar
dryer, which is suitable for the drying of agricultural products (Figure 12). The results have
shown the superior drying characteristics of integral type, natural-circulation solar dryers
Figure 12 An illustration of isometric view of greenhouse with crop dryer showing various components
and parameters of optimization. Reprinted from Energy Conversion and Management, 38(14), Ekechukwe
and Norton, Environmental studies of integral-type natural-circulation solar-energy tropical crop dryers,
over traditional open sun drying. Ampratwum (1998) developed a solar collector in the
form of a prototype solar cabinet dryer in Oman (Figure 13). Observations are carried out
to evaluate the performance of the dryer under load and unload conditions. The testing
of dryer was done without load for 28 days during April to May 1996. The dryer attains
an average temperate of 81◦ C within a 7 h period from 8:00 to 15:00 h. Beginning with
an average initial temperature of 34◦ C at 8:00 h, the temperature of the drying chamber
rises steeply to 68◦ C at 9:00 h and then to 82◦ C at 10:00 h. After 10:00 h, the temperature
remains approximately constant at 83–84◦ C until 15:00 h. There is no significant difference
between the temperatures from 10:00 till 15:00 h.
Nijmeh et al. (1998) studied the drying behavior of food wastes for utilization as ani-
mal feed through the two solar dryers. It is manufactured from locally available materials
under Jordanian climatic conditions (Figures 14 and 15). The authors have reported that
the solar boiler dryer is more efficient with respect to radiative–convective dryer in quality
and quantity.
El-Sebaii et al. (2002) designed, constructed, and investigated an indirect-type nat-
ural convection solar dryer experimentally under Tanta prevailing weather conditions
(Figure 16). This setup consists of a flat plate solar air heater connected to a cabinet acting
Figure 13 An illustration of solar cabinet with open door. Reprinted from Applied Energy, 59(1), Ampratwum and
Dorvlo, Evaluation of a solar cabinet dryer as an air-heating system, pp. 63–71, Copyright 1998, with permission
from Elsevier.
Figure 14 An illustration of the radiative–convective dryer. Reprinted from Applied Thermal Engineering, 18(12),
Nijmeh et al., Design and testing of solar dryers for processing food wastes, pp. 1337–1346, Copyright 1998, with
permission from Elsevier.
Figure 15 An illustration of the boiler dryer. Reprinted from Applied Thermal Engineering, 18(12), Nijmeh et al.,
Design and testing of solar dryers for processing food wastes, pp. 1337–1346, Copyright 1998, with permission
from Elsevier.
as a drying chamber. The air heater is designed to be able to insert various storage materials
under the absorber plate in order to improve the drying process. Sand is used as the storage
material. The dryer was operated with and without storage materials. Following fruits can
be used to dry in this dryer, such as seedless grapes, figs and apples, as well as vegeta-
bles, such as green peas, tomatoes, and onions. Solar irradiance, temperature distribution
to different parts of the system, ambient temperature, and relative humidity of the inlet and
outlet drying air are recorded.
Pangavhane, Sawhney, and Sarsavadia (2002) had developed a new natural convec-
tion solar dryer. It consists of a solar air heater and a drying chamber (Figure 17). This setup
can be used for drying various agricultural products like fruits and vegetables. Grapes were
selected to dry in this solar dryer. The analysis showed that the traditional drying, i.e., shade
drying and open sun drying, dried the grapes in 15 and 7 days, respectively, while the solar
dryer took only 4 days. The total drying time of the grapes is reduced by 43% compared to
the open sun drying. Enibe (2002) had designed a passive solar-powered air heating sys-
tem for crop drying and poultry egg incubation. It consists of a single glazed flat plate solar
collector integrated with a phase change material (PCM) heat storage system (Figure 18).
The PCM is constructed in modules, with the modules equi-spaced across the absorber
plate. The spaces between the module pairs act as the air heating channels. The channels
are connected to the common air inlet and discharge headers. The solar drying equipment
was tested under daytime in no-load conditions at Nsukka, Nigeria, over an ambient tem-
perature range of 19–41◦ C, and a daily global irradiation range of 4.9–19.9 MJ/m2 . These
observations showed that the system could be operated successfully for crop drying appli-
cations. Condorí and Saravia (2003) had done performance study of a tunnel greenhouse
Figure 16 An illustration of (a) cross-sectional view of the indirect-type natural convection solar dryer; thermo-
couples positions and (b) airflow diagram. Reprinted from Energy Conversion and Management, 43(16), l-Sebaii
et al., Experimental investigation of an indirect type natural convection solar dryer, pp. 2251–2266, Copyright
dryer as shown in Figure 19. In this drying system, greenhouse acts as a solar collec-
tor. It gives a linear functional relationship between the incident solar radiation and the
greenhouse output temperature. The results have shown that an almost constant produc-
tion is obtained each day. The simulation results for red sweet pepper have shown an
improvement of 160% in the production, compared with the single-chamber drier. This
has also shown an improvement around 40%, if the double-chamber drier is considered.
The average performance is around 30%.
Singh, Singh, and Dhaliwal (2004) had developed a solar dryer to enable Indian farm-
ers to add value to their produce by drying it at farm itself (Figure 20). It could also be used
in cottage industries in remote places. This dryer is a multishelf design with intermediate
heating, passive, integral, direct/indirect, and portable solar dryer. Intermediate heating
of air in-between trays lead to uniform drying on all the trays. However, the dryer at the
farm is not likely to be used throughout the year and hence it has been made portable.
A unique feature of this dryer is that the product can be dried under shade or otherwise
as per requirement. The design of this needs low capital and thus involves low cost. The
Figure 17 An illustration of schematic sectional details of natural convection solar dryer. Reprinted from Energy,
27(6), Pangavhane et al, Design, development and performance testing of a new natural convection solar dryer,
maximum limit of stagnation temperature was 75◦ C in the month of November at Ludhiana
(31◦ N), India.
Active Solar Drying System

Arata and Sharma (1991) had developed a simple design, and cost-effective solar air
collector with cabinet dryer as shown in Figure 21. This dryer could be very helpful for
the farmers. Pawar, Takwale, and Bhide (1995) had designed and fabricated a large-scale
forced convection solar drying system presented in Figure 22. The drying system had an
array of 40 solar collectors and three drying cabinets with a blower. Therefore, it saved
large amount of fuel, kept the product clean, and took less time to dry in comparison to
open sun drying. So, forced convection solar drying systems were suitable in food and
chemical industries.
Figure 18 An illustration of photograph of air heating system (A) collector assembly with energy storage and
air heating subsystem and (B) heating space. Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 27(1), Enibe, performance of
a natural circulation solar air heating system with phase change material energy storage, pp. 69–86, Copyright
Figure 19 An illustration of working scheme for the tunnel greenhouse drier. Sectional view. Reprinted from
Renewable Energy, 28(3), Condori and Saravia, Analytical model for the performance of the tunnel-type
greenhouse drier, pp. 467–485, Copyright 2003, with permission from Elsevier.
Tiris et al. (1994, 1995) and Tiris, Tiris, and Dincer (1995, 1996) had designed
and developed a new solar dryer as shown in Figure 23. It consisted of a solar air heater
and a drying chamber. The drying system was tested using sultana grapes, green beans,
sweet peppers, and chilli peppers. Therefore, it reduced the drying time and provided
better product quality. The efficiencies of both the solar air heater and the drying section
are a function of typical physical parameters. The experimental results for different
food products at different airflow rates were observed. This drying system had thermal
efficiency between 30% and 80%. Mumba (1995b, 1996) had designed and developed a
solar grain dryer with photovoltaic powered air circulation as shown in Figure 24. The
main feature in this new dryer was the use of photovoltaic solar cells incorporated in the
solar air heater section. This photovoltaic powered air circulation induces passive control
over the drying air temperature. This dryer can dry 90 kg maize grain per batch from an
initial moisture content of 33.3% dry basis to below 20% dry basis in just 1 day. Drying air
temperature has an upper limit of 60 + 3◦ C or 60 −3◦ C to prevent grain overheating and
Figure 20 An illustration of (a) photograph of PAU portable farm solar dryer (b) side view of dryer (c) details
of multitray rack. Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 29(5), Singh et al., Multi-shelf portable solar dryer,
Figure 21 An illustration of solar air collector with cabinet dryer for fruit drying applications. Reprinted from
Renewable Energy, 1(5-6), Arata and Sharma, Performance evaluation of solar assisted dryers for low temperature
drying applications—I. Plants description, pp. 729–735, Copyright 1991, with permission from Elsevier.
cracking. The dryer was cost-effective with a payback period of less than 1 year. Thoruwa
et al. (1996, 1998) had designed and developed a prototype solar crop dryer as shown in
Figure 25. The desiccant bed was a shallow tray with a perforated bottom. A double Tedler
glazing panel was placed just above the bed. This panel and desiccant bed were inclined
at 15◦ to the horizontal for optimal solar energy collection. A fan powered from a 12-V
battery, charged by a small photovoltaic panel was mounted alongside. Power demand by
the fan was in the range of 5–10 W.
Sarsilmaz, Yildiz, and Pehliv (2000) have conducted experiments on drying of apri-
cots in a newly developed rotary column cylindrical dryer as shown in Figure 26. It was
equipped with a specially designed air solar collector and thus reduced the drying time.
Condori, Echazú, and Saravia (2001) have built and tested a low-cost design for a forced
convection tunnel greenhouse drier as shown in Figure 27. The most important advantages
of this dryer were:
a. Continuous production
b. Lower labor cost
c. Constant production rate
d. Lower energy consumption
Figure 22 An illustration of schematic diagram of a drying cabinet of custard powder drying system. Reprinted
from Energy Conversion and Management, 36(11), Pawar et al., Solar drying of custard powder, pp. 1085–1096,
Figure 23 An illustration of schematic representation of the drying system (I—air inlet; 2—fan; 3—valve;
4—electrical heater; 5—flowmeter; 6—solar air heater; 7—pressure transducer; 8—pyranometer; 9—drying
chamber; 10—rack; II—product; 12—air outlet). Reprinted from Energy Conversion and Management, 36(3),
Tiris et al., Investigation of the thermal efficiencies of a solar dryer, pp. 205–212, Copyright 1995, with permission
from Elsevier.
Ivanova and Andonov (2001) have designed and fabricated a dryer using solar energy
and heat of geothermal water from a natural field for heating the dryer air. The experimental
performance of the dryer in “dry experiment” (without moisture) and real drying processes
was presented.
Bala et al. (2003) have conducted experiments on solar drying of pineapple using
a solar tunnel drier at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
(Figure 28). This dryer has a transparent plastic-covered flat plate collector and a dry-
ing tunnel. Hot air was supplied to the drying tunnel using two D.C. fans operated by a
solar module. The drier had a loading capacity of 120–150 kg of pineapple. The solar
Figure 24 An illustration of solar-grain drier incorporating a photovoltaic-powered D.C. fan. Reprinted from
Renewable Energy, 6(7), Mumba, Development of a photovoltaic powered forced circulation grain dryer for use
in the tropics, pp. 855–862, Copyright 1995, with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 25 The schematic diagram of an integrated desiccant/collector dehumidifier mounted on the crop bin.
Reprinted from Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13(6-7), Sharma et al., Solar-energy drying systems:
A review, pp. 1185–1210, Copyright 2009, with permission from Elsevier.
tunnel dryer leads to considerable reduction of drying time in comparison to sun drying.
Tiwari, Kumar, and Prakash (2004) had evaluated the convective mass transfer coeffi-
cient for jaggery. Experiments were conducted in a controlled environment as shown in
Figure 29. In this process, there were different masses of jaggery. Jaggery was dried in
Figure 26 An illustration of the complete drying system. Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 21(2), Sarsilmaz
et al., Drying of apricots in a rotary column cylindrical dryer (RCCD) supported with solar energy, pp. 117–127,
Figure 27 (a) An illustration of face view of the tunnel greenhouse drier. (b) Plant view of the tunnel greenhouse
drier. (c) Forced convection greenhouse drier of the tunnel . Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 22(4), Condori
et al., Solar drying of sweet pepper and garlic using the tunnel green house drier, pp. 447–460, Copyright 2001,
with permission from Elsevier.
the roof-type even-span greenhouse with a floor area of 1.2 × 0.8 m2 in natural and forced
convection mode at atmospheric pressure. Jaggery was dried until there was almost no vari-
ation in mass. Experimental data of mass-evaporated, temperatures of jaggery, greenhouse
room air, and relative humidity were measured. These data were applied to evaluate the
Figure 28 An illustration of solar tunnel drier: (1) air inlet; (2) fan; (3) solar module; (4) solar collector; (5) side
metal frame; (6) outlet of the collector; (7) wooden support; (8) plastic net; (9) roof structure for supporting
the plastic cover; (10) base structure for supporting the tunnel drier; (11) rolling bar; (12) outlet of the drying
tunnel. Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 28(2), Bala et al., Solar drying of pineapple using a solar tunnel drier,
convective mass transfer coefficient by regression analysis. The convective mass transfer
coefficient is a strong function of mass of jaggery, temperatures, and relative humidity for
a given size of greenhouse.
Jain (2005) has presented a transient analytical model to study the application of a
greenhouse with packed bed thermal storage to crop drying. The even-shape greenhouse
with a packed bed and crop dryer was applied for drying of onions. The model was used
to compute the air temperatures and various functional components of the drying systems
for a day of the month of May for the climatic condition of Delhi (India) as shown in
Figure 30. The parametric study involved the effect of length and breadth of greenhouse
and mass flow rate of air on the temperatures of crop. The greenhouse of 6 m length, 4 m
breadth with a 0.278 kgs−1 air mass flow rate with a 0.25 m height of packed bed could dry
2280 kg of onion from a moisture content of 6.14–0.21 kg water/kg of dry matter in a 24 h
drying period. Shanmugam and Natarajan (2006) have designed and fabricated an indirect
forced convection and desiccant-integrated solar dryer as shown in Figure 31. They investi-
gated the performance under the hot and humid climatic conditions of Chennai, India. This
system consisted of a flat plate solar air collector, drying chamber and a desiccant unit. The
desiccant unit was designed to hold 75 kg of CaCl2 -based solid desiccant. It consisted of
60% Bentonite, 10% Calcium Chloride, 20% Vermiculite, and 10% Cement. The drying
experiments have been performed for green peas at different airflow rates. System pickup
efficiency, specific moisture extraction rate, dimensionless mass loss, mass shrinkage ratio,
and drying rate were observed.
RECENT TREND OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM

Passive Solar Drying System
Singh, Singh, and Dhaliwal (2006) had developed a multishelf domestic solar dryer
for drying various products at home. This solar dryer was multishelf design, consisting of
Figure 29 An illustration of jaggery drying in a greenhouse under (a) natural convection mode, (b) forced con-
vection mode Reprinted from Journal of Food Engineering, 2(9), Tiwari et al., Evaulation of convective mass
transfer coefficient during drying of jaggery, pp. 219–227, Copyright 2004, with permission from Elsevier. (color
figure available online)
three perforated trays arranged one above the other, as shown in Figure 32. The drying
air flows through the product by natural circulation. The rate of drying was uniform in
all the trays. The maximum stagnation temperature of this solar dryer was found to be
100◦ C in the month of November at Ludhiana (31◦ N). The domestic solar dryer was a
small-sized, natural-circulation, solar dryer. Most of the products that were used in powder
form in domestic kitchen, e.g., chilies, garlic, ginger, mango powder, coriander, onion,
fenugreek leaves, etc., were used in small quantities of the order of a few kilograms per
year. Keeping these requirements in view, the aperture area of this dryer has been kept at
0.36 m2 such that it was capable of drying about 1 kg of fresh product per day. The use of
this dryer at the domestic level has shown that this capacity was quite suitable for northern
Indian households. Kumar and Tiwari (2006) had developed a thermal model to predict the
jaggery temperature, the greenhouse air temperature, and the moisture evaporated (jaggery
mass during drying) during the drying of jaggery under the natural convection mode. The
experiment was conducted separately for 0.75 kg and 2.0 kg of jaggery pieces having
dimensions of 0.03 × 0.03 × 0.01 m3 for complete drying as shown in Figure 33. Sacilik,
Keskin, and Elicin (2006) had designed a thin-layer solar drying organic tomato using
solar tunnel dryer. Experiments were conducted under the ecological conditions of Ankara,
Figure 30 An illustration of greenhouse-based crop dryer showing various heat transfer coefficients. Reprinted
from Journal of Food Engineering, 71(2), Jain, Modeling the performance of greenhouse with packed bed thermal
storage on crop drying appllication, pp. 170–178, Copyright 2005, with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 31 An illustration of schematic view of the desiccant integrated solar dryer. Reprinted from Renewable
Energy, 31(8), Shanmugam and Natarajan, Experimental investigation of forced convection and desiccant
integrated solar dryer, pp. 1239–1251, Copyright 2006, with permission from Elsevier.
Turkey as shown in Figure 34. In the process of experimenting, organic tomatoes dried to
the final moisture content of 11.50 from 93.35% w.b. in 4 days of drying in the solar tunnel
dryer as compared to 5 days of drying in the open sun drying. Drying curves showed
only a falling drying rate period. A non-linear regression procedure used to fit 10 different
thin-layer analytical models is available in the literature to the experimental drying curves.
Figure 32 An illustration of photograph of domestic solar dryer with door open. Reprinted from Energy
Conversion and management, 47(13-14), Singh et al., Multi-shelf domestic solar dryer, pp. 1799–1815, Copyright
These models were compared using the coefficient of determination, mean relative percent
error, root mean square error, and the reduced chi-square. In these, the approximation of
diffusion model has shown a better fit to the experimental drying data as compared to other
models. The influence of the drying temperature and relative humidity on the drying model
constant and coefficients was also determined. Products dried in the solar tunnel dryer were
completely protected from insects, rain, and dust. The dried samples were of high quality
in terms of color and hygiene. This setup can use for drying various agricultural products.
It is very simple in construction and can be constructed at a low cost with locally obtainable
materials. There were no constant drying rate periods observed and all the drying processes
occurred in the falling rate period. The moisture content reduced from 93.35% to 11.50%
w.b. in 5 days for the open sun drying, whereas the solar tunnel dryer took only 4 days.
Depending on season conditions, the solar tunnel dryer resulted in a reduction in the drying
time to an extent of 26.9% in comparison to open sun drying. In addition, the samples of
solar tunnel dryer were completely protected from insects, birds, rain, and dust. Sample of
tomato dried in this condition became more red in color and lighter when dried in a solar
tunnel dryer as compared to the open sun drying.
Li, Zhong, and Tang (2006) have examined the possibility of using a solar drier
for drying (Figure 35). It consists of a greenhouse-like drying chamber and 6 m2 of air
collectors. Observation showed that the solar drying of the salted greengages was very
effective, and the drying period shortened to about 15 days. It was found that the newly
developed solar dryer could eliminate a process that takes 20 days to desalt the salted
greengages as required in the traditional production of preserved greengage. Mwithiga
and Kigo (2006) have designed and tested a small solar dryer with limited sun tracking
capability (Figure 36). This dryer had a mild steel absorber plate and a polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) transparent cover. It could be adjusted to track the sun in increments of 15◦ . The
performance of dryer was observed by adjustment of the angle of sun tracker. Coffee was
used to dry in this dryer. The distribution of temperature in the plenum and the drying rate
of parchment coffee were determined. The temperature inside the plenum chamber could
reach a maximum limit of 70.4◦ C. The dryer could lower the moisture content of coffee
beans from 54.8% to below 13% (w.b.) in 2 days. It will take 5–7 days in sun drying.
Figure 33 An illustration of the working principle of greenhouse jiggery drying under natural convection mode.
Reprinted from Solar Energy, 80(9), Kumar and Tiwari, Thermal modeling of a natural convection greenhouse
system for jiggery: An experimental validation, pp. 1135–1144, Copyright 2006, with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 34 An illustration of the schematic diagram of the solar tunnel dryer. Reprinted from Journal of Food
Engineering, 73(3), Sacilik et al., Mathematical modeling of solar tunnel drying of thin layer organic tomato,
Prasad et al. (2006) have developed a hybrid dryer for village scale. A direct-type
natural convection solar cum biomass drier was developed. The performance of turmeric
rhizomes was evaluated in this dryer. The system was capable of generating an adequate
and continuous flow of hot air temperature between 55 and 60◦ C. Dried turmeric rhi-
zomes obtained under solar biomass (hybrid) drying by two different treatments, viz.,
water boiling and slicing were similar in quality with respect to physical appearance like
color, texture, etc., but there is significant variation in volatile oil. The quantitative analy-
sis showed that the traditional drying, i.e., open sun drying had taken 11 days to dry the
rhizomes while the solar biomass drier took only 1.5 days. It had produced better qual-
ity produce. The efficiency of the whole unit obtained was 28.57%. The solar biomass
drier was fabricated for drying of turmeric rhizomes and other such produce. The details
Figure 35 A schematic diagram of cross-section solar drier. Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 31(6), Li et al.,
Experimental investigation on solar drying of salted greengages, pp. 837–847, Copyright 2006, with permission
from Elsevier.
Figure 36 An illustration of cross-sectional view of solar dryer. Reprinted from Journal of Food Engineering,
74(2), Mwithiga and Kigo, Performance of a solar dryer with limited sun tracking capability, pp. 247–252,
of the drier are shown in Figure 37. Madhlopa and Ngwalo (2007) have designed, con-
structed, and evaluated an indirect-type natural convection solar dryer with integrated solar
collector–storage and biomass-backup heaters (Figure 38). The major components of the
dryer were biomass burner, collector–storage thermal mass, and drying chamber. The ther-
mal mass had been placed in the top part of the biomass burner enclosure. The dryer was
fabricated by using simple materials, tools, and skills. It was tested in three modes of oper-
ation (solar, biomass, and solar–biomass) by drying 12 batches of fresh pineapple. Each
batch consisted of about 20 kg. Results showed that the thermal mass was capable of stor-
ing part of the absorbed solar energy and heat from the burner. It was possible to dry
a batch of pineapples using solar energy only on clear days. Drying proceeded success-
fully even under unfavorable weather conditions in the solar–biomass mode of operation.
In this operational mode, the dryer reduced the moisture content of pineapple slices from
about 66% to 11% (d.b.). It yielded a nutritious dried product. The average values of the
Figure 37 An illustration of solar biomass dryer. Reprinted from Journal of Food Engineering, 75(4), Prasad
et al., Study on performance evaluation of hybrid drier for turmeric (Curcuma longaL.) drying at village scale,
Figure 38 An illustration of cross-sectional view of the solar dryer through the burner, collector, drying chamber,
and solar chimney. Reprinted from Solar Energy, 81(4), Madhlopa and Ngwalo, Solar dryer with thermal storage
and biomass-backup heaterr, pp. 449–462, Copyright 2007, with permission from Elsevier.
final-day moisture pickup efficiency were 15%, 11%, and 13% in the solar, biomass, and
solar–biomass modes of operation, respectively. It appears that the solar dryer was suitable
for preservation of pineapples and other fresh foods. A study was presented by Prasad,
Prasad, and Vijay (2007) for open sun and direct-type natural convection solar biomass
(i.e., hybrid) drying. This is very simple in construction and can be manufactured by
using local materials. Experimental studies were conducted for both summer (April–May,
2004) and winter (November–January, 2003–04) months in Delhi, India. The hybrid dryer
saved 63 hours of drying period in comparison to open sun drying for 0.008 m thick ginger.
The quality of ginger dried in hybrid drier was also found to be better than that obtained
from open sun drying.
In the hybrid drier, ginger with a thickness of 0.008 m, was dried in 33 h whereas it
took 96 h in open-sun drying. The overall drying efficiency of the hybrid drier was found
to be 18% and 13% under summer and winter climatic conditions respectively. The loss of
volatile oil content of the ginger is less in hybrid drier in comparison to open sun drying.
It was found that the average drying air temperature of 60◦ C with average air velocity of
0.6 m/sec was sufficient for the drying of ginger in the hybrid drier. Ginger quality after
drying was found to be better and drying time was less in the hybrid drier in comparison
to open sun drying. The hybrid drier is a simple device, which can be manufactured with
locally available materials and can be used for drying of other spices, vegetables, and
fruits, etc. Tripathy and Kumar (2009a) have presented a study; the application of artificial
neural network (ANN) for prediction of temperature variation of food products during solar
drying. The important climatic variables, namely, solar radiation intensity and ambient air
temperature had been considered as the input parameters for ANN modeling. Experimental
data on potato cylinders and slices obtained with mixed-mode solar dryer for 9 typical days
of different months of the year had been used for training and testing the neural networks as
shown in Figure 39. Results of analysis reveal that the network with four neurons and logsig
transfer function and trainrp back propagation algorithm is the most appropriate approach
Figure 39 An illustration of the schematic diagram of the mixed-mode solar dryer. (The dimensions are in cm.).
Reprinted from Influence of sample geometry and rehydration temperature on quality attributes of potato dried
under open sun and mixed-mode solar drying, Tripathy and Kumar, Internation Journal of Green Energy, 2009,
Taylor & Francis Ltd., reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd., http://www.tandf.co.uk/
journals).
for both potato cylinders and slices based on minimum measures of error. In order to test the
worthiness of the ANN model for prediction of food temperature variation, an analytical
heat diffusion model with appropriate boundary conditions and statistical model had also
been proposed. Based on error analysis, the prediction capability of the ANN model was
found to be the best of all the prediction models investigated, irrespective of food sample
geometry.
Ganguly and Ghosh (2009) have presented the modeling aspects of a floriculture
greenhouse. It is suitable for operation in typical Indian climate under natural ventilation as
shown in Figure 40. In this model, combined ridge and sidewall ventilation is considered.
This model was validated against the sample test. The parametric analytical study happened
to understand the effects of variations in parameters such as wind speed, solar radiation
intensity, effective greenhouse height, etc. The performance dryer was influenced by these
parameters.
Ronoh et al. (2010) have designed, developed, and tested a solar tent dryer under
natural convection for studying thin-layer drying kinetics of amaranth (Amaranthus cru-
entus) grains. Drying of grains in the dryer had been carried out on a drying rack having
two layers; top and bottom as shown in Figure 41. The ambient temperature ranged from
22.6 to 30.4◦ C and relative humidity ranged from 25 to 52%. The inside temperature and
relative humidity in the solar dryer ranged from 31.2 to 54.7◦ C and 22–34%, respectively.
Freshly harvested amaranth grains with an average moisture content of 64% were dried
under the solar tent dryer for 7 h to a final moisture content of 7% (dry basis). A nonlin-
ear regression analysis was used to evaluate six thin-layer drying models (viz., Newton,
Page, Modified Page, Henderson & Pabis, Logarithmic, and Wang & Singh) for amaranth
grains. The model was compared using coefficient of determination (R2 ), root mean square
error (RMSE), reduced chi-square (χ 2 ), and prediction performance (ηp ). Based on a ±5%
residual error interval, the Page model attained the highest prediction performance (ηp =
80%). Rathore and Panwar (2010) have developed, designed, and tested a walk-in-type
hemicylindrical solar tunnel dryer built with heat-protective north wall. It is for drying
agricultural and horticulture products on large scale as shown in Figure 42. Performance
of seedless grapes had been evaluated in this dryer. The study showed that chemically
untreated grapes took 7 days to dry at 16% (w.b) moisture content. The temperature gra-
dient inside the tunnel dryer is about 10–28◦ C during the clear day. It is sufficient to dry
agricultural commodities.
Active Solar Drying System

Al-Juamily, Khalifa, and Yassen (2007) have tested the performance of a fruit and
vegetable solar dryer system in Iraq. This dryer system consists of three parts (solar col-
lector, solar drying cabinet, and air blower). Two identical air solar collectors having
V-corrugated absorption plates of two air passes, a single glass cover were used. Total
area of the collectors was 2.4 m2 . The cabinet was divided into six divisions separated by
five shelves. Two types of fruit and one type of vegetable were dried in this simultaneously.
Grapes, apricots, and beans can be used to dry in this setup. Moisture content of apricot
reduced from 80 to 13% within 1 day and a half of drying. The moisture content of grapes
reduced from 80 to 18% in two and a half days of drying, while that of beans reduced from
65 to 18% in only 1 day. The effect of variation of speed of air inside the drying cabinet is
small. Relative humidity of air exit from the cabinet was small (between 25 and 30%) and
therefore there was no need for high-velocity air inside the cabinet. Zomorodian, Zare, and
(a) Illustration of Wide side Elevation
(b) South side elevation
Figure 40 An illustration of the elevation of experimental greenhouse (not in scale; all dimensions in m).
Reprinted from Energy and Buildings, 41(5), Ganguly and Gosh, Model development and experimental vali-
dation of a floriculture greenhouse under natral ventilation, pp. 521–527, Copyright 2009, with permission from
Elsevier.
Figure 41 An illustration of (a) schematic diagram of a natural convection solar tent dryer and (b) diagram
showing the arrangement of drying trays in two layers (Ronoh et al. 2010; used with permission).
Figure 42 An illustration of natural convection solar tunnel dryer. Reprinted from Applied Energy, 87(8),
Rathore and Panwar, Experimental Studies on hemi-cylindrical walk-in solar tunnel dryer for grape drying,
Ghasemkhani (2007) have introduced a new approach for employing solar radiation as the
main source of energy for paddy drying. A drying test rig was designed, fabricated, and
evaluated. The rough rice solar dryer was a cross-flow, an active mixed-mode type with a
new, and an efficient timer-assisted semicontinuous discharging system. The experimental
setup consists of six ordinary solar air heaters, an auxiliary electric heating channel, a dry-
ing chamber with an electrically rotary discharging valve, and an air distributing system
(Figure 43). The area of each collector was 2 m2 (totally 12 m2 ) and they were installed
on a light frame tilted 45◦ toward the south. The drying system consisted of an inlet bin,
a drying chamber ended with a discharging valve, an outlet bin, and a plenum chamber.
In the bottom of dryer bed, an electromechanical rotary valve was installed which was
controlled by a timer. The timer activated the rotary valve to operate occasionally to dis-
charge the dryer bed semicontinuously. To evaluate the performance of the drying system,
Figure 43 An illustration of a new semicontinuous active mixed-mode type drying system (six solar air heaters,
heating channel, air ducts, fan, and dryer. Reprinted from Desalination, 209(1-3), Zomorodian et al., Optimization
and evaluation of a semi-continuous solar dryer for cereals (Rice, etc), pp. 129–135, Copyright 2007, with
permission from Elsevier. (color figure available online)
a local variety of medium-size kernel of rough rice was selected. The first experiment was
conducted with two factors: mass flow rate (three levels) and discharge interval time (two
levels). Second, the experiment was conducted with three factors: the moisture content of
different locations on dryer bed (four levels), mass flow rate (three levels), and discharging
interval time (two levels). The dryer capacity, the efficiency of collectors, and the overall
efficiency of the drying system were evaluated. The maximum overall efficiency of the
drying system was 21.24% (with average drying air temperature of 55◦ C) and the fraction
of energy consumed by the auxiliary heating channel during the drying process compared
with solar energy was only 6–8%. The maximum capacity of the dryer was about 132 kg of
rough rice with initially 27% d.b. down to 13% d.b. final moisture content in 3 h of drying
period.
Sarsavadia (2007) developed a solar-assisted forced convection dryer for dehydra-
tion of onion slices for the controlled conditions of drying air temperatures and airflow
rates similar to those employed in commercial onion dehydration as shown in Figure 44.
Dryer facilitated the recirculation of exhaust air. Total energy required for drying of onion
slices increased with increase in airflow rate and decreased with increase in drying air tem-
perature. For the drying of onion slices from initial moisture content of about 86% (w.b.) to
final moisture content of about 7% (w.b.), the total energy required per unit mass of water
ranged between 23.548 and 62.117 MJ/kg without using any recirculation of air. Percent
energy contribution by the solar air heater, electrical heater, and blower to the total energy
requirement ranged between 24.5% and 44.5%, 41.0% and 66.9%, and 8.6%and 16.3%,
respectively.
Shanmugam and Natarajan (2007) have also investigated the performance of an indi-
rect forced convection, desiccant-integrated solar dryer. It was used for drying the green
peas, and pineapple slices with and without the reflective mirror as shown in Figure 45.
Inclusion of reflective mirror on the desiccant bed increased the drying potential consid-
erably. Temperature rise of about 10◦ C was achieved with mirror. It reduced the drying
time by 2 h and 4 h for green peas and pineapple, respectively. The pick-up efficiency,
drying rate, and average dryer thermal efficiency were relatively higher, when compared to
solar drying and desiccant-integrated drying. Uniform drying in all the trays was achieved
with good quality in terms of color and microbiological decay, when compared to solar
drying. Taste of dried pineapple was satisfactory. Desiccant material was stable even after
continuous operation for more than a year. This dryer can be used for drying various agri-
cultural products. It reduces drying time and improves quality of the dried product. Kooli
et al. (2007) had studied the drying of red pepper in open sun and greenhouse drying
conditions as shown in Figure 46. The experiment was undertaken inside a wind tunnel
where solar radiation was simulated by a 1000 W lamp for different external parameters
(incident radiation, ambient temperature, and air velocity). Moisture content and drying
time were determined. It was observed that the laboratory model overestimates the dry-
ing process under time-varying conditions. The correction factor was introduced to adjust
these predictions. In this, the consistency of the model, coefficient of determination, and
reduced chi-square were used. The experimental results of these tests have confirmed the
consistency of the model in the laboratory under constant conditions and in open sun and
greenhouse conditions.
Hossain and Bala (2007) have developed a mixed-mode-type forced convection solar
tunnel drier. It was applied to dry red and green chillies under the tropical weather condi-
tions of Bangladesh (Figure 47). The drier had a loading capacity of 80 kg of fresh chillies.
The moisture content of red chilli was reduced from 2.85 to 0.05 kg kg−1 (d.b.) in 20 h in a
Figure 44 An illustration of photograph of the solar dryer. Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 32 (15),
Sarsavadia, Development of a solar-assisted dryer and evaluation of energy requirement for the drying od onion,
pp. 2529–2547, Copyright 2007, with permission from Elsevier. (color figure available online)
Figure 45 An illustration of pictorial view of the experimental setup. Reprinted from Applied Thermal
Engineering, 27(8-9), Shanmugam and Natarajan, Experimental study of regenerative desiccant integrated solar
dryer with and without reflective mirror, pp. 1543–1551, Copyright 2007, with permission from Elsevier. (color
figure available online)
Figure 46 An illustration of laboratory experimental setup. Reprinted from Journal of Food Engineering, 79(3),
Kooli et al., Drying of red pepper in open sun and greenhouse conditions: Mathematical modeling and exper-
imental validation, pp. 1094–1103, Copyright 2007, with permission from Elsevier. (color figure available
online)
Figure 47 Solar tunnel drier: (1) air inlet; (2) fan; (3) solar module; (4) solar collector; (5) side metal frame;
(6) outlet of the collector; (7) wooden support; (8) plastic net; (9) roof structure for supporting the plastic cover;
(10) base structure for supporting the tunnel drier; (11) rolling bar; (12) outlet of the drying tunnel. Reprinted
from Solar Energy, 81(1), Hossain and Bala, Drying of hot chili using solar tunnel drier, pp. 85–92, Copyright
solar tunnel drier. However, it took 32 h to reduce the moisture content to 0.09 and 0.40 kg
kg−1 (d.b.) in improved and conventional sun drying methods, respectively. In green chilli,
about 0.06 kg kg−1 (d.b.) moisture content was obtained from initial moisture content of
7.6 kg kg−1 (d.b.) in 22 h in solar tunnel drier. It would take 35 h to reach the moisture
content to 0.10 and 0.70 kg kg−1 (d.b.) in improved and conventional sun drying methods,
Figure 48 An illustration of pictorial view of the solar greenhouse dryer. Reprinted from Renewable and
Copyright 2009, with permission from Elsevier. (color figure available online)
respectively. The solar tunnel drier has been recommended for drying of both red and green
chillies. Chen, Sharma, and Lam (2007) have conducted an experimental investigation to
test a new forced flow solar dryer (Figure 48) at Kun Shan University, Tainan, Taiwan.
It consisted of a solar air-heater and a drying chamber. The banana chips were dried in the
present system. Moisture content (wet basis) of banana chips decreased from 75–85% to
7–8%. The thermal efficiency of dryer was 30.86% for the 5 days during 9 am to 4 pm.
This solar dryer provided better quality and shorter drying period.
Barnwal and Tiwari (2008) had designed and developed a hybrid photovoltaic-
thermal (PV/T) greenhouse dryer of 100 kg capacity as shown in Figure 49. This dryer
was used to dry the Thompson seedless grapes (Mutant: Sonaka). In this system, a DC fan
was in operation for forced mode convection. Various hourly experimental test data namely
moisture evaporated, grape surface temperatures, ambient air temperature and humidity,
greenhouse air temperature and humidity, etc., were recorded to evaluate heat and mass
transfer for the proposed system. It was found that the value of the convective heat trans-
fer coefficient for grapes (GR-I) lies between 0.26 and 0.31 W/m2 K for greenhouse and
0.34–0.40 W/m2 K for open conditions, and for grapes (GR-II) lies between 0.45 and
1.21 W/m2 K for greenhouse and 0.46–0.97 W/m2 K for open conditions.
Sreekumar, Manikantan, and Vijayakumar (2008) have developed and tested a new
type of efficient solar dryer, particularly meant for drying vegetables and fruit. The dryer
has two compartments: one for collecting solar radiation and producing thermal energy
and the other for spreading the product to be dried (Figure 50). Arrangement was made to
absorb maximum solar radiation by the absorber plate. The product was loaded beneath the
absorber plate, which prevented the problem of discoloration due to irradiation by direct
sunlight. Two axial flow fans were provided in this prototype integrated desiccant/collector
dehumidifier mounted on the crop bin. It was tested in Kenya (day/night-time operational
modes). The dryer had six perforated trays for loading the material. The absorber plate of
the dryer attained a temperature of 97.2◦ C, when it was studied under no-load conditions.
Maximum air temperature in the dryer, under this condition was 78.1◦ C. The dryer was
loaded with 4 kg of bitter gourd having an initial moisture content of 95%, and the final
Figure 49 An illustration of hybrid photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) integrated greenhouse dryer. Reprinted from
Solar Energy, 22(4), Barnwal and Tiwari, Grape drying by using hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) green-
house dryer: An experimental study, pp. 1131–1144, Copyright 2008, with permission from Elsevier. (color figure
available online)
Figure 50 An illustration of the photograph of the solar dryer. Reprinted from Energy Conversion and
Management, 49(6), Sreekumar et al., Performance of indirect solar cabinet dryer, pp. 1388–1395, Copyright
desired moisture content of 5% was achieved within 6 h without losing the product color,
while it was 11 h for open sun drying. Collector glazing was inclined to a particular angle,
suitable to the location, for absorption of maximum solar radiation. Quality of the product
dried in the solar dryer was competitive with the branded products available in the market.
Mohamed et al. (2008) have investigated the effect of air temperature and airflow rate on
the drying kinetics of Gelidium Sesquipedale in convective solar drying. In this, the drying
process was conducted by using an indirect forced convection solar dryer (Figure 51).
It contained a solar air collector, an auxiliary heater, a circulation fan, and a drying cabinet.
This drying was conducted at 40, 50, and 60◦ C for a thin layer of Gelidium Sesquipedale.
Figure 51 An illustration of the photograph of laboratory solar dryer. Reprinted from Energy Conversion and
Management, 49(5), Mohamed et al., Thin layer modelling of Gelidium sesquipedale solar drying process,
The relative humidity had varied from 50% to 57%, and the drying airflow rate was varied
from 0.0277 to 0.0833 m3 /s. The solar Gelidium Sesquipedale drying process had occurred
in the falling rate period. Therefore, it was concluded that the main factor influencing the
drying kinetics was the drying air temperature.
Mohanraj and Chandrasekar (2008) have designed, fabricated, and tested a forced
convection solar drier for drying copra under Indian climatic conditions. A diagram of a
forced convection solar drier is shown in Figure 52. In this, the solar drier consisted of a
flat plate solar air heater of area 2 m2 connected to a drying chamber. The gap between the
glass and the absorber surface was maintained and connected to a 0.75 KW (1 HP) cen-
trifugal fan with an airflow rate up to 300 m3 h−1 and the other side with a drying chamber.
The divergent section was provided at the entry of the solar air heater for uniform air cir-
culation over the absorber surface. The air heater tilted to an angle about 25◦ with respect
to the horizontal, which is considered an optimum angle for year-round performance of
the system at Pollachi, India. The system was set to face the south to maximize the inci-
dent solar radiation on the solar collector. On the basis of observation, Pollachi (latitude
of 10.39◦ N, longitude of 77.03◦ E), where the experiment was conducted, had about 11 h
30 min of daylight, with typically about 8 h per day of sunshine available for drying. The
drying copra in the drier reduced its moisture content from about 51.8% to 7.8% and 9.7%
in 82 h for trays at the bottom and top, respectively. The copra graded as 76% milling grade
copra (MCG1), 18% (MCG2), and 6% (MCG3) according to Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS: 6220–1971). The thermal efficiency of the solar drier was predicted at about 24%.
Janjaia, Srisittipokakuna, and Bala (2008) have presented experimental performance
of solar drying of rosella flower and chilli using roof-integrated solar dryer as shown in
Figure 53. Field-level experiments for deep bed drying of rosella flower and chilli were
Figure 52 An illustration of solar drying system for copra drying. Reprinted from Biosystems Engineering, 99(4),
Mohanraj and Chandrasekar, Drying of copra in a forced convection solar drier, pp. 604–607, Copyright 2008,
with permission from Elsevier.
Figure 53 An illustration of roof-integrated solar drying system. Reprinted from Energy, 33(1), Janjaia et al.,
Experimental and modelling performances of a roof-integrated solar drying system for drying herbs and spices,
demonstrated. The drying in the roof-integrated solar dryer resulted in significant reduc-
tion in drying time compared to the traditional sun drying method. The dry product is a
quality dry product compared to the quality products in the markets. Payback period of the
roof-integrated solar dryer is about 5 years. This dryer consists of a roof-integrated solar
collector and a drying bin with an electric motor (220 V, 1 phase, 0.373 kW) operated
axial flow fan to provide the required airflow. Bin connected to the middle of the collector
through a T-type air duct. The roof-integrated collector contains two arrays of collectors:
one facing the south and other facing the north with a total area of 108 m2 . These collectors
also serve as the roof of the building. The roof-integrated collector is an insulated black
Figure 54 An illustration of solar drying system. Reprinted from Renewable Energy, 33(7), Smitabhindu
et al., Optimization of a solar-assisted drying system for drying bananas, pp. 1523–1531, Copyright 2008, with
permission from Elsevier.
painted roof serving as an absorber, which was covered with a polycarbonate plate. The
building was partitioned into one space for the drying bin and another for two additional
rooms. The first room of the building was used for the preparation of the product to be
dried and the second for the storage of dried products. Smitabhindu, Janjai, and Chankong
(2008) have developed a drying system that consists of two main parts namely: (1) the
solar collector, and (2) the drying cabinet (Figure 54). The solar collector was kept on the
rooftop of the drying building and the drying cabinet was inside the building. The solar
collector contained polyurethane back insulator and cover glass. There was an air gap in
between the cover glass and the insulator, in which ambient air sucked from both ends of
the roofs through the collectors. The air was sucked at the midpoint of the collector and
supplied into the drying cabinet with an auxiliary heat source using an LPG gas burner.
In this, each part of the collector was designed with a modular concept. Parts of the col-
lector such as insulation and cover glass were in modular form so that these can easily
transport and connect to each other. The drying cabinet was a tray type and accommodates
15 trays in stacks with a total drying area of 8 m2 and the dimension of a tray was 1 m ×
2 m × 1.5 m. The drying cabinet had been specially designed in such a way that hot air was
guided to flow parallel through the products placed in the trays in the stacks. This design
had the advantage that air temperatures in the cabinet were uniform. The ambient air was
preheated by the solar collector. It was sucked by an electrical blower and additional heat
if needed, was supplied by an LPG gas burner. Then, hot air was supplied to the cabinet.
Figure 55 An illustration of the experimental setup for mixed-mode solar dryer. Reprinted from Influence of
sample geometry and rehydration temperature on quality attributes of potato dried under open sun and mixed-
mode solar drying, Tripathy and Kumar, International Journal of Green Energy, 2009, Taylor & Francis Ltd.,
reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd., http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals).
Tiwari et al. (2009) have studied an energy analysis that has been used to predict fish
surface temperature, greenhouse room air temperature, and moisture evaporated during
greenhouse drying of prawn under natural and forced convection conditions. The esti-
mated values showed fair agreements with experimental values (coefficient of correlation,
r = 0.94–0.99; root mean square percent deviation, e = 2.4–10%). Tripathy and Kumar
(2009) have studied the influence of sample geometry and rehydration temperature on qual-
ity attributes of potato dried in mixed-mode solar drying and open sun drying as shown in
Figure 55. Experiments were performed at 40◦ , 50◦ , and 60◦ C with potato samples dried
simultaneously under mixed-mode solar dryer and open sun drying. It was found that the
ability of water absorption of the dried product is mostly affected by rehydration tempera-
ture, followed by sample geometry and method of drying. Higher rehydration temperature
leads to faster moisture absorption in dried product. It was found that both cylindrical sam-
ples and mixed-mode solar drying show higher values of proposed rehydration indices,
better color retention during drying, and greater texture hardness.
Janjai et al. (2011) had developed and tested at field level a large-scale solar green-
house dryer with a loading capacity of 1000 kg of fruits or vegetables as shown in
Figure 56. This dryer has a parabolic shape. It was covered with polycarbonate sheets.
The base of the dryer is a black concrete floor with an area of 7.5 × 20.0 m2 . Three 50-W
solar cell modules powered nine DC fans and was used to ventilate the dryer. It is regularly
used to dry chilli, banana, and coffee. To evaluate the experimental performances of the
dryer, air temperature, air relative humidity, and product moisture contents were measured.
The 1000 kg of banana with the initial moisture content of 68% (w.b) dried within 5 days.
However, 7 days were required for natural sun drying with the same weather conditions
and same amount.
CONCLUSION
A comprehensive review of the various designs, details of construction, and opera-
tional principles of the wide variety of practical designs of solar energy drying systems
have been described. Two major groups of solar dryers can be identified, viz., passive or
natural-circulation solar dryers and active or forced convection solar dryers.
Figure 56 An illustration of pictorial view of the solar greenhouse dryer. Reprinted from Renewable Energy,
36(3), Janjai et al., A large-scale solar greenhouse dryer using polycarbonate cover: Modeling and testing in
atropical environment of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, pp. 1053–1062, Copyright 2011, with permission
from Elsevier. (color figure available online)
Some easy-to-construct and user-friendly dryers that can be suitably employed at

small-scale factories or at rural farming villages have been presented. These low-cost food
drying technologies can be readily used in rural areas to reduce spoilage and improve
product quality thus resulting in overall processing hygiene. Scientifically designed active
solar dryers are generally found to be more effective and more controllable than the
natural-circulation types. In most of the active solar dryers, the fan is driven by the solar
photovoltaic cell. It makes the active dryer totally independent from the dependency over
fossil fuel/electricity. Therefore, solar photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) dryer is agreed to be
suitable for remote rural village farm application in most developing countries.
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Historical Review and Recent Trends in Solar Drying Systems

Article in International Journal of Green Energy · August 2013

Om Prakash Anil Kumar

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HISTORICAL REVIEW AND RECENT TRENDS IN SOLAR

Om Prakash and Anil Kumar

The application of solar drying technology in agricultural area to preserve vegetables,

Address correspondence to Om Prakash, Department of Energy, Maulana Azad National Institute of

Crop Initial moisture Final moisture Maximum allowable

Paddy, raw 22–24 11 50

Open Sun Drying

Direct Solar Drying

Indirect Solar Drying

TYPES OF SOLAR DRYER

HISTORICAL REVIEW OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM

dehydrating 500 kg of fruits or vegetables in a year. Ayensu (1997) designed an inexpen-

Active Solar Drying System

RECENT TREND OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM

Active Solar Drying System

(a) Illustration of Wide side Elevation

(b) South side elevation

Some easy-to-construct and user-friendly dryers that can be suitably employed at

greenhouse drier. Renewable Energy 28:467–85.

American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 22(3):411–23.

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