Misr J. Ag. Eng.

, 24(4): 978- 1003 PROCESS ENGINEERING

SOLAR SYSTEM WITH ENERGY STORAGE FOR
DRYING POULTRY MANURE

H. S. Abdel-Galil

ABSTRACT
The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of auxiliary
solar energy storage by the solar collector on its performance and the
drying rate of poultry manure. Three different solar drying units were
designed, constructed and used to dry poultry manure using heated air.
Three different solar collectors namely: traditional solar collector and
two solar collectors with 5-cm and 10-cm crushed limestone under the
absorber plates were oriented and tilted with an optimum tilt angle. Each
solar collector was attached with a similar drying chamber to study the
effect of storage solar energy on the hourly average outlet temperatures,
energy gained and the overall thermal efficiency of these solar collectors
relating to the drying rate of manure under the specific conditions of this
study. Each solar collector had a surface area of 0.66 m2 (1.0 m long,
0.66m wide and 0.05m deep), and a duct passage air of 0.05 m deep,
different in depth (0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 m deeps). Each drying chamber
(0.6m long, 0.5m wide and 1.0m high) had three drying trays and a door
for handling the product being dried. The drying runs were applied with
regression equations to evaluate the drying constant (Ks) and the
diffusion coefficient (Dc) of poultry manure. The obtained results
indicated that the daily average total solar radiation flux incident on the
tilted solar collector surface was 7.811 kWh/m2, while on the horizontal
surface was 7.261 kWh/m2. The outlet temperatures of the solar collector
with 5-cm crushed limestone were higher all the day-time than the
corresponding values of the solar collectors with 0.0 and 10-cm crushed
limestone. Also, the hourly average total useful energy gained and the
thermal efficiency of the solar collector with 5-cm crushed limestone
were 0.281 kWh/m2 and 41.2%, while the values of both the traditional
solar collector (0.0-cm crushed limestone) and the solar collector with
Lec., Agric. Eng.; Fac. of Agric.; Fayoum University-Egypt

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 978

 10-cm crushed limestone were 0.235 kWh/m2, 34.2% and 0.257 kWh/m2,
37.2%, respectively. For the drying unit attached with the collector of 5-
cm crushed limestone, the manure dried faster at all manure depths
followed by the drying unit attached with the solar collector of 10-cm
crushed and the drying unit attached with the traditional solar collector.
The drying coefficient (Ks) ranged from 0.115 h-1 to 0.62 h-1 at moisture
contents of 65% and 77%, respectively. The diffusion coefficient (Dc)
ranged from 0.035 m2/h to 0.015 m2/h at air temperatures of 20 oC and
60 oC, respectively. The optimum depth for drying manure under the
specific conditions of this study is 3-cm in all the drying units. In the
obtained solar dried-manure, the numbers of total bacteria counts were
more reduced and salmonellae were completely destroyed compared with
the sun dried-manure, due to the high temperature of the solar drying air.

INTRODUCTION

T
he modern system of confinement housing for livestock and
poultry has led to the problem of rapid accumulation of large
quantities of manure, which if improperly handled and/or
disposed of, affects the quality of the environment. Thus, converting
large quantities of animal wastes and poultry manure to a suitable
fertilizer or animal feed has led to minimizing environmental pollution.
The total amount of manure produced in Egypt on 1982 was estimated to
be approximately 215,089 m3 per day (The Egyptian Ministry of
Agriculture, 1982).
Animal and poultry wastes contain many of chemical compounds in
feeds, such as protein (25-30% for poultry manure and 12- 14% for cattle
manure) which could be used as a source of protein in animal feed (Day,
1977). For using poultry manure as feedstuff, the moisture content of the
manure needs to be dried down to about 10% w.b (Hobson and
Robertson, 1977). At such low moisture content, dried manure would be
stable and relatively odor-free and can be handled and conveyed with
solid–handling equipment. The dried animal manure was relatively free
from pathogenic microorganisms and was utilized as a fertilizer and as a
feed ingredient (McNeill et al., 1980). Drying is essentially heat and
mass transfer phenomena which involve the heating of the product,

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 979

vaporization of water from liquid state on the surface as well as within
the product, diffusion of vapours, mixing the vapour with air and carrying
the moisture away (Thanvi and Pande, 1987).
Drying can be effective for processing poultry manure prior to its use as
an animal feed (Taraba et al., 1985). Desouki (1990) and Kandil (1991)
used dried pultry manure as non-conventional feedstuffs for chicken and
Egyptian buffaloes. They concluded that no disease was observed among
the treated animals. Abdel-Galil (1993) indicated that the drying
temperatures cycle of (16- 37oC) appeared to be low and not enough to
destroy the pathogenic microorganisms of poultry manure as compared
with that of (24- 66oC). He, also, reported that the optimum depth of
drying poultry manure in the solar dryer under Egyptian conditions is 3.0
cm. Hatem and Ghaly (1994) mentioned that the rate of moisture losses
decreased linearly with time (for about 55% of the drying time and then
finished up parabolically for 1 cm deep manure. However, for 2.0 and 3.0
cm-deep, the rate of moisture loss decreased linearly. El-Nakeeb et al.,
(1999) used four different drying systems to dry cattle waste with solar
energy. They found that the circular-shape dryer has the least microbial
counts. Awady et al., (2003) dried cattle waste with solar energy and
reported that doubling the airflow rate, from 0.0032 to 0.0064 kg/s at
45oC temperature and 2.5 cm layer depth, increased the drying rate by
25%. Increasing the layer depth, from 2.5 to 3.0 at 0.0064 kg/s airflow
rate and 45oC temperature, decreased the drying rate by 6%.
In Egypt, using solar energy for drying poultry manure is more attractive
because it is a renewable and clean source of energy. The amount of solar
energy incidence has an average magnitude of 5.0 to 8.0 kWh/m2 per day
and sunshine duration per year extends to 3000 hours (Awady et al.,
1993). Since, the solar radiation is only available during the day time, it
is important to store it during day-time for delivery as needed during the
night hours and the periods that clouds cover the sun. The stored energy
during the day-time can be used for continuing the drying process of the
products over-night. Also, it can be used in space heating of livestock and
poultry housing. Ghanem (1998) indicated that using a solar collector
and energy storage system with water and automatic control of stored
water temperature and an electrical heater (Hybride) permitted almost

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 980

uniform drying during both day and night hours. The results show that
excellent quality dried vegetables and fruits may be obtained using an
appropriately designed solar dryer which permitted continuous drying
throughout daylight and at night hours.
The most common materials used for heat storage are water, oil, rocks
and concrete blocks. The specific heat of most stones, bricks or concrete
type materials ranged from 0.71 to 0.90 kJ/kg.oC. The absolute density of
these materials ranges from 1600 to 2500 kg/cm3. The heat storage
capacity/unit volume of these materials ranges from 1136 to 2250
kJ/m3.oC (Maria Telkes, 1977). The thermal capacity of the rock bed
may be increased by decreasing its void fraction. The normal value of the
rock bed void fraction is 43% (Smith et al., 1984). Although the small
value of void fraction causes high pressure drop across limestone bed, the
thermal performance of the rock bed may be improved (Abdel-Ghaffar,
1985). Improving the limestone bed thermal behavior may be maintained
by keeping the airflow rate as low as possible and increasing the bed
height. The ratio of the heat capacity of the rocks to that of the fluid must
be kept as high as possible by increasing the thermal capacity of the
storage media. So, more solar energy could be stored. The rock bed
tended to decrease the temperature fluctuation of solar heated air around
the mean temperature. It is working as a heat exchanger, since it tends to
damp the temperature oscillations and smooth down irregularities of the
air temperature profile (Abdel- Ghaffar, 1986).
Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of storing
solar energy during the daylight for continuing the solar drying of poultry
manure at night. Also, to use the dried manure as an animal feed which
represents about (60- 80%) of the total animal production costs.
The specific objectives of the present study are to:
1- Design and construct a solar drying system able to store solar
energy and test its thermal performance.
2- Investigate the factors that affecting the drying process.
3- Estimate the drying coefficient for poultry manure.
4- Determine the most important chemical and microbial
characteristics of the solar- dried manure.

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 981

 MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Description of the Solar Drying System:
The experimental models of the solar drying system were designed and
manufactured for drying poultry manure in Fayoum Faculty of
Agriculture, Fayoum University, Egypt on August, 2006. The latitude
angle at Fayoum and the solar altitude angle on August are 29.3o N and
73o, respectively. The drying system consists of three separate units
(Fig.1). Each unit consists of similar drying chamber attached with
different solar collector. The three collectors having the same surface
area with different depths. A schematic diagram for one unit of the
experimental set-up is shown in (Fig. 2). The main components of the
three solar drying units are shown in (Fig. 3), and the following are
details of the components:

Fig. (1): Solar drying unites (Solar air heaters and drying
chambers).

1. Solar collectors: Three different sizes of single cover flat-plate solar

collectors with airflow over the absorber were made as rectangular
wooden boxes. Each one was having a surface area of o.66 m2 (1.0 m
long, 0.66 m wide and 0.05 m deep). Two of them were used for storing
solar energy during the daylight and the third was used as a control unit.
Therefore, the depths of the three collectors were 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20m.
The heat storage materials (crushed limestone) were placed in two of
them. All collectors were painted from inside and outside surfaces using
matt black paint.

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 982

 Fig. (2): Schematic diagram of the experimental set-up.

Fig. (3): Components of the three solar collectors used in this study.

A fiber glass wool (24 kg/m3) having a thickness of 0.05m and a thermal
conductivity of 0.045 W/m.oC were used to insulate the sides and bottom
(PaTil and Ward, 1989). Galvanized flat metal plates painted black
having absorpitivity and emissivity of 0.95 and 0.87 respectively were
used as the absorber to absorb the maximum amount of solar energy
(Norton, 1992). For the control unit, the absorber was placed directly
above the insulation material, but for the two other collectors, the crushed
limestone was placed above the insulation material (0.05m and 0.10m
thick), and then, the absorber plates of 0.003m thick were placed on the
top of the limestone. To minimize the reflection of radiation and reduce

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 983

heat losses by convection, a clear transparent material was situated to
cover the solar collectors. Each solar collector having two ducts which
are used as an air inlet and outlet to facilitate the attachment of the solar
collector to both the air fan and the drying chamber. All solar collectors
were orientated to face the south direction and tilted with a tilt angle (Β)
calculated by the following equation:
Β = Latitude angle (Ф) – solar declination angle (δ) , (o)-------------- (1)
Where:
Ф = Latitude angle at Fayoum is 29.3o N.
δ = Solar declination angle = 23.45 sin [0.9863 (n + 284)] = 13.5
o
.
n = number of the day from the first of January, 228 for August.
Β = 29.3 - 13.5 = 15.8 o
2- Drying chambers: Three similar drying chambers were made as a
rectangular box frames (0.6m long, 0.5m wide and 1.0m deep) with
wooden frames. The frames were covered with sheets of MDF (granular
wood), 4-mm thick to form the walls. Each drying chamber had a door of
1.0m × 0.5m for handling the product being dried. Inside each drying
chamber, three wooden support frames were fixed at the walls of the
rectangular boxes for placing the drying trays, one in the middle and the
others fixed above and under of it (20 cm apart). Inlet and outlet ducts
with cone-shape were attached to each drying chamber to allow good air
distribution inside it and delivers the exhaust air to the atmosphere. Two
reflectors (0.4m long and 0.2m wide) made of wood were fixed inside
each drying chamber at the end of the inlet duct, to reflect the heated air
directly toward the drying trays. The drying chambers were completely
painted black and insulated from the outside surfaces using a 2.5cm thick
glass wool to prevent absorbance of solar radiation and minimize the heat
losses to the ambient atmosphere, especially during the drying process.
Each drying chamber was mounted on a rectangular wooden stand (0.6m
long, 0.5 m wide and 0.4m high).
3- Drying trays: Twelve drying trays were made using wooden
rectangular box frames and plastic screen mesh for bottom. Each drying
tray had dimensions of 0.55m long, 0.45m wide and 0.08m deep. Long
holes were perforated on the side walls of the drying trays to enhance the

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 984

efficiency of the drying rate. Nine drying trays were used for solar drying
(on the drying chambers) and the others three drying trays for direct-sun
drying (control).
4- Fans: A suction fan was fitted at the inlet duct in the front entrance of
each solar collector. The fans were used to introduce the ambient air to
the solar collectors for heating and, then, passes through the drying trays
where the manure being drying. The fan had a characteristic of: 150 mm
diameter, model No.OC-15R, 220 Volt (50 Hertz), Ocarina made. The
airflow rate was controlled using a gate valve installed at the exit end of
the fan.
5- Exhaust system: The exhaust system of each drying chamber consists
of L-shaped outlet duct. One end of the horizontal part of the exhaust
system (40 × 5cm) was attached to the drying chamber and the narrow
end was connected to a vertical cylinder of 5cm diameter, which delivers
the exhaust air to the atmosphere. The length of the vertical cylinder was
100 cm and its end was protected by a cover to prevent the cold air from
entering the drying chamber and to maintain the temperature of the
drying chamber at the ambient temperature when the drying process was
off.
6- Limestone properties: Crushed limestone was used as a thermal
storage media for storing some energy absorbed by the solar collector
during the day-time and delivered it at night. The physical properties of
limestone were determined and listed in Table (1). The equivalent
spherical diameter was measured using the method described by Lof and
Hawley (1948).
Table1 (1): Physical properties of limestone used in this study.
Moisture Density Equivalent Dimensions (cm)
3
content (kg/m ) spherical Length Width Thickness
(%)* diameter
(cm)
0.776 2456.3 4.18 6.8 4.6 3.63
* Wet basis
B. Poultry Manure:
Poultry manure for these experiments was collected from El-Azab
poultry farm (‫)مزرع ة دواج ن الع زب‬. This farm is owned and operated by the
ministry of Agriculture., Fayoum Governorate (‫)محافظ ة الفي وم‬, Egypt,
Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 985
which located at approximately 10 km from Fayoum City. Some
characteristics of fresh poultry manure used in this study are presented in
Table (2).
Table (2): Some characteristics of fresh poultry manure used.
Item Measured Value
Moisture content (%)* 65-70
Total solids (Tss)* 20-22
3
Density (kg/m )* 998
Total kjeldahl Nitrogen (%)** 5.36
pH 7.1
* Wet basis, ** Dry basis
C - Measurements:
1- Temperature measurement: The required temperatures
were measured to calculate the performance of the drying
system using two types of thermometers. The first is a Velleman
kit-model No. k 2649 thermostat with LCD- Display. It has a wide
measuring and regulatingrange of –50oC to 150oC with display resolution
of 0.1oC. The second is a Lac Electronic, model No. 3104.6
ODERZO/TV, which has a measuring range of –50 oCc to 150oC and
accuracy of ± 1oC.
2- Solar radiation: The total solar radiation flux incident on the
horizontal surface (W/m2) was measured using a radiometer (model 8-8
serial No. 14046). The solar radiation incident on tilted surfaces and
absorbed by the absorber plate of the solar collector was computed
according to Duffie and Beckman (1991).
3- Relative humidity: The air relative humidity was determined using a
psychometric chart from the measured dry and wet bulb temperatures
during the period of experiments.
4- Air velocity: The air velocity was measured for both the solar
collectors and the drying chambers using a tri-sense digital hot-wire
anemometer which has accuracy of 0.01 m/s.
5- Manure moisture content: An electric balance and electric oven were
used for weighing and drying the manure samples for determining the
moisture content of both fresh and dried manure during the drying
process. The capacity of the electric balance was 1kg and accuracy of

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 986

0.01g. Samples of 30 to 40 grams were dried on electric oven at 103 oC
for 24 hrs.

D. Thermal Performance of the Air Solar Heater:

The thermal performance of the three air solar heaters was estimated
according to Duffie and Beckman methods (1991), using the following
equations:
1. Available solar energy (Qav ): The methods for calculating the solar
radiation incident on both the horizontal and tilted surfaces are found in
the previous research (Abdel-Galil and Tarhuni, 2005). The total solar
radiation available on the specific tilted solar collector is calculated using
the following formula:
Qav = IT × AC, (Watt) ------------------------------------------------- (2)
Where:
IT is the solar radiation flux on the tilted solar collector, (W/m2).
AC is the surface area of the solar collector, (m2).
2. Absorbed solar radiation (Qab): The absorbed solar radiation by the
absorbed plate of the solar collector is calculated as follow:
Qab = Qav × (τα) = (IT × AC) × (τα), (Watt) ----------------------- (3)
Where:
(τα) is the transmittance-absorptance product, (-).
3. Useful heat energy gain (Qus ):
Qus = m Cp (Tao - Tai ), (Watt) ---------------------------------------- (4)
Where:
m is the air mass flow rate, (kg/ s).
Cp is the specific heat of air, (kJ/kg . oC).
Tao and Tai are the outlet and inlet air temperatures of the solar collector,
(oC).
4. The thermal efficiency of the solar collector (ηth ):
ηth = Qus / (IT × AC) = [m Cp (Tao - Tai)] / (IT × AC), (%) --(5)

E. Evaluation of the Drying Constant and the Diffusion Coefficient

for Manure:
Drying air temperature is usually considered to be the only factor that
affected the drying constant "Ks". Henderson and Pabis (1969) have

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 987

suggested the following equation to describe the variation of "Ks" with
temperature as follows:
K = A exp(-B/T) ------------------------------------------------------------ (6)
Where:
A and B are the material constants (-), and T is the absolute
temperature of the drying air (˚K).
Matouk et al., (2002) indicated that drying constant (Ks) can be affected
by both of drying air temperature (Ta) and air relative humidity (RH).
The relationship between Ks and both of Ta and RH can be described by
simple regression equation as follows:
Ks = A exp(B(Ta)) ------------------------------------------------------- (7)
Ks = A exp(RH) ------------------------------------------------------- (8)
McLendon and Gillespie (1978) reported that diffusion coefficient can be
affected by the drying air temperature.

F- Laboratory Analyses:
1- Chemical analysis: The chemical analysis was performed on both
fresh and dried manure samples for the determination of the total
protein. The protein analysis was carried out at the central laboratory
of the Fac. of Agric. Fayoum Univ. by using Macrokjeldahl method
according to AOAC (1990). To obtain the protein, the nitrogen can be
multiplied by 6.25.
2- Microbial analysis: The microbial analysis of both fresh and dried
poultry manure was carried out at the microbiology Dept., Fac. of
Agric., Fayoum Univ. according to FAO (1992). The analysis
included total bacterial counts and salmonella examinations.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Solar Radiation and Solar Collectors:
Estimation of solar radiation and the influences of some factors on the
performance of the solar collectors are discussed as follows:
1- Hourly average total solar radiation:
The hourly average total solar radiation incident on the horizontal surface
for Fayoum, Egypt (Latitude 29.30o N) on August (2006) were measured.
The hourly average total solar radiation incident on the horizontal

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 988

surface, the collector surface and that absorbed by the absorber plate of
the collector were estimated according to Duffie and Beckman (1991)
and the results are listed in Table (3).
Table (3): Hourly average total solar radiation for Fayoum, Egypt on
August, 2006.
Solar radiation flux incident on the Absorbed
Solar time
horizontal and tilted surfaces solar energy
(h)
In (W/m2) Qn (Watt) Qav (Watt) Qab (Watt)
7 288.9 190.7 203.5 168.2
8 466.7 308.0 331.8 274.2
9 636.1 419.8 449.2 371.3
10 780.6 515.2 550.0 454.6
11 880.6 581.2 627.0 518.2
12 922.2 608.7 656.3 542.4
13 880.6 581.2 627.0 518.2
14 780.6 515.2 550.0 454.6
15 636.1 419.8 449.2 371.3
16 466.7 308.0 331.2 274.2
17 288.9 190.7 203.5 168.2
18 233.3 154.0 176.1 145.6
Total 7261.1 4792.5 5155.4 4261.0
Mean 605.1 399.4 429.6 355.1
In = hourly average total radiation incident on the horizontal surface (W/m2).
Qn =hourly average total radiation incident on horizontal plane of the solar collector (W).
Qav = hourly average total radiation available on tilted surface of the solar collector (W).
Qsb = hourly average total radiation absorbed by the solar collector absorber plate (W).

Three solar collectors were used in this study and oriented with an
optimum tilt angle at noon (15.8o) for the month of August for Fayoum
location to maximize the efficiency of the collector, because it causes the
beam radiation to be perpendicular on the collectors' surfaces at and
around noon. The results indicated that the hourly average total solar
radiation incident on the collector surface and absorbed by the absorber
plate almost clarified the same trend of that incident on the horizontal
surface, where the maximum values occurred at 12:00 noon. The daily
average total solar radiation flux incident on the tilted solar collector
surface was 5.155 kWh/day. Meanwhile, the daily average total solar
radiation available on the horizontal plane was 4.793 kWh/day.

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 989

Consequently, the tilted solar collector increased the solar energy
available by 7.6%. The daily average absorbed solar energy was 4.261
kWh/day with absorption efficiency of 82.7%. Thus, for the purpose of
solar drying, maximum energy collection is desired for a given month to
maximize the amount of solar energy gained by the collector.
2. Inlet and outlet air temperatures of the solar collector:
The hourly average inlet and outlet air temperatures of the solar
collectors were measured at airflow rate of 0.02 m3/s and the results are
shown in
Fig. (4). The results showed that the outlet air temperatures of the solar
collectors were higher than the inlet air temperature and almost take the
same trend. The outlet air temperatures of the normal collector (without
thermal storage media) were slight higher than those of the two collectors
having a thermal storage media (5 and 10-cm rock-bed depths) from 7.00
am to 3.00 pm, and this was due to the amount of heat energy absorbed
by the limestone from the energy gained by the solar collector absorber
plates during the period, while the reverse occurred at end of the daylight
and at night (from 3.0 pm to 12.0 am), because at this period, the
limestone begin to deliver some of its storage heat to the absorber plates
of the solar collectors. On the others hand, the outlet air temperatures of
the solar collectors with 5-cm limestone depth under the absorber plate
were higher than those of the collector with 10-cm limestone depth.
Finally, the results indicated that the solar collector with 5-cm limestone
depth (thermal storage media) was more effective than that of 10-cm
limestone depth.
90 0 Rock - bed depth
5 Rock - bed depth
80 10 Rock - bed depth
Ambient temperature
Temperature (°c)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Time (h)

Fig. (4): Hourly average inlet (ambient temperature) and outlet air
temperatures of the solar collectors at airflow rate of 0.02 m3/s.

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 990

3. Useful energy gain and thermal efficiency of the solar collectors:
The hourly average useful energy gained in the three solar collectors
tilted at the optimum tilt angle at noon (15.8o) with airflow rate of 0.02
m3/s and the thermal efficiencies of these collectors were computed for
the month of August (2006) and the results are listed in Table (4). The
results showed that the hourly average total useful energy gained (qus)
and the thermal efficiency (ηth) of the solar collectors were directly
related to some factors such as: solar intensity (I), difference between the
outlet and inlet air temperatures of the collectors and the airflow rate (m).
The obtained results revealed that, the hourly averages useful heat energy
gained of the solar collectors with rock-bed thicknesses of 0-cm, 5-cm
and 10-cm were 155.3, 185.5 and 169.6 Watt, respectively.
Table (4): Hourly average heat energy gained and overall thermal
efficiency for the three solar collectors during August, (2006).
QT = Hourly average solar radiation incident on tilted surface (W/m2).

Rock-bad thickness
Solar QT Qav 0 - cm 5 - cm 10 - cm
time (h) (W/m2) (W) Qus ηth Qus ηth Qus ηth
(W) (%) (W) (%) (W) (%)
7 308.3 203.5 047.6 23.4 044.1 21.7 042.3 20.8
8 502.7 331.8 079.8 24.1 075.9 22.9 070.8 21.3
9 680.6 449.2 116.8 26.0 122.6 27.2 113.6 25.3
10 833.3 550.0 200.7 36.5 230.0 41.8 208.1 37.8
11 950.0 627.0 242.6 38.7 296.3 47.9 268.8 42.9
12 994.4 656.3 286.2 43.6 341.1 52.0 320.1 48.8
13 950.0 627.0 262.1 41.8 310.6 49.5 300.3 47.9
14 833.3 550.0 221.5 40.3 268.1 48.8 243.2 44.2
15 680.6 449.2 166.3 37.0 212.7 47.4 192.6 42.9
16 502.7 331.8 118.2 35.6 154.9 46.7 133.6 40.3
17 308.3 203.5 067.8 33.3 092.8 45.6 080.0 39.3
18 266.8 176.1 054.3 30.8 076.6 43.5 062.3 35.4
Total 7811 5155.4 1863.9 - 2225.7 - 2035.7 -
Average 650.1 429.6 155.3 34.2 185.5 41.2 169.6 37.2
Qus = Hourly average useful energy gained by the solar collectors (W).
ηth = Hourly average thermal efficiency of solar collectors (%).

Therefore, the hourly average overall thermal efficiencies for the three
different solar collectors were 34.2%, 41.2% and 37.2%, respectively.

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 991

 Consequently, the solar collector with 5-cm thick rock-bed increased the
overall thermal efficiency by 6.9% and 4.0% as compared with 0 and 10-
cm thick rock-bed, respectively. The maximum values of the hourly
average useful energy gained were achieved at12:00 noon, because at this
period the maximum solar intensity and higher difference between the
outlet and inlet air temperatures occurred.
The daily average total heat energy gained and overall thermal efficiency
for the three solar collectors were calculated at different days of August
(2006) and the results are listed in Table (5). The obtained results almost
clarified the same trend of that obtained for hourly average and revealed
that, the daily averages total useful heat energy gained of the solar
collectors with rock-bed thicknesses of 0-cm, 5-cm and 10-
cm were 1.734, 2.199 and 1.807 kWh/day, respectively. Therefore, the
daily average overall thermal efficiencies for the three different solar
collectors were 34.5%, 43.8% and 36.0%, respectively. Consequently, the
solar collector with 5-cm thick rock-bed increased the overall thermal
efficiency by 9.3% and 7.8.0% as compared with 0 and 10-cm thick rock-
bed, respectively. It is noticed that the daily average values were higher
than that the previous hourly average values, because the daily average
values represent only specific days of August, 2006 (only 6 days), but the
hourly average values represent the monthly average hourly (i.e. all the
month days of August, 2006).
Table (5): Daily average heat energy gained and overall thermal
efficiency of the solar collectors at different days of August,2006.
Incident, available and absorbed solar
Energy gained and thermal efficiency of the solar collector
radiation
Rock-bed depth (cm)
Date
QT Qav Qab 0 5 10
(kW/m2) (KWh/day) (KWh/day) Qus η Qus η Qus η
(KWh/day) (%) (KWh/day) (%) (KWh/day) (%)
2/8 0.663 5.521 4.340 1.936 36.9 2.406 45.8 2.006 38.2
4/8 0.646 5.116 4.228 1.837 35.9 2.335 45.6 1.936 37.8
6/8 0.653 5.172 4.275 1.802 34.8 2.305 44.6 1.883 36.4
10/8 0.637 5.045 4.170 1.703 33.8 2.163 42.9 1.783 35.3
15/8 0.616 4.879 4.032 1.612 33.0 2.051 42.0 1.656 33.9
20/8 0.589 4.665 3.810 1.516 32.5 1.936 41.5 1.579 33.8
Average 0.634 5.021 4.143 1.734 34.5 2.199 43.8 1.807 36.0

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 992

B. Evaluation of Poultry Manure Drying Rate:
Generally, in the drying process, the rate of moisture loss is very
important, since it affects the changes in the poultry manure properties.
Therefore, the effects of manure depth and solar energy storage by the
solar collector were investigated, in order to evaluate their effects on the
drying rate of manure.
1. Effect of solar energy storage on the drying rate:
Fig.(5) shows the effect of solar energy storage (three different
collectors) on the moisture content of poultry manure with three manure
depths and airflow rate of 0.02 m³/s. The results indicated that the higher
moisture content of poultry manure was observed at the solar drying unit
without solar energy storage (0-cm rock-bed deep) with all manure
depths. For both drying units with solar energy storage, lower moisture
contents were observed at the drying unit with 10-cm rock-bed deep
under the absorber plate of the solar collector as compared with the other
drying unit with 5 cm rock-bed deep with all manure depths. In spite of
the fact that decreasing the rock-bed depth under the absorber plate of the
solar collector led to reduce the solar energy, the lower rock-bed depth
(5-cm deep) increasing the outlet air temperature in most of the drying
time as compared with both of 0.0-cm rock-bed depth and the higher
rock-bed depth (10-cm deep). It resulted in reduces the moisture content
due to the fact that increasing the drying air temperature a few degrees
was enough to decrease the relative humidity and this led to increase the
capacity of the air to absorb moisture from the manure, especially at the
end stage of the drying process.
2. Effect of manure depth on the drying rate:
Fig. (6) shows the effect of manure depth on the manure moisture content
for the three different solar drying units at airflow rate of 0.02 m³/s. The
results indicated that the depth of 2-cm manure for the three different
drying units was dried faster than that the other depths (3 and 4 cm). For
all the drying units, the moisture content of manure decreased from
118.8% (dry-basis) to 10.6% (dry-basis) after a total drying time of
approximately 28, 32 and 44 h for the 2, 3 and 4 cm manure depths,
respectively. For the drying unit without solar energy storage (0 cm rock-
bed deep), the moisture content reached its equilibrium after a total

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 993

drying time of approximately 32, 36 and 44 h for the 2, 3 and 4cm
manure depths, respectively (Fig. 6a). For the drying unit with solar
energy storage (5cm rock-bed deep), the moisture content reached its
equilibrium after a total drying time of approximately 24, 30 and 36 h for
the 2, 3 and 4cm manure depths, respectively (Fig. 6b), while for the
drying unit with solar energy storage (10cm rock-bed deep), the moisture
content reached its equilibrium after a drying time of 28, 36 and 40 h for
the 2, 3 and 4cm manure depths, respectively (Fig. 6c). From the
previous results, it was clear that the 3-cm manure depth was the
optimum depth to dry poultry manure under the specific conditions of
this study.
C. The Drying Constant and Diffusion Coefficient of Manure:
Drying testes of poultry manure at initial moisture content of 43 to 100٪
(d.b.) were conducted simultaneously and samples were taken at various
intervals to determine the moisture content. The drying constant (Ks) of
poultry manure was evaluated from the moisture content curves. A semi-
logarithmic regression was made to determine the values of the drying
constant. For all testes, the slope of the resulting line (Fig. 7) is the drying
constant. The results indicated that the drying constant ranged from 0.115
h-1 to 0.062 h-1 at moisture contents of 65% and 77%, respectively.
Diffusion testes were conducted at the air temperatures of 20, 30, 40 and
50 0C. The relationship between the diffusion coefficient and temperature
was obtained from the linear regression (Fig. 8) and can be expressed by
the following equations:
Dc = .052 – 0.00072 (Ta) ------------------------------ (9)
The results showed that the diffusion coefficient (Dc) of poultry manure
ranged from 0.038 to 0.016 m2/h at air temperatures of 20 0C and 50 0C,
respectively.
D. Chemical and Microbial Analyses of Manure:
The chemical and microbial analyses were for both fresh and dried
manure at airflow rate of 0.02m3/s and various manure depths are listed
in Table (6). The chemical analysis showed that the total protein (% d.b)
in fresh-manure was higher than that in dried-manure for the three
different manure depths. Total protein for fresh manure was 33.5% and
reduced to

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 994

24.2%-25.6% for the sun-dried manure and to 28.6%-31.3% during the
solar drying process depending on the drying temperature and the manure
depth used. The reduction in the total protein in both sun- dried and solar
dried manure decreased when the manure depth is increased. The
reduction in total protein in sun-dried manure ranged from 27.8% to
20.6%, while the reduction in total protein in solar- dried manure ranged
from 14.6% to 6.6% depending on the manure depth as compared with
29% and 52.5% for the designs studied by Awady et al.,(2003) and
Ghanem (1998), respectively.
200 2-cm manure depth
200 0-cm Rock bed-depth 3-cm manure depth
180
180 5- cm Rock bed-depth 4-cm manure depth

Moisture content (%d.b)

160
Moisture content (% d.b)

160 10- cm Rock bed-depth

140
140
120
120
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
0
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
Elapsed time (h)
Elapsed time (h)
a) 2 cm manure depth a) Rock bed depth = 0

200
200 2-cm manure depth
0-cm Rock bed-depth 180 3-cm manure depth
180
Moisture content (% d.b)

5-cm Rock bed-depth 160 4-cm manure depth

10- cm Rock bed-depth
Moisture content (%d.b)

160
140
140
120
120
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
0
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
Elapsed time (h) Elapsed time (h)
b)Rock bed depth = 5 cm
b) 3 cm manure depth
200 200
0- cm Rock bed-depth 2-cm manure depth
180 5- cm Rock bed-depth 180
3-cm manure depth
160 10- cm Rock bed-depth 160 4-cm manure depth
Moisture content (%d.b)

Moisture content (% d.b)

140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
Elapsed time (h) Elapsed time (h)
c) 4 cm manure depth c) Rock bed depth = 10 cm

Fig.(5): Effect of solar energy storage on Fig.(6): Effect of poultry manure

the drying rate of poultry manure at depth on the drying rate at various
various manure depths and airflow rate solar energy storage systems and
0.02 m3/s. airflow rate 0.02 m3/s.

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 995

 0.14 0.060

Diffiusion Coefficient, m / h
0.12
-1

0.050

2
Drying Coefficient , h

0.10
0.040
0.08
0.06 0.030
0.04 0.020
0.02 0.010
0.00
0.000
65 67 69 71 73 75 77
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Moisture Content % 0
Drying Temperature C

Fig. (7): Effect of moisture content Fig. (8): Effect of drying temperature
on drying coefficient of poultry on the diffusion coefficient of poultry
manure. manure.

Table (6): Chemical and microbial analyses of poultry manure as

affected by the drying methods.
Chemical Analysis Microbial Analysis
Drying Method Manure pH Total Total protein Bacterial Salmonella
depth protein reduction count count
(cm) (%d.b) (%d.b) (cell/g) (cell/g)
Fresh manure - 7.1 33.5 0 2.6×109 11
2 6.8 24.2 27.8 3.2×108 8
8
Sun-dried manure 3 6.8 25.6 23.6 4.5× 10 9
4 6.7 26.9 19.7 6.7×108 9
Solar-dried manure 2 6.7 28.6 14.6 2.3×106 0
6
3 6.7 29.9 10.7 3.1×10 0
4 6.6 31.3 6.6 5.5×106 0

This is due to decrease manure decomposition, which resulted in

increased drying rate in the designed solar dryer as compared with the
direct-sun drying. The microbial analysis indicated that the bacterial total
counts were 2.6 ×109 cells/g for fresh manure, while they ranged from
3.2×108 to 6.7×108 cells/g at the end of the drying processes by sun and
ranged from 2.3×106 to 4.5×106 cells/g by solar-dried manure for various
manure depths. The salmonella count was 11 cells/g for fresh manure, 8-
9 cells/g for sun dried manure and was completely destroyed for solar–
dried manure. These results are in agreement with Ghanem (1998), EL-

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 996

Nakeeb et al. (1999) and Awady et al. (2003). The destruction of
salmonella for solar dried-manure can be attributed to the high
temperature (>60 oC) of this solar drying process.
CONCLUSION
The obtained results from this investigation can be concluded as follows:
1. The daily average total solar radiation flux incident on the tilted solar
collector surface (tilted with an optimum tilt angle at noon) was 5.155
kWh/day, which on the average higher than that on the horizontal
surface (4.793 kWh/day) by 7.6%.
2. The outlet air temperatures of the two solar collectors with 5 and 10
cm crushed limestone were higher than those of the traditional solar
collector at the end of the daylight and during the first hours of the
night (from 3.0 pm to 12.0 am).
3. The hourly average useful energy gained and the thermal efficiency of
the solar collector with 5-cm crushed limestone were higher than the
corresponding values for the solar collectors with 0 and 10-cm
crushed limestone.
4. The hourly average overall thermal efficiencies for the control unit (0
rock-bed thick), solar collector with 5-cm rock-bed thick, and solar
collector with 10-cm rock- bed thick were 34.2%, 41.2% and 37.2%,
respectively.
5. The daily average overall thermal efficiencies for the control unit (0
rock-bed thick), solar collector with 5-cm rock-bed thick, and solar
collector with 10-cm rock- bed thick were 34.5%, 43.8% and 36.0%,
respectively.
6. The Poultry manure at all manure depths on the drying unit attached
with solar collector of 5-cm rock-bed thick was dried faster than the
other solar collectors.
7. The optimum depth for drying manure under the specific conditions of
this study is 3 cm for all of the drying units.
8. The reduction percentage of the total protein in solar-dried manure was
lower (6.6%-14.6%) as compared with that of the sun-dried manure
(19.7%-27.8).
9. pH decreased from 7.1 in fresh manure to 6.7 in solar-dried manure.

Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 997

10.The numbers of total bacteria were reduced to a minimum level and
the salmonella was completely destroyed on the solar dried-manure as
compared with the direct sun dried-manure because of high
temperatures of the solar drying air (>60 oC).
11.The drying constant (Ks) of poultry manure ranged from 0.115 h-1 at
moisture content of 65% to 0.062 h-1 at the moisture content of 77%,
while the diffusion coefficient (Dc) of manure ranged from 0.038m2 /h
at air temperature of 20 0C to 0.016 m2/h at air temperature of 50 0C.
RECOMMANDITIONS
1. The optimum thickness for solar drying poultry manure is 3.0 cm.
2. To reduce the environmental pollution and to solve the problems
associated with handling raw manure, all poultry and cattle farms
must be provided with solar drying unit.
3. In order to achieve more efficient storing of auxiliary solar energy
by the solar collector, further studies for the optimum thickness
and the amount of crushed limestone under the absorber plate of
the solar collector should be done.
4. This unit can be utilized in drying different agricultural products.

REFERENCES
Abdel-Galil, H. S. (1993). Solar drying of poultry manure for animal
feeding under simulated Egyptian conditions. Ph. D. Th., Fac. of
Agric., Cairo Univ,:322, 327, 330, 367- 376.
Abdel-Galil, H. S. and Tarhuni, M. M. (2005). Solar drying of
medicinal plants under Libyan conditions. Misr J. Agric. Eng., 22
(4): 171-191.
Abdel–Ghaffar, E. (1985). Air flow resistance characteristics of a
crushed limestone rock-bed. Alex. J. Agric. Res., 30 (2): 655- 664.
Abdel–Ghaffar, E. (1986). Rock-beds heat surge for solar heated air.
Misr J. Agric. Eng., 3 (3): 33- 42.
AOAC. (1990). Official methods of analysis, The 15th Ed. association of
official analysis chemists. Wash., DC., U.S.A.

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Awady, M. N.; Mohamed, S. A.; EL-Sayed, S. A. and Hassanain A.
A. (1993). Utilization of solar energy for drying processes of
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Awady, M. N.; EL-Nono, M. A.; EL-Sahhar, E. A. and Aboud, A. J.
(2003). Application of solar energy for drying animal wastes. The
11th Annual Conf. of MSAE, 20 (4): 347-362. 15- 16 Oct., 2003.
Day, D. L. (1977). Utilization of livestock wastes as feed and other
dietary products, Ch. 23., in Animal Wastes, ed. By Taiganedes, E.
P., Galliard Ltd., Uk: 295- 315.
Desouki, M. S. (1990). Some non-conventional protein sources for
laying hens rations. M. Sc. Th., Fac. of Agric. AL- Azhar Univ.
:83- 114.
Duffie, T. A. and Beckman, W. A. (1991). Solar energy thermal
processes, 2nd Ed. Wiley- Intersciene, N Y. 251-272.
Egyptain Ministry of Agriculture. (1982). Statistics and data analysis
in agriculture. Cairo City, Egypt
EL-Nakeeb, A. A.; Awady, M. N. and Ghanem, T. H. (1999). Solar
drying of cattle waste for protein supplement in animal feed. The
7th Conf. MSAE., Cairo, Egypt: 264- 275.
FAO. (1992). Manual of food quality control. Microbiology Analysis,
Wash., D.C., U. S. A: 12- 43, 275.
Ghanem, T. H. (1998). Solar energy utilization, specifically on drying
or sterilization of animal manure under Egyptian conditions for use
as protein supplement in animal feed. Ph. D. Th., Fac. of Agric.
EL- Azhar Univ. : 76, 95- 199.
Hatem, M. H. and Ghaly, E. (1994). Poultry manure drying. Misr J.
Agric. Eng. 11 (3): 725- 735.
Henderson, S. M. and Pabis, S. (1969). Grain drying theory 1.
Temperature effect on drying coefficient. J. Agric. Eng. Resh., 6
(3):169-174.
Hobson, P. N. and Robertson, A. M. (1977). Waste treatment in
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Kandil, A. M. (1991). The use of some animal waste products in buffalo
nutrition, M. Sc. Th., Fac. Agric. AL-Azhar Univ.: 95- 100.
Lof, G. C. and Hawley, R. W. (1948). Unsteady state heat transfer
between air and loose solids. Indust. and Eng. Chem.,40:1061-
1070.
Maria, Telkes. (1977). Applications of solar energy for heating and
cooling of buildings. ASHRAE GRP: 170.
Matouk, A. M.; Abedel-Latif. S. M.; El-Hadidi, Y. M. and Tharwat,
A. (2002). Drying of ear corn. Part II: Thin layer drying equations.
The 10th Conf. Misr J. of Agrc. Eng., 19 (4): 139-154.
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broiler waste on a heated concrete slab.Trans.ASAE,21(3):553-560.
McNeill, S. G.; Ross, I. J.; White, G. M. and Taraba, J. L. (1980).
Drying characteristics of formed poultry excreta in a deep–bed
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Response of a rock bed to a periodic temperature variation. ASAE,
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Taraba, J. L. Newton L.; Safely, L. M.; Westerman P. W.; Hill D. T.;
Ramsey D. S.; Nordstedl R. A. and Hegg R. O. (1985). Research
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Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007 1000

 ‫الملخص العربى‬
‫نظام شمسى ذو تخزين للطاقة لتجفيف زرق الدجاج‬
‫د‪ .‬حمدى سالم السيد عبدالجليل‬
‫اجرى ھذا البحث بھدف تصميم واختبار نظام للتجفيف الشمسى بالھواء المسخن ودراسة إمكاني ة‬
‫تخ زين الطاق ة الشمس ية ب المجمع الشمس ى أثن اء فت رات التجفي ف النھاري ة لإلس تفادة منھ ا بع د‬
‫غروب الشمس وخ الل الس اعات األول ى م ن اللي ل‪ ،‬وت أثير ذل ك عل ى مع دل أداء وح دة التجفي ف‬
‫الشمس ى وتقلي ل ال زمن ال الزم لتجفي ف زرق ال دجاج ‪ ،‬بغ رض إع ادة إس تخدامه ف ى األع الف‬
‫الحيواني ة أو التس ميد نظ را إلحتوائ ه عل ى نس بة عالي ة م ن الب روتين )‪ %٢٨.٦‬ال ى ‪(%٣١.١‬‬
‫باالضافة لالحماض االمينية والم واد الكربوھيدراتي ة ‪ ،‬كم ا يس اھم ھ ذا النظ ام ف ى ح ل كثي ر م ن‬
‫المشاكل الناتجة عن تداول ھ ذه الم واد ف ى حال ة رطب ة )خ ام( وذل ك بإزال ة الرطوب ة منھ ا والت ى‬
‫تصل الى حوالى ‪ %٨٠‬من الوزن الطازج من خالل عملية التجفي ف الشمس ى الت ى تص ل درج ة‬
‫حرارة ھواء التجفيف فيھا الى أكثر من ‪٠ ٧٥‬م ‪ ،‬مما يؤدى الى قتل الكثير من الكائنات الممرضة‬
‫الت ى تس بب تلوث ا بيئي ا للبيئ ة الحيواني ة المحيط ة بعملي ة االنت اج وللبيئ ة بش كل ع ام ‪ ،‬كم ا ت ؤدى‬
‫درج ات ح رارة ھ واء التجفي ف العالي ة ال ى ال تخلص نھائي ا م ن الس المونيال الت ى تس بب الع دوى‬
‫للعاملين فى ھذا المجال‪.‬‬
‫تم تصميم ھذا النظام واختباره وتنفيذه فى كلية الزراعة – جامعة الفيوم ‪ ،‬والذى يتكون من ث الث‬
‫وحدات تجفيف شمسى منفصلة ‪ ،‬كل وحدة تتكون من جزئين رئيسيين ھما المجمع الشمسى الذى‬
‫يق وم بتس خين الھ واء الج وى ودفع ة بفع ل الحم ل الجب رى والث انى ھ و غرف ة التجفي ف والت ى‬
‫تعتبربمثابة وحدة التجفيف الرئيسية‪ ،‬حيث نم تزويدھا بص وانى تجفي ف مص نوعة م ن الخش ب و‬
‫الشباك البالستيكية لكى تسمح للھواء الساخن باختراق المواد المراد تجفيفھا متماثلة‪.‬‬
‫تتكون وحدات التجفيف الثالث من ث الث غ رف تجفي ف متماثل ة متص لة بثالث ة مجمع ات شمس ية‬
‫مختلف ة ‪ ،‬المجم ع األول م ن الن وع التقلي دى أم ا المجمع ان الث انى والثال ث بك ل منھم ا طبق ة م ن‬
‫الحجر الجيرى المجروش )لتخزين الطاقة الشمسية( بس مك ‪٥‬س م و‪ ١٠‬س م للمجم ين الشسمس يين‬
‫الث انى و الثال ث‪ ،‬حي ث وض ع الحج ر الجي رى ف ى قاع دة ك ل منھم ا ب ين م واد الع زل الح رارى‬
‫وس طح االمتص اص )ل وح الص اج األس ود( ‪ ،‬وذل ك بغ رض دراس ة إمكاني ة التخ زين الح رارى‬
‫االضافى للطاقة الشمسية ‪ ،‬وقد أجري ت ھ ذه التج ارب بھ دف تقي يم أداء وح دات التجفي ف ال ثالث‬
‫ومقارنتھا من حيث مقدرتھا على التخزين االضافى للطاقة الشمسية وكفاءتھ ا م ن حي ث مع دالت‬
‫التجفيف ومقدرنھا التجفيفية على قتل الكائنات الحية الممرضة الموجودة بزرق الدجاج الرطب‪.‬‬
‫وقد أوضحت نتائج الدراسة ما يلى‪:‬‬
‫‪ .١‬ك ان المتوس ط الي ومى لكمي ة اال ش عة الشمس ية الكلي ة الس اقطة عل ى س طح المجم ع‬
‫الشمسى المائل )بزاوية مي ل مثل ى ‪ ٥,١٥٥ (°١٥,٨‬كيل ووات‪.‬س اعة ‪ /‬الي وم حي ث ك ان‬
‫فى المتوسط أعال من تلك الساقطة على السطح األفقى بنسبة ‪.% ٨,٧‬‬
‫مدرس الھندسة الزراعية ‪ -‬كلية الزراعة ‪ -‬جامعة الفيوم‬

‫‪Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007‬‬ ‫‪1001‬‬

‫‪ .٢‬تأثرت درحة حرارة الھواء الساخن الخارج من المجمع الشمسى بكمية الحجر الجيرى‬
‫المج روش الموض وع أس فل الس طح المم تص للمجم ع ‪ ،‬حي ث كان ت درج ات الح رارة‬
‫الخارج ة م ن المجمع ين ذات طبقت ى الحج ر الجي رى )‪١٠ ، ٥‬س م( أع ال م ن مثيلتھم ا‬
‫للمجمع التقليدى فى نھاية اليوم وأثناء الساعات األولى من الليل )من ‪ ٣‬م الى ‪ ١٢‬ص(‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٣‬أعط ى المجم ع الشمس ى ذو ‪ ٥‬س م حج ر جي رى متوس ط أع ال م ن الطاق ة الحراري ة‬
‫المكتسبة والكفاءة الحرارية فى الس اعة ع ن مثيلتيھم ا بالنس بة للمجم ع الشمس ى ذو ‪١٠‬‬
‫سم حجر جيرى‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٤‬كان المتوسط الكلى للكفاءات الحرارية فى الي وم للمجمع ات الشمس ية الثالث ة ) ‪، ٥ ، ٠‬‬
‫‪ ١٠‬س م حج ر جي رى( ‪ % ٣٦ ، % ٤٣ ، %٣٤,٥‬عل ى الترتي ب‪ ،‬حي ث زادت كف اءة‬
‫المجمع الشمسى التقليدى بنسبة ‪ %٨,٥‬وذل ك بوض ع طبق ة م ن الحج ر الجي رى س مك‬
‫‪٥‬سم أسفل السطح الممتص‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٥‬كان أداء وحدة التجفيف الشمسى الملحق بھا المجمع الشمس ى ذو طبق ة الحج ر الجي رى‬
‫سمك ‪٥‬سم عاليا‪ ،‬حيث جف زرق الدجاج فية أسرع عن د جمي ع أعم اق ال زرق )‪،٣ ،٢‬‬
‫‪ ٤‬س م( مقارن ة بالوح دتين اآلخ رتين )المجم ع التقلي دى والمجم ع ذو ‪ ١٠‬س م حج ر‬
‫جيرى(‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٦‬أظھرت التجارب أن أفضل سمك زرق الدجاج للتجفيف الشمسى ھو ‪٣‬سم‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٧‬نسبة فقد البروتين باستخدام ھذا النظ ام للتجفي ف الشمس ى ص غيرة‪ ،‬حي ث تراوح ت م ا‬
‫ب ين ‪ %٦.٦‬ال ى ‪ ، %١٤.٦‬بينم ا بالنس بة للتجفي ف الشمس ى المباش رتراوحت م ا ب ين‬
‫‪ %١٩.٧‬الى ‪.%٢٧.٨‬‬
‫‪ .٨‬انخفض رقم الحموضة لزرق الدجاج المجفف بالطاقة الشمسية من ‪ ٧.١‬الى ‪. ٦.٧‬‬
‫‪ .٩‬أدى استخدام ھذا النظام الى التخلص من الرائحة الكريھة للزرق الطازج‪.‬‬
‫‪ .١٠‬إنخفض ت األع داد الكلي ة للبكتيري ا الممرض ة كثي را ف ى ال زرق المجف ف كم ا أمك ن‬
‫التخلص نھانيا من السالمونيال نتيحة لدرجات الح رارة العالي ة لھ واء التجفي ف الشمس ى‬
‫)‪° ٦٠‬م فأكثر( مقارنة بالتجفيف الشمسى المباشر‪.‬‬
‫‪ .١١‬أظھ رت النت ائج أن التخ زين الح رارى للطاق ة الشمس ية وزي ادة درج ات ح رارة ھ واء‬
‫التجفيف أدت الى زيادة معدل التجفيف و تقليل الزمن الالزم لعملية التخفيف‪.‬‬
‫التوصيات‬
‫‪ .١‬تقليل التلوث البيئى و لحل المش اكل الناتج ة م ن ت داول ال زرق الخ ام )الرط ب( ‪ ،‬يج ب‬
‫تزويد مزارع الدواجن وإسطبالت المواشى بوحدة تجفيف شمسى‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٢‬للحصول العمق المثالى للتجفيف الشمسى لزرق الدجاج تحت ظروف ھذه التجرب ة ھ و‬
‫‪ ٣‬سم ‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٣‬لعلى كفاءة تخزين عالية للطاقة الشمسية أثناء فترات النھار لإلستفادة منھ ا ل يال‪ ،‬يج ب‬
‫عم ل دراس ات مس تقبلية عل ى س مك وكمي ة الحج ر الجي رى ال الزم وض عھا ب المجمع‬
‫الشمسى‪.‬‬
‫‪ .٤‬يمكن إستغالل ھذة الوحدة فى تجفيف الكثير من المنتجات الزراعية‪.‬‬

‫‪Misr J. Ag. Eng., October 2007‬‬ ‫‪1002‬‬