Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A review on solar tunnel greenhouse drying system

Rajendra Patil a,n, Rupesh Gawande b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bapurao Deshmukh College of Engineering, Wardha 442102, Nagpur, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, 440001 Nagpur, India

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper mainly deals with review of research and development work on solar tunnel and greenhouse
Received 7 August 2015 type dryers operating in natural and forced convection mode by different researchers. The compre-
Received in revised form hensive explanation, basics and earlier work performed on solar tunnel greenhouse type dryers has been
9 November 2015
presented briefly. A technical and economical assessment shows that solar tunnel and greenhouse dryers
Accepted 22 November 2015
appear the most gorgeous option for use in rural areas. Trials on solar tunnel and greenhouse type dryer
show not only massive fuel savings but also great worth addition due to improved quality of dried
Keywords: product in terms of color, aroma and taste. However application of such dryers has not picked up due to
Greenhouse dryer higher capital investment, long payback period and lack of confidence in the technology. Nevertheless
Tunnel dryer
incessant research and development work should be carried out to overcome these factors. It is hoped
Solar energy
that this review work may be valuable and appropriate for further development work.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . .............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

2. Previous work on solar tunnel and greenhouse type dryers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
3. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . .............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

1. Introduction
Drying is the process of removal of moisture from the product
to a specified value due to application of heat energy. In short,
drying is a combination of heat and mass transfer [1]. Many drying
methods are available for drying of agricultural products. Sun
drying is the earliest method of drying agro-commodities and
having several disadvantages like spoilage of produce due to wind,
dust, rain, insects, birds, storms etc. Also open sun drying requires
large land and drying time [2]. Hence to protect agricultural pro-
ducts from damage and to control the drying process, efforts had
been made to improve sun drying to solar drying.
Solar drying is a technological process and works on principle
of greenhouse effect. Basically solar drying can be classified into
two types of low temperature and high temperature dryers [3].
Further it may be classified into direct, indirect, mixed mode and
n
Corresponding author. Tel.:- +919604825862.
hybrid type. In direct solar dryers, collection of solar energy and
drying of product takes place in an enclosed insulated structure.
The simplicity and low cost of dryer makes it attractive for end
users. However, control of drying temperature and poor quality of
dried product are main limitations. In indirect dryers, air is heated
in air heater and then flows over a product bed. The better con-
trolled of temperature in dryer results in efficient operation. High
cost and complex construction are the drawbacks of such dryer. In
mixed mode, products are exposed directly to solar radiations and
hot air from solar collector. It is a combination of direct and
indirect solar dryers while in hybrid solar dryers, heat energy from
solar radiations and fossile fuel or biomass is used for drying the
agricultural product [4]. Solar dryers can also be classified
according to the movement of air as natural and forced convection
dryers. In natural (passive) convection dryer movement of air
takes place due to density difference, while in forced convection
mode (active) fan or blower is required to move the air through air
heater and over the product. Active solar dryers are more efficient

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.11.057
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
Roof Cap
Solar Radiation
Glass Roof
Fig. 1. Passive glass – roof type greenhouse dryer.
than passive dryers in terms of speed and quality of drying.
Though active dryers are better than passive dryers they are
superb for drying of minute batches and not suitable in rural areas
due to requirement of power for operating the fans. These lim-
itations along with the fact of reducing drying time, encourages
the researchers to build up new designs like tunnel and green-
house type dryers. Tunnel is an enclosed duct except at entry and
exit end and used for heating of air in numerous applications
including drying. However greenhouse is a structure used for
production of vegetables/flowers along with effective drying of
large quantity of agro-commodities. Hence greenhouse structure
can be used all over the year making it more reasonable and have
low operating cost [5]. The dual function of greenhouse and dryer
improves the return rate of investment [6]. Kumar et al. gives the
detailed types of greenhouse and suggested the even span and
Quonset shape of greenhouse for maximum utilization of solar
energy [7]. The solar tunnel and greenhouse comes in the group of
direct and mixed type dryers and can be effectively operated in
both natural as well as forced convection mode [5]. Greenhouse
dryers are also called as tent dryers and basic form of passive
greenhouse dryer with inclined glass roof was presented by Brace
Research Institute. The schematic of dryer is shown in Fig. 1 [8].
Several researchers have done an excellent review work on
solar drying technology for drying of agricultural produce. A
comprehensive review of various designs of direct, indirect and
mixed mode solar cabinet dryers were presented by Sharma et al.
[9] and they mentioned that processing of agricultural produce to
a processed food can be a wise alternative to small land holder
farmers. Farmers can make extra money for value addition to the
product. Bal et al. [10] summarize a detailed review of research
and development work on solar dryers with thermal energy sto-
rage system for drying of agricultural food products. The thermal,
physical, chemical and kinetic property of heat storage materials
were discussed for an appropriate selection of material for a par-
ticular application. The review study shows that thermal energy
storage system increases the utility as well as reliability of solar
dryer and latent heat storage system stores more heat per unit
volume than sensible heat storage system. Heat storage with
phase change material is a smart option. El-Sebaii et al. focused on
a numerous types of solar air collectors and solar dryers with and
without heat storage media. From the available literature, they
conclude that indirect mode forced convection solar dryers are
superior in quality and also recommends a more investigation on
sensible/latent heat storage media for accelerating the drying rate
197
Exhaust
Drying Platform
Shutter Open
Cold Air
[1]. Further, the research work carried by different scientists in the
area of solar dryers used for grape drying was reviewed by Pan-
gavhane and Sawhney [11]. The various types of solar dryers were
discussed technically as well as economically and showed that
solar drying of grape is feasible. They suggest that solar dryer
should have maximum utilization factor and recommended forced
convection mode of drying for better control and reliability. Fud-
holi et al. [12] presented an inclusive review of different designs,
working principles and details of construction of solar dryers for
drying of marine and agricultural products. Study revealed that the
technical directions in the upgrading of solar drying systems for
marine and agricultural produce are compact collector design,
integrated storage, high efficiency and long life of drying system.
The author also focused on water based solar collectors whereby
water to air heat exchanger can be used. A review article of dome
shape and roof even type solar greenhouse dryer was recently
presented by Prakash and Kumar [5]. The study reveals that
greenhouse dryer under forced convection mode was better for
high moisture products and greenhouse drying should be adopted
to overcome the restrictions of traditional open sun drying. PV –
integrated dryers can be used in remote areas.
The main aim of this paper is to summarize the research and
development work for solar tunnel and greenhouse type dryers.
The comprehensive explanation, basics and earlier work per-
formed on solar tunnel greenhouse type dryers were presented
briefly. It is hoped that this review work may be valuable and
appropriate for further development work.
2. Previous work on solar tunnel and greenhouse type dryers
The solar tunnel drying system is simple in construction and
consists of a collector as well as drying tunnel connected in series.
Both collector and drying tunnel are covered with transparent
glasses or plastic sheets. The collector element contains black color
metallic absorber plate while drying chamber has number of trays
for loading the product to be dried. On the other hand a green-
house is basically an enclosed structure covered with stabilized UV
resistant polythene sheets, acts itself as a solar collector and dry-
ing chamber. Such dryers are used for drying of multiple agri-
cultural products at low cost. The solar tunnel dryer of capacity
100–300 kg was developed in the mid of 1980s at Hohenheim
University, Germany and known as Hohenheim solar tunnel dryer.
The Hohenheim tunnel dryer unit has been tested in 30 countries
198 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214

Heat absorber

Clear fiberglass

Drying
Racks
Drying
Racks

Perforated
Plenum

Air Ducts
Fig. 2. Green house solar dryer (a) load supporting wall design and (b) shell design (not to scale).

like India, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda and Australia etc. for drying of Air Outlet
vegetables, fruits, herbs and indicates that this design is good
enough for small land holders in terms of consistency, price and
consumer – sociability in operation. Several investigators have
Dryer
explored on solar tunnel and greenhouse dryers for drying of
various agricultural products.
Huang and Bowes [13] developed two types of greenhouse
namely the load supporting wall and shell type solar dryer as Collector
shown in Fig. 2. In the load supporting design, exterior as well as
Frame
interior walls were used to hold tobacco bulk racks and fiber glass
was used to transmit the solar radiations. The stagnant air space Fan
between the transparent outer surface and the heat absorber acts
as an insulation layer. The concrete slab and block foundation
served as an additional heat storage system. The corrugated fiber-
glass was used in shell design to form greenhouse with built-in Air Inlet
gravel energy storage system for night time usage. The gravel Fig. 3. Solar tunnel dryer for small quantities.
system was used to store excess solar energy. In this design instead
of walls, portable frames were used to support tobacco racks. Baffle Plate
Results showed that the load supporting wall design was better
and able to save 15–25% fuel as compared to the shell type design.
Dryer
On the other hand the shell design showed better saving at
Collector
33–51% as compared to the commercial unit. The study showed
Frame
that drying of tobacco in both designs was feasible and gives better
Fan
performance due to use of energy storage system.
The solar tunnel greenhouse dryer for grape drying has been
investigated by many researchers namely Lutz et al., Eissen et al.,
El-Shiatry et al., Gentry et al. and Fohr and Arnand. Lutz et al.
Air outlet
designed and constructed a multi-use solar tunnel dryer for drying
of grapes, vegetables and medicinal plants at Greece. For minute Air Inlet
holding capacities (50–300 kg) collector and tunnel can be linked Fig. 4. Solar tunnel dryer for large quantities.
in series (Fig. 3), while for large quantities (up to 1000 kg) collector
and tunnel of dryer have to be set in parallel (Fig. 4). A radial fan velocity by 180°. Also more power is required to move the air over
operated by AC motor was used to move the air at 3 m/s over the the product. Eissen et al. [15] considered a similar type of tunnel
product. The dryer was tested for drying of 1000 kg of seedless
dryer for drying of 25 kg/m2 of fresh grapes and found that drying
grapes and they found that tunnel dryer took only 4–7 days for
was completed in 5–6 days with better quality raisins. The design
removal of moisture up to safe limit of 9% (w.b). The quality of
of solar dryer allows consistent drying and absolute protection of
dried grapes was excellent in terms of color, flavor and taste. This
grapes from insects, dust and rain.
dryer was effectively tested in Greece, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Saudi
A solar tunnel dryer (20 m length) for drying of 100–200 kg of
Arabia for drying of grapes, peppers, dates and onions. Finally
economic evaluation of solar tunnel dryer gives a payback period food per day under forced convection mode was proposed by El-
in the range of 2–3 years [14]. Instead of polythene foil, author Shiatry et al. [16]. The solar collector (1 m wide) and drying
used a costly air bubble foil which increases the cost of drying and chamber (2 m wide) was arranged in parallel (Fig. 4) to determine
payback period. In parallel arrangement of dryer, cost of drying drying period, electric power consumption, quality of produce in
increase due to requirement of baffles to turn the air at require terms of color, flavor, reconstitution properties, microbial count
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
and life expectancy. The dryer was tested for drying of tomatoes,
grapes, onions, potatoes, basil and wild marjoram under the
metrological conditions of Egypt. A radial fan operated by 150 W
AC motor was used to circulate the air over the product. A 70% and
40% of reduction in drying time for grapes and other crops within
STD was observed as compared to natural sun drying. The highest
electric consumption of 19.5 kW h for drying of 1000 kg of grapes
was recorded; while only 4.4 kW h was consumed by radial fan for
200 kg of basil. The reconstitution test shows the excellent result
for potatoes and onions while only 75% of initial moisture content
was reached by tomatoes. The faster drying rate was achieved
since STD receives heat energy from collector as well as from solar
irradiations. A parallel arrangement of dryer and high electric
consumption increases the cost and payback period of dryer;
however a better dried product was obtained.
The greenhouse solar dryer for drying of grapes was studied by
Fohr and Arnaud [17]. It consists of (Fig. 5) a few trays, fan, plastic
film and a collector of 50 m greenhouse allied in face of the grape
stack hall. The fan was placed in the rear wall of stacked chamber
to achieve consistent air flow over the trays. Result showed that
recycling of air was not economically feasible. Amir et al. [18]
studied a solar tunnel dryer under forced convection mode for
drying of coffee beans. The solar collector and a drying chamber
were connected side by side. The centrifugal blower was used to
move the hot air into the drying tunnel through U-shaped duct. An
air stream rate of 400–900 m3/h was maintained by a centrifugal
blower to achieve air temperature in the range of 40–60 °C. For
drying of 500–600 kg of coffee beans, dryer took 50 h while tra-
ditional open sun drying required 75 h for the same moisture
removal. The drying technique for coffee under polythene solar
tunnel dryer was also evaluated by Chapman et al. at Thailand. It
consists (Fig. 6) of solar collector, a drying chamber and centrifugal
blower. The dryer of 7 m
4 m
2 m in size was constructed and
Greenhouse
Shed
Transparent film
Fan
2m x 2m
Stake of trays
Black film
Fig. 5. Solar dryer with greenhouse.
Clear Polyethylene
Cover
Drying Table
Fig. 6. Polyethylene solar tunnel dryer.
199
enclosed with a polythene sheet of 200 μm. Result showed that
moisture removal rate for coffee drying was 1.5 times faster than
open air drying and observed an increase in efficiency of 20–40%.
An increase in temperature of air by 4–5 °C was also recorded
within the dryer. The cost of construction of dryer was about USD
190 while cost to operate the electrical blower was less than 1 USD
for 12 h daily. Also Ochratoxin (OTA) forming fungi was not
observed in solar dried samples [19]. From above results, STD was
a right option for drying of small and medium capacity agricultural
products at faster drying rate.
Schirmer et al. [20] developed a multi-purpose solar tunnel
dryer for drying of banana under active mode at Thailand. The
dryer consists of a collector and drying tunnel in which 300 kg of
banana is spread in thin layer. Both collector and drying chamber
are joined in series and covered with UV plastic sheet. Three fans
powered by 53 W PV module were used to ventilate the tunnel
dryer. The dryer was capable of producing the sufficient and
continuous flow of hot air temperature between 40 and 65 °C. The
quantitative examination showed that traditional sun drying had
taken 5–7 days to dry the bananas while solar dryer took only 3–5
days and produced better quality of produce. The anticipated
payback period of dryer is about 3 years. Result shows that the
most effective factor on the moisture removal rate was the tem-
perature of air inside the dryer. The introduction of STD seems to
be means of earning extra money for worth addition to the pro-
duct. Gauhar et al. [21] fabricated a reduced size of solar tunnel
dryer based on the Hohenheim dryer design. The AIT (Asian
Institute of Technology, Bangkok) solar tunnel dryer consists of a
solar collector (4 m length), drying tunnel (4.30 m length) and five
radial flow fans (14 W; 130 m3/h) to drive the moist air out of the
dryer. For hygienic and ergonomic reasons, the drier stands on a
75 cm high brick plinth. Both the collector and tunnel are covered
with a 0.2 mm thick, UV-stabilized polythene sheet. No-load tests
were conducted with both AC and DC/Photovoltaic operation of
the fans and reported that during AC operation of fans, the drying
temperature fluctuates with changes in solar insolation, while
solar PV operated fans, reduces this variation as air flow rate is
directly related to the solar radiations. They also conducted
experiments separately, with AC and DC driven fans, for drying the
same quantity of chili (19.5 kg) at almost like weather conditions.
The chili took 3 days to get dried up in dryer with AC fans while
only 2 days are required for drying with PV operated fans. The
efficiency of the dryer for DC/PV operation was estimated at
14.20% against 9.32% for AC operation. The full load capacity of AIT
dryer is about 85 kg of raw chilly per batch and payback period of
two years was estimated. The AIT dryer performs well with PV
driven DC fans, because they considerably diminish the fluctua-
tions in the drying air temperature with fluctuating solar irradia-
tion. Author does not utilized rated capacity of dryer thus full
drying potential of air inside the dryer was not used. The eco-
nomics of AIT dryer gives a pay-back age of around two years and
it can be reduced significantly if dryer is utilized for multi-
products. The AIT dyer is specially designed for small land
holder farmers.
Garg and Kumar [22] reported the thermal performance for
collector of a semi-cylindrical STD (Fig. 7). The thermal perfor-
mance was investigated under natural and forced convection
mode under metrological conditions of Delhi. The dryer essentially
consists of a solar collector and drying chamber in which the crop
is spread in thin layer. In forced convection mode, air at 5 m/s was
circulated at different flow rates and increase in air temperature
has been found out with the help of computer programme FOR-
TRAN77. Result showed that for different flow rate of air, tem-
perature in dryer was varied from 25 to 32 °C. This shows that for
improving the performance of dryer under forced convection
mode, air flow rate should be fixed as per the requirement of
200 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
Solar Radiation
Outlet Air
L
Drying Chamber
Air Collector
r evaporation speed. The essential changes required for improving
Collector 2r
Inlet Air
Fig. 7. Semi-cylindrical solar tunnel drying system.
drying temperature in dryer. In other words this analysis will be
helpful in proper design of STD. Under natural convection mode,
the performance of STD was investigated at different tilts of col-
lector (5–45°) and found that for a small collector tilt, high tem-
perature and small flow rate was observed; however a low tem-
perature and high flow rate of air was noticed for more collector
tilt. For a tilt of 15°, flow rate of 1000 m3/h and temperature of
35 °C was observed. In other words, for more collector tilt, buoy-
ancy effects are more in the direction of flow with increase in flow
rates and drop in drying temperature. The study reveals that value
of collector tilt is important not only in creating natural air cur-
rents within collector but also in effective operation of drying. Also
air temperature and flow rate was optimized with respect to
length of collector and radius of cover. However different
researcher suggests the equation for collector tilt (Tilt ¼latitude
þ15°) to improve the performance. A prototype of a greenhouse
effect (GHE) solar dryer was developed by Abdullah et al. [23] for
investigating performance of 1.1 t Robusta coffee at Indonesia. A
UV stabilized polythene sheet (1.5 mm thick, 70% transmissivity)
was used to form greenhouse enclosure and consists of compo-
nents like absorber, two heat exchanger, blower and chimney. A
blackened steel plate was used to increase the thermal perfor-
mance of dryer. They reported a drying time of 58 h in the
greenhouse unit as compared to 70 h in conventional drying
method and showed a drying efficiency of 57.4% in greenhouse as
compared to 21.1% of conventional drying. Also a specific energy of
5.5 MJ/kg and 11.6 MJ/kg was recorded in greenhouse and con-
ventional drying method respectively.
The analytical study for two greenhouse dryers under active
mode for drying of pepper was presented by Condori and Saravia
[6]. The first greenhouse has single drying chamber and other
greenhouse has two drying chambers. In single chamber system,
whole greenhouse is used as a drying chamber, whereas in double
chamber system a greenhouse is divided into two drying cham-
bers and fan is located between both of them in a transparent
partition wall. For experimentation a drying area of 50 m2 was
considered in both dryers. Result showed that the production of
double chamber drying system compared to single chamber dryer
was increased by 87%. The double chamber dryer is superior to
single chamber due to improved energy consumption. In single
chamber design, dryer uses only a minute fraction of incoming
energy during last drying phase, while in double chamber design,
the chamber containing the partially dried product also works as a
Solar
Radiation
Plastic
Air from Cover
collector
Fan
Humid
Air
Fig. 8. Sectional view of tunnel greenhouse dryer.
preheating collector for the remaining chamber improving the
the performance and to reduce the drying cost are very simple and
economical. Condori et al. [24] constructed and investigated a low
cost tunnel greenhouse dryer under forced convention mode for
drying of pepper and garlic at Argentina. The dryer consists (Fig. 8)
of a drying chamber with transparent plastic walls; a line of carts
with a number of stacked trays containing the product and an
electrical fan to move hot air from greenhouse into tunnel. They
reported that a nonstop production was possible with least energy
consumption and labor cost, since some carts with dried product
come out of the tunnel every day, while the equal quantity of fresh
product is fed by the other tunnel. Also the installation can be used
as a greenhouse for small production when it is not used as a
dryer. The average temperature increase in collector was about
25 °C above the ambient temperature, while the maximum dif-
ference between ambient and dryer RH was about 20%. The overall
efficiency of dryer can be improved by increasing greenhouse optic
parameters (transmmitivity and absorptivity) and heat removal
rate. This can be done by reducing the dryer height or by using
sufficient insulation. The average production efficiency was 1 kg of
dried product for 5 kg of fresh product. The key features of this
design are: (a) high drying efficiency due to counter flow circu-
lation between air and product. (b) Partial mechanization of carts
for product handling lowers the labor cost and (c) improved pro-
duct quality and constant production is possible by use of a con-
ventional heater. The analytical study of tunnel greenhouse dryer
for describing its performance was presented by Condori et al.
Considering the greenhouse dryer as a solar collector, an analytical
linear relation among the drier outlet temperature and the solar
irradiation was established. This is a common result that can be
useful to any greenhouse dryer without a load. This relation was
also confirmed with experimental records and shows good con-
nection. The comparison of greenhouse tunnel dryer with single
chamber and double chamber dryer has been done and result
showed an improvement of about 160% and 40% with respect to
the single chamber and double chamber dryer respectively [25].
The Hohenheim solar tunnel dryer at Mymensingh, Bangladesh
was tested by Bala et al. [26] for drying of 150 kg of pineapple. It
consists (Fig. 9) of a flat plate collector, drying chamber and two
fans to circulate required air over the product. A plastic sheet like
sloping roof was fixed over the drying tunnel chamber to prevent
product from insects and rain. The moisture content of pineapple
was reduced from 87.32% (w.b) to 21.52% (w.b) in 20 h of drying in
tunnel dryer while it took 20 h to bring down the moisture con-
tent of equivalent sample to 21.52% (w.b) in traditional sun drying.
A maximum temperature of 64 °C was observed for insolation of
580 W/m2. During drying, air flow rate was varied from 0.2 to
0.3 m/s. A good quality of dried pineapple with higher amount of
protein and vitamin-C was obtained. This design permits a uni-
form drying due to least variation of drying air temperature during
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
1. Air Inlet 7. Wooden Support
2. Fan 8. Plastic Net
3. Solar Module 9. Roof Structure
4. Solar Collector 10. Base Structure
9
5. Side Metal Frame 11. Rolling Bar
6. Outlet of Collector 12. Outlet of Drying tunnel
7
6
5
4 20m
Fig. 9. Solar tunnel dryer.
the drying period. The drying temperature was kept almost con-
stant by regulating the air flow rate inside the dryer. The increase
in temperature due to high solar radiation was controlled by
increasing the air flow rate over the product; while decrease in
temperature due to low solar radiation was compensated by
increase in temperature by lowering air flow rate. Also a multilayer
neural network approach to forecast the performance of STD for
drying of jackfruit and leather was introduced by Bala B. K. [27] in
2005. The dryer essentially consists of a flat plat solar collector,
tunnel unit and two DC fans operated by PV module to give
desired air flow rate. During trail they found that initial moisture
content of jackfruit and leather was reduced to the desired level of
24% and 10% in 14 and 19 h respectively. Out of 16 experimental
runs, the data collected from seven runs was used to train the ANN
model. The ANN model with seven inputs, one output and two
hidden layers was found to be able to forecast the performance of
dryer after adequate training. Result showed a good accord
between predicted and experimental moisture content of jackfruit
and leather. Author presents a new option and tool for solving
complex mathematical models and enables very speedy and
effortless simulations. To predict the accurate performance, a care
should be taken in selection of data for adequate training of the
model. Bala et al. [28] proposed a study on exergy analysis of
tunnel dryer for drying of jackfruit leather under active mode. The
dryer consists of flat plate solar collector connecting in series to a
drying tunnel with 15° of tilt of the roof slope. Experiments have
revealed that 50 kg of jackfruit can be dried out to 11.88% (w.b)
from initial moisture content of 76% (w.b) in 2 days. Due to var-
iation of solar insolation between 100 and 600 W/m2, the energy
efficiency of collector and dryer varies in the range of 27–43% and
32–65% respectively, while the overall efficiency of STD was in the
range of 39–48%. The temperature in the collector also varies in
the range of 43–58 °C. Exergy analysis of tunnel dryer gives an
efficiency of 41.42% and showed that almost 50–58% of available
energy was lost in collector and drying chamber of dryer. The
exergy study revealed that exergy efficiency depends upon drying
air temperature and time. Since exergy calculates the available
energy at different locations in the system, it acts as a measure of
quality and grade of energy. In future the concept of exergy should
201
2m
12
11
10
be used in design of solar drying systems with optimal drying
conditions. The comparative analysis for solar tunnel dryer is
presented in Table 1.
A roof type greenhouse dryer (Fig. 10) was developed by Tiwari
and Jain [29] in 2001 for drying of cabbage and peas under the
metrological conditions of New Delhi, India. A greenhouse was
made from PVC pipes and covered with UV plastic sheet. An air
vent of 0.043 m2 was used at roof of greenhouse for passive mode
while a fan of 225 mm diameter was provided at the sidewall to
move the air at 5 m/s during active mode of drying. During testing
of greenhouse, experimental data was used to find convection heat
transfer coefficient and then empirical relation was developed to
show convection heat transfer coefficient as a function of drying
time with aid of two term exponential curve model. Result showed
that convection mass transfer coefficient was doubled in forced
convection mode as compared to natural convection mode of
drying. Also they reported that a moisture removal rate was higher
in the commencement of drying and it becomes stable after 20 h
of drying time. In GHD under forced convection mode the values of
heat transfer coefficient are doubled (35–15 W/m2 °C) during
constant rate of drying. The moisture removal rate in active mode
is considerably high due to decrease in RH within the greenhouse.
A slow rate of drying was observed in GHD under natural mode
due to poor ventilation in dryer compared to OSD and GHD under
forced convection mode. The mass transfer coefficient is a strong
function of moisture removal rate. A similar type of greenhouse
was used by Tiwari et al. [30] in 2004 for estimation of convection
mass transfer coefficient during drying of Jaggery (800–2000 g) by
using regression analysis and found that moisture removal rate
was lower in active method of drying due to low drying tem-
perature. However the convection heat and mass transfer coeffi-
cients in active method was higher than passive method of drying.
Tiwari and Kumar [31] developed a thermal model to envisage
moisture removal rate, greenhouse air temperature and product
temperature in drying of Jaggery (product of sugarcane juice)
under passive mode during February 2004. The mathematical
models were developed with energy balance equations at Jaggery
surfaces and solved by MATLAB software. The fair agreement
between predicted and experimental values for greenhouse and
202
Table 1
Comparative analysis of Hohenheim type solar tunnel dryer under passive and active mode.
Author
Gauhar et al. [21]
Garg and Kumar [22]
Bala et al. [26]
Bala et al. [27]
Bala et al. [28]
Senadeera et al. [34]
Hossain et al. [35]
Lertsatitthanakorna et al.
[47]
Srisittipokakun et al. [56]
Amunugoda et al. [64]
Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
Physical features of the dryer
Type/size/shape/drying capacity
The design of AIT tunnel dryer (8.30 m
1.80 m) and its
concert for drying of 19.5 kg chili was presented. Experiments
were conducted at no-load and load circumstances using AC
and PV driven DC fans.
Thermal performance for collector of semi-cylindrical STD for
different flow rates (400–1600 m3/h) in active mode and for
different length (10–40 m), radius (1–2 m) and tilt (0–45°) in
passive mode was presented.
A PV operated STD of size 20 m
2 m has been studied for
drying of 150 kg of pineapple under active mode.
A theoretical basis for drying process report by means of ANN
was presented. A STD with 20 m
2 m was developed for
drying of 120–150 kg of jackfruit and leather.
The energy and exergy analysis of STD
(20 m
1.8 m
380 mm) for drying of 50 kg of jackfruit lea-
ther under active mode was presented.
A passive STD (12 ft
3 ft) was designed and tested for its
concert for drying of chilly using two chimneys. One chimney
is made from GI sheet while other is from wood having
dimensions of 1 ft (diameter) and 4 ft (height).
Optimization technique for designing dimensions of STD for
drying of chili under active mode was presented. For opti-
mization, basic mode dryer with both collector and tunnel of
18 m2 with 80 kg capacity was used.
A mixed mode kind of STD (6.2 m
1.8 m) was evaluated
under active mode for drying 30 kg of pupae.
A parabolic STD (12.20 m
1.22 m) for drying of 100 kg
Andrographis paniculata under active mode was evaluated.
For continual drying, author has come up with a modified
design of STD (14 m
2 m), which uses biomass stove
(1.2 m
2 m) for providing supplementary heat energy. A
biomass stove was attached in between collector and drying
tunnel.
Fig. 10. Cabbage and peas drying (a) natural convection and (b) forced convection.
Thermal performance Economics
Efficiency/heat transfer coefficients/temp. and RH/ Payback period/
drying time reliability
Initial moisture content of 85% was reduced to 10% 2 years.
(w.b) in 2 days with DC fans while 3 days were
required for AC fans. For air flow rate of 130–650 m3/
min, temperature inside the dryer varies in the range
of 30–70 °C.
The air velocity of 5 m/s was kept constant during 2–2.5 years.
different flow rates and temperature in range of 25–
32°C was observed. The study revealed that a proper
angle of tilt, flow rate and air temperature plays a
significant role in proper design of STD.
The moisture content was reduced from 87.32% to 2–3 years/reliable.
21.52% (w.b) in 20 h of drying in dryer. A maximum
temperature of 64 °C was observed for insolation of
580 W/m2. Air flow rate was varied from 0.2 to 0.3 m/
s.
Initial moisture content of jackfruit (78.12%) and Highly economical.
leather (82.44%) was reduced to 24% and 10% (w.b) in
14 and19 h respectively. The guess of ANN model has
been found outstanding.
The average temperature of 54 °C was reached in 2–3 years/reliable.
collector. The overall energetic and exergetic effi-
ciency of 42.5% and 41% was observed. Exergy ana-
lysis showed that almost 50–58% of energy was lost
in dryer.
The overall drying and pick up efficiency for wood 3 years.
chimney was obtained as 16% and 20% as compared
to 11% and 13% for GI chimney respectively. The col-
lector efficiency at no load condition for wood
chimney (68%) was found to better than GI chimney
(64%).
This technique gives relatively bigger collector area 3 years.
(Design I- 118 kg, 26.60 m2, Design II- 115 kg, 26 m2)
thus helps in cost saving by 15.89%. Design I gives a
maximum temperature of 64.89 °C with high moist-
ure removal rate of 2.68 kg/kg per day.
The moisture content was reduced from 79% to 5% (w. 1.4 years.
b) in 570 min and overall efficiency of 19.68% was Economical.
observed. The study reported a least drying time at
flow rate of 0.30 kg/s. The drying time was reduced
by 40% as compared to traditional drying.
During experimentation, temperature variation of
35–75 °C and maximum solar insolation of 1050 W/
m2 was recorded. The moisture content of product
was reduced from 75% to 7% wet basis in 12 h.
The supplementary heat maintains a good tempera- 1.5 years
ture range of 40–55 °C through the dryer giving
excellent performance. Results of modified STD are
very encouraging and decreases the drying time by
1–1.5 days. Air flow rate in the range of 0.09–0.25 m3/
s was maintained during operation.
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
Fig. 11. Greenhouse for Jaggery drying under natural and forced convection mode.
Jaggery temperature was presented interms of coefficient of cor-
relation and root mean square. Result showed that for 2 kg of
Jaggery, moisture evaporation rate was high on the first day;
however on second and third day of drying, the moisture removal
was found to be 12.8 g and 11.7 g respectively and occurs from the
core of the Jaggery due to diffusion from inside to outside surface.
On the fourth day, a negligible amount of moisture about 9 g was
evaporated, resulting in complete drying of Jaggery. Similar per-
formance of drying was noticed for 0.75 kg of Jaggery. The study
revealed that the drying time required for 2 kg Jaggery was 4 days
while only 2 days were required for drying of 0.75 kg of Jaggery.
This shows that drying time depends mostly on total mass of the
product to be dried. The similar greenhouse was also tested by
Tiwari and Kumar [32] to find effect of size and shape on mass
transfer coefficient for Jaggery drying of different shapes
(0.03
0.03
0.01 m3, 0.03
0.03
0.02 m3 and 0.03
0.03

0.03 m3) in month of February–March 2004 under free and forced
convection mode. An air vent of 0.0722 m2 was used at roof of
greenhouse for passive mode while a fan of 120 mm diameter was
provided at the sidewall to move the air at 5 m/s during active
mode of drying. The experiments were carried out for 0.75 and
2 kg of Jaggery pieces and showed that mass transfer coefficient
was more for Jaggery piece of dimension 0.03
0.03
0.02 m3 and
0.03
0.03
0.03 m3 in free and forced convection mode respec-
tively. The even span type of greenhouse for Jaggery drying has
been shown in Fig. 11. The study revealed that mass transfer
coefficient decreases with increase in the mass of Jaggery and
shape of Jaggery pieces also plays a major role. Tiwari et al. pre-
sented energy and exergy analysis of greenhouse for drying of fish
(Prawn). They tested the greenhouse in both natural and forced
convection mode to calculate drying air temperature, moisture
removal rate and surface temperature of prawns. The predicted
values show good accord with experimental values. They also
developed an analytical expression for exergy efficiency and found
to be lower than energy efficiencies under natural and forced
convection mode. Result showed that drying of prawns was
quicker in forced convection mode [33]. The comparative analysis
for roof type even span greenhouse is presented in Table 2.
Senadeera and Kalugalage [34] evaluated a solar tunnel dryer
with two chimneys (Fig. 12) for drying of chillies (15 kg) under the
metrological conditions of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Parallel pass form
of solar collector was developed to allow air to flow through top
and bottom of the absorber plate. Two chimneys with metal duct
were used to achieve passive air flow. One chimney (diameter 1 ft,
203
height 4 ft) was made of GI sheet and painted black on inner and
outer side; while other chimney made from wood and covered
with polythene sheet to form a greenhouse effect. Author used a
flow controlling unit stuck between the collector and tunnel. The
air flow rate was controlled by two metal flaps which are operated
by the levers. This unit may be useful in improving the perfor-
mance of dryer when it was not tested for its full load capacity. The
performance of both chimneys in terms of collector efficiency was
compared during no load test while the main idea of load test was
to compare the drying rate by managing the flow rate throughout
the drying tunnel. Result showed that wooden frame chimney
with polyethylene sheet was more efficient than GI sheet due to
fast removal of moisture with higher drying and pick up efficiency.
For collecting maximum solar radiations and easy loading/
unloading convenience, author designed the roof of collector and
drying tunnel in curved shape.
Optimization of STD using solar energy for drying of chilly
without color loss was presented by Hossain et al. [35] in 2005. For
optimization, basic mode of STD with 10 m length and 1.80 m
width of 80 kg capacity was used. The optimized dimensions for
collector were determined by exploratory and pattern search
technique under controlled conditions. This technique gives two
types of optimum designs. For design – I, both collector and drying
tunnel are 14 m long, 1.9 m wide while design – II gives dimen-
sions of 13 m long, 2 m wide for collector and drying chamber. The
simulation and economical model gives the drying capacity of
118 kg and 115 kg for optimized designs – I and II respectively. For
the above drying capacity the drying efficiency was found to be
almost constant (27%) while a payback period of 4 years for basic
mode and 3 years for optimized mode dryer was evaluated. The
optimized Model-I was superior due to bigger collector area and
high moisture removal rate since hot air passes over and under the
product during drying. However drying rate and efficiency can be
improve by increasing heat input using transparent glasses having
higher transmmitivity. Author gives an excellent technique for
design of solar tunnel dryer for drying of several agricultural
products economically. The predictions from this technique were
outstanding, but the mathematical models were complex because
they require data on drying kinetics and information of physical
and thermal properties of the product. Hossain and Bala [36] also
developed a mixed mode type of tunnel dryer (12 m long, 1.80 m
wide) for drying of chillies. The solar dryer consist of collector and
drying chamber made of simple metal sheets and timber frames.
Solar collector and drying tunnel was enclosed with transparent
UV plastic cover. Two electric fans operated by 40 W photo-voltaic
panels were used to distribute the air in solar dryer. During
experimentation an average temperature rise of 21.62 °C at the
exit of the collector was observed. Result showed that drying of
80 kg of chillies was completed 13 h prior than traditional sun
drying.
Elicin and Sacilik [37] developed a solar tunnel dryer to learn
the kinetics of apple under climatic conditions of Turkey. The dryer
was covered with UV plastic sheet and oriented in east–west
direction as shown in Fig. 13. During experimentation a significant
difference between values of temperature and RH of 13.1 °C and
9.2% with respect to ambient conditions were observed respec-
tively. Result showed that moisture content of organic apple has
been reduced from 82% (w.b.) to 11% (w.b.) in 1.5 days only; while
open sun drying took 2 days for the same moisture removal.
Experimental results were validated by mathematical models like
Page, Logarithmic, Wang and Singh. A page model was found to be
the top model for explaining the drying performance of apple. The
brighter and excellent yellow color apple slices were obtained
during drying. Sacilik et al. developed a mathematical model for
the same greenhouse for drying of tomatoes. Result showed that
tomatoes were dried within four days in STD while open sun
204 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214

Table 2
Comparative analysis of roof type even span greenhouse under passive and active mode.

Author Physical features of the dryer Thermal performance Economics

Type/size/shape/drying capacity Efficiency/heat transfer coefficients/temp. and RH/drying Payback period/reliability
time

Tiwari et al. The study of a roof type even span greenhouse for drying of During constant rate of drying heat transfer coefficient 1–1.5 years.
[29] 300 g cabbage and peas under natural and forced convection varies from 25 to 10 and 17 to 8 W/m2 °C for OSD and
mode was done. The greenhouse dryer with 1.2
0.8 m2 was GHD respectively while this value ranged from 8 to 2 W/
placed in east-west direction and observations were noted for m2 °C for above cases during falling rate of drying in
33 h of continuous drying. passive mode. However during active mode, value of heat
transfer coefficient changes from 38 to 15 W/m2 °C.
Tiwari et al. A roof type even span greenhouse (1.2
0.8 m2) having capacity Experimental investigation showed that for three days of 1.5 years. Less Cost
[30] of 2000 g was developed and studied for evaluation of mass drying, rate of moisture removal in passive mode was
transfer coefficients for drying of Jaggery in natural and forced slow in comparison with that of active mode. Result
convection mode. showed that in natural mode, mass transfer coefficient
changes from 1.29 to 1.41 W/m2 K while due to high
temperature and moisture removal rate in forced con-
vection drying, this value was significantly increased to
1.3 to 1.46 W/m2 K.
Tiwari et al. A thermal model for Jaggery drying was presented to predict the Result showed that the drying time for 2 kg Jaggery was 1–1.5 years.
[31] performance of roof type even span greenhouse (1.2
0.8 m2) found to be 2 days more as compared to 0.75 kg of Jag-
under passive mode. Jaggery piece of 0.03
0.03
0.01 m3 was gery. This shows that drying time depends mostly on
kept on tray of 0.4
0.24 m2 in east–west direction for total mass of the product to be dried.
experimentation.
Koyuncu [39] Two different designs (M I-1.62 m2 and M II-1 m2) of natural The thermal efficiency of Model I (21.46%) and II (18.29%) 2–5 times extra compe-
circulation STD for rainy and high RH places were proposed. The was found be higher under unloaded and with chimney tent than OSD. Low cost.
effect of trays, chimney and tilt angle was investigated. Product condition. An increase in temperature of 5–9 °C was
loading rate is 10 kg/m2. observed. The arrangement of chimney and tilt improves
the performance of dryer by 2–5%.
Barnwal et al. A roof type even span (2.5 m
2.60 m) PV/T integrated green- The convective heat transfer coefficients for GR-II (0.45– 1–1.5 years.
[46] house dryer for drying 100 kg of grapes under active mode was 1.21 W/m2 K) was higher than GR-I grapes (0.26–0.31 W/
presented. Five trays were used for loading of (8 kg) GR-I and m2 K). The desired moisture content was achieved in
GR-II grapes. 96 h.
Sethi et al. A modified even span greenhouse (6 m
4 m) with INWR for During passive mode, air temperature with INWR 1.5 years.
[49] drying of bitter gourd (18 kg) under passive and active mode (61.4 °C) remained much higher as compared to when
was presented. A north wall with aluminum reflector was used INWR was not used (55.6 °C). With use of INWR, 13.13%
to increase the availability of sun rays over the product. of drying time was saved. During active mode, air tem-
perature with INWR (56 °C) remained much higher as
compared to when INWR was not used (51.7 °C) and 20%
of drying time was saved.
Kumar [62] A new approach for papad drying in roof type greenhouse The experimental convective and evaporative heat 1–1.5 years.
(1.2 m
0.8 m) under forced convection mode was proposed. A transfer coefficients were associated with dimensionless
circular shape wire mesh tray was used for loading the product. equations in terms of Nu, Pr and Re Nos. These were
observed to change from 0.739 to 0.786 W/m2 °C and
21.37 to 25.42 W/m2 °C respectively for 23.5 g sample.

Fig. 13. Solar tunnel dryer for organic apple and tomatoes.

Fig. 12. Solar tunnel dryer with chimney.
drying took five days for the same moisture removal. Experimental
results were validated by 10 different models and diffusion model
is found to be the best model [38]. The study reveals that drying of
small quantity of organic apples and tomatoes with STD was fea-
sible. Further the uneven shape of dryer results in improper
mixing of air and thus lowers the drying rate. The quality of dried
produce can be further enhanced by adopting mixed mode type of
dryer. In this study author does not contribute regarding various
efficiencies and heat transfer rate.
Koyuncu [39] developed and tested two different designs of
greenhouse dryer with and without chimney for loaded (Pepper)
and unloaded conditions under natural convection mode at
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
6
30
Chimney
50
(GI Sheet)
Door
100
Air Inlet Channel
Plastic Cover Sheet
65°
100
100
Fig. 14. Schematic presentation of Model I.
25
58
20
3. Tray
4. Tray
Frame
2. Tray
1. Tray
Black Surface
175
Insulator
Fig. 15. Schematic presentation of Model II.
University of Samsun, Turkey. In addition, the effect of trays,
chimney and tilt angle was also investigated. The Model-I has a
drying area of 1.62 m2 and consist of three trays for loading the
crop with air inlets at front and rear end. A slope of 65° was given
to Model-I greenhouse as shown in Fig. 14; while Model-II was
deliberately constructed as steps of a staircase. Model-II has a
drying area of 1 m2 and consists of seven steps, air inlet at front
and rear side and air outlet channel at top side as shown in Fig. 15.
An increase in temperature of 5–9 °C was observed during testing
of Models-I and II under the same environmental conditions. The
investigation shows that thermal efficiency of both Models I and II
was found be higher under unloaded and with chimney condition.
When Pepper is loaded at rate of 10 kg/m2, efficiency of green-
house decreases due to reduction in velocity and flow rate of air.
The arrangement of chimney leads to increase the performance of
dryer by 2–5%. In Model-I though temperature of all trays is same,
a different drying rate was observed in view of the fact that bot-
tom tray receives the maximum heat from the black absorber
surface, while the top tray receives a less amount of heat as well as
cold and moist air. On the other hand, for Model-II, the drying rate
of top (fourth) step was higher as compared to steps available on
the right and left side. This happened due to shape and position of
dryer as top step receives more energy than other steps. Also an
ideal tilt of 65° gives the less surface area at the top of greenhouse.
This is desirable since air at the top of dryer has high humidity and
low temperature thus improves the drying rate due to low quan-
tity of produce. In short proposed designs are appropriate for
drying small batches of crops only. The greenhouse dryers are 2–5
times extra competent than open sun drying and commercially
viable due to low capital and maintenance cost. The study reveals
205
PV/T
Collector Inlet of Air
3m
2m
Door
Outlet of Air
1.1m 4m 0.25m
Exhaust Fan
20
Fig. 16. Front view of greenhouse dryer.
Fig. 17. Greenhouse dryer.
that both designs of natural convection tunnel greenhouse pro-
posed by author gives a much better controlled conditions for
drying and found to be excellent for areas that have a raining
climate and high RH. A hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air
collector integrated with a greenhouse was developed by Nayak
and Tiwari [40] under the metrological conditions of New Delhi,
India. In hybrid PV/T greenhouse dryer (Fig. 16) 16 photovoltaic
modules were used to operate the fans with the help of DC battery.
To find outlet air temperature, a thermal modeling was also done
for hybrid PV/T air collector. MATLAB software is used for calcu-
lation of useful thermal energy and to evaluate thermal perfor-
mance of hybrid PV/T air collector. They compared the results of
PV/T air collector with PV/T without air flow and found an increase
in thermal efficiency of 25.5% when air was made to flow. They
also reported that overall efficiency of hybrid PV/T with air flow is
more (72%) than PV/T without airflow (41%) for 3 m length of PV
module.
Numerals of studies have been presented on greenhouse tunnel
dyers by Janjai Serm in a period of 2003–2012. A PV-ventilated
greenhouse dryer (Fig. 17) with concrete floor for drying of chilies
was developed by Janjai et al. [41] in 2003. The parabolic shape of
greenhouse was covered with polycarbonate sheet. A solar PV
module of 53 W was used to operate three fans to aerate the dryer.
To study its performance, the greenhouse was used to dry 4 bat-
ches of chilies in December 2003–March 2004. They reported a
maximum air temperature of 65 °C in dryer and found that drying
time in the dryer for drying of 100–150 kg of chilies was con-
siderably less than traditional open sun drying method. Author
used the concrete floor for heat storage which helped to decrease
variation of air temperature due to the instability of solar radia-
tion. The use of solar PV cell unit helps to adjust indirectly the
drying air temperature. Further Drying efficiency of greenhouse
206 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
12.0m
2.5m
9.0m
Fig. 18. Roof integrated solar drying system.
can be increased with loading capacity. The performance evalua-
tion of roof – integrated solar dryer for drying of rosella flower and
chilly under forced convection mode was presented by Janjai et al.
[42] in 2008. The arrangement of greenhouse is shown in Fig. 18.
The dryer consists of two arrays solar collector (one at south and
other at north), drying bin and electric powered fan to force the air
over the product bed. The dryer has three compartments: first for
the drying bin, second for preparation of produce to be dried and
third for storage of dried product. The polycarbonate sheet was
used to cover the roof of dryer. Field-level experiments confirmed
that drying in the roof-integrated solar dryer results in major
reduction in drying time compared to the traditional drying
method and a quality dry produce is obtained. The dryer has been
found cost efficient with a payback period of 5 years. Janjai et al.
[43] proposed a PV greenhouse dryer under active mode to dry
longan as well as banana and at the same time the sample of above
produce were also dried in open sun. The experimental data was
validated by developing partial differential equations. During 10
full scale investigational runs, drying air temperature changes in
the range of 31–58 °C in drying of longan while a temperature
change from 30 to 60 °C during drying of banana was observed.
Experiments have revealed that longan and banana can be effec-
tively dehydrated in 3–4 days, while it took 5–6 days for tradi-
tional method under similar conditions. A high quality dried
produce was obtained. Experimental performance of parabolic
roof type greenhouse dryer for drying of chili, banana and coffee
under active mode was presented by Janjai et al. [44] at Cham-
pasak in Lao PDR. The dryer was covered with polycarbonate sheet
and used 50 W solar PV module to run nine DC fans to circulate
the air. Seven experimental runs for banana, chili and coffee were
carried out in period of September–December 2007. The moisture
of 1000 kg of banana was decreased from 68% (w.b) to 20% (w.b)
within 5 days, while the moisture of the sun-dried banana samples
reduced to 29% (w.b) in the same time. For 300 kg of chili moisture
was reduced from an initial value of 75% (w.b) to a final value of
15% (w.b) in 3 days while the moisture content of the open sun-
dried samples was decreased to 42% (w.b) in the same period. The
moisture content of 200 kg of coffee was decreased from an initial
value of 52% (w.b) to a final value of 13% (w.b) within 2 days
whereas the natural sun-dried samples required 4 days to reach
the desired value of moisture content. Partial differential equations
for heat and mass transfer during drying of above products have
been developed and establish a sensible conformity with experi-
mental results. This model can be helpful for providing design
statistics for the greenhouse dryer at any other locations. The
reimbursement period of 2.5 years was estimated on the basis of
production scale, capital and operating cost of drying system. Later
Fig. 19. Pictorial view of the large-scale solar greenhouse dryer with LPG burner.
on Janjai Serm [45] tested the same dryer (Fig. 19) at Nakhon
Pathom in Thailand for drying of 1000 kg of tomatoes. For unin-
terrupted drying process, he used a 100 kW of LPG burner to
supply hot air during night operation and in rainy or cloudy days.
A system of partial differential equations for heat and mass
transfer was developed for dehydrated tomatoes. The simulated
outcomes are in acceptable range with the experimental data.
Uninterrupted and faster rate of drying is the novel feature of
parabolic roof type greenhouse. Also the rate of drying was uni-
form in all trays due to heating of air by supplementary heat
source. To improve the performance of dryer, it is advisable to
recirculate the exhaust air coming from the dryer. Author does not
focused on energetic and exergetic analysis of drying system. The
comparative analysis for semi-cylindrical greenhouse dryer is
presented in Table 3.
Barnwal et al. [46] developed and tested a hybrid PV thermal
greenhouse dryer for drying of Thompson seedless grapes at IIT,
New Delhi, India. They used a roof type even span of greenhouse
covered with UV stabilized plastic sheet shown in Fig. 20. For
experimentation, only 8 kg of seedless grapes were used and result
showed that heat transfer coefficient for GR-II grapes are superior
than GR-I grapes thus needed less drying time due to higher
moisture removal rate. The grapes were physically sorted in two
grades, GR-I (green and premature) and GR-II (yellow and mature).
The convective heat transfer coefficient for GR-I and GR-II gra-
pes was found to be in the range of 0.26–0.31 W/m2 K and
0.45–1.21 W/m2 K respectively. Author used PV module of 84 W
capacity but 20 W module is adequate to drive the installed fan.
The topography of place of work permits a roof slope of 30° for
maximum collection of solar irradiation. The performance of
greenhouse can be enhanced if it is tested for its full load capacity.
Lertsatitthanakorna et al. [47] conducted an experimental analysis
to investigate the performance of a mixed mode type forced
convection solar tunnel dryer (Fig. 21) for drying of silkworm
pupae under weather conditions of Mahasarakham, Thailand. The
dryer consists of a flat plate collector, drying chamber and fan to
supply the required air over the product. Both collector and drying
tunnel was covered with glass of 3 mm thickness. The perfor-
mance of dryer was tested for different air flow rates of 0.20, 0.30,
0.43 and 0.50 kg/s and they reported the least drying time at flow
rate of 0.30 kg/s which reduced the drying time by 40% as com-
pared to traditional drying. The drying time for all flow rates in
STD gave minimum drying time as compared to traditional sun
drying since pupae in the dryer received thermal energy both from
collector and solar irradiation, whereas control samples received
energy only from sun rays. During testing, the highest drying and
overall efficiencies of 30.14% and 19.68% were observed respec-
tively. Experiments showed that the drying of pupae was very
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214 207

Table 3
Comparative analysis of semi-cylindrical greenhouse dryer under passive and active mode.

Author Physical features of the dryer Thermal performance Economics

Type/size/shape/drying capacity Efficiency/heat transfer coefficients/temp. and RH/dry- Payback period/
ing time reliability

Condori et al. [6] Evaporation rate in two different types of active mode green-
Result showed that double chamber system was 87% 2–3 years/reliable
house dryers, the single and double chamber system was pre- more efficient than single chamber system. The key
sented. For comparing the performance drying area of 50 m2 was
feature of double chamber design is maximum utiliza-
considered. Pepper was dried in both dryers. tion of incoming solar energy.
Condori et al. [24] Results of drying analysis with pepper and garlic
A simple, low cost tunnel greenhouse dryer (13 m long, 7 m wide 2–3 years/reliable
showed that the pepper has been dried from 6.5 to 0.2%
and 3.70 m high) for drying of red pepper and garlic under active
mode was studied. (d.b) in 6.5 days and garlic from 1.8 to 0.2% (d.b) in
7.5 days. The maximum drying air temperature of 60 °C
was recorded. The average drying efficiency of 25% was
observed.
Elicin et al. [37] A direct type natural convection STD (1.8 m
2.5 m
8 m) for The moisture content was reduced from 82% to 11% (w. 1.5–2 years/reliable
drying of apple was presented. The dryer was covered with b) in 28 h for STD, whereas traditional method took
polyethylene sheet and have two trays to accommodate 2.5 kg of 32 h. The drying air temperature in dryer was larger
produce. than the atmospheric temperature, whereas the relative
humidity in dryer was lesser than the ambient RH.
Experimental work was validated by a page model.
Janjai et al. [44] A parabolic roof type greenhouse (7.5 m
20 m
3.5 m) for The desired moisture content of chili, banana and coffee 2.5 years/reliable
drying of chili, banana and coffee under active mode has been was achieved in 3, 5 and 2 days respectively which is far
studied. Rated capacity of dryer is 1000 kg. superior as compared to traditional drying method.
Janjai et al. [45] The experimental and simulated study for roof type greenhouse Temperature variation of 35–65 °C was observed. The 0.65years/reliable
(8 m
20 m
3.5 m) under forced convection mode was pre- faster and uniform drying was found to be outstanding
sented. A novel feature of 100 kW – LPG gas burner was used to in all perspective. Uniform drying.
supply additional heat source during off sunshine hours.
Rathore and Panwar A novel design of a hemicylindrical greenhouse with heat pro- For solar insolation of 940 W/m2, the maximum tem- 1.5–2 years/viable
[51] tecting north wall for drying of seedless grapes (320 kg) under perature of 65 °C was observed in the dryer. Moisture
passive mode was presented. content was reduced from 85% to 16% (w.b) in 7 days.
Ayyappan and Mayil- A Quonset shape solar tunnel dryer of size 4 m (w)
10 m (L)
Moisture content was reduced from 52% to 8% (w.b) in 0.5–1 year/reliable
samy [54] 3 m (H) for drying of 5000 coconuts per batch under natural 57 h and gives 20% of drying efficiency. Also the RH
convection mode was proposed. inside the dryer was (30%) less than ambient air (60%). A
maximum temperature of 67 °C was recorded for air
velocity of 0.3–1 m/s during drying.
Dulawat and Rathore A mixed mode, semi-cylindrical STD (3.75 m
16 m
2 m) for The maximum drying air temperature of 67 °C was 2–5 year/high cost
[58] drying of 500 kg tobacco under forced convection was developed. observed. Tobacco was dried from 138.11% (d.b) to 8.69%
Three trays and 12 flat plate collectors were used for enhancing (d.b) in 8 h.
the performance of dryer.

squash were conducted in month of July–August 2008 under the

Fig. 20. Hybrid PV thermal greenhouse dryer. (For interpretation of the references
to color in this figure, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
effective, and drying period was reduced to about 570 min from
945 min of the open sun drying. Also a slight decrease in PUFA
(polyunsaturated fatty acid) and no variation in lipid content of the
dried silkworm pupae were observed. The study reveals that
efficiency of collector is firmly dependent on flow rate due to fact
that mass transfer between air and produce increases due to
increase in air flow rate. In this study author focused on different
air flow rates only; however drying time not only depends on air
flow rate but also depends on the drying air temperature.
Derbala et al. [48] conducted experiments for drying of squash
in a solar tunnel dryer for investigating the effect of slice thickness
on drying rate and relationship between air temperature, solar
insolation and relative humidity. The experiments on 200 kg of
environmental conditions of Romania and found that only 8 h
were required for drying of 0.5 cm thick slice of squash. However
for the same moisture removal 11 h was required for drying of
1 cm thick slice of squash. They also found that the maximum
difference between air temperature and ambient was 30 °C at
14.20 h in both 0.5 cm and 1 cm thickness of dried squash. Result
showed that as air temperature increased from 30 °C to 40 °C,
relative humidity of air decreased from 30% to 15%. The solar
insolation changes from minimum value of 300 W/m2 to 700 W/
m2 of maximum value. The study revealed that moisture removal
rate also depends on slice thickness of produce to be dried. Sethi
and Arora [49] designed and developed a modified even span
greenhouse with INWR. The performance of improved greenhouse
for drying of bitter gourd was tested under passive and active
mode at Ludhiana, India. During Passive mode of drying, air
temperature with INWR (61.4 °C) remained much higher as com-
pared to when INWR was not used (55.6 °C) whereas in active
mode of drying, air temperature increased by 1–4.5 °C. Result
showed that the desired moisture content of 7% (d.b) was achieved
in 12 h during active mode while it took 15 h for the same
moisture removal under passive mode. The study revealed that
performance of dryer with INWR under active mode was superior
to passive and open sun drying due to strong effect of airstream
velocity over the product surface. In this study author proved that
all transmitted solar energy in the greenhouse was not utilized for
crop drying, major portion of this energy is lost to surrounding
208 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214

Fig. 21. General view of solar tunnel dryer.

Fig. 22. Rotating and tunnel dryer.

through north side and this energy can be effectively utilized by
INWR concept.
Sultana et al. [50] evaluate the drying performance of solar
tunnel and rotating dryer. The studies were conducted on three
marine fishes: Silver Jew fish, Bombay duck and Ribbon fish under
the metrological conditions of Bangladesh. A new design of rotary
type dryer (Fig. 22) was developed and it consists of Thai alumi-
num structure bearing hooks, S.S pipes, bearings, and stainless
steel rings. To hang the large size fish, hooks and steel structure
was used while for small fishes, round shaped plastic net was
used. A 0.75 HP motor with speed regulator was used to operate
the dryer at 90 RPM. When dryer rotates, drying process was
improved due to movement of ambient air over the fishes (40 kg).
A solar tunnel dryer of drying area 20 m2 based on Hohenheim
design was developed for drying the fish. It consists of a solar
collector and drying tunnel covered with polythene sheet. To
maintain the required air flow rate over the fishes, four DC fans
operated by PV cells were used. During experimentation the air
temperature and humidity inside the dryer varied in the range of
31.33–47.78 °C and 33.83–68% respectively. The initial moisture
content of fish samples was in the range of 78.7% (w.b)–85.47%
(w.b) and gets reduced to 16% (w.b) within 20 sunshine hours in
rotary dryer and while 31 sunshine hours in solar tunnel dryer.
Both rotary and STD showed the opposite relationship between
humidity and temperature of drying air. The RH inside the STD was
minor compared to outside the tunnel which accelerates the
drying rate by absorbing larger amount of moisture from the fish.
Result showed that performance of rotating dryer was superior to
that of solar tunnel dryer. Solar drying experiments for seedless
grapes were conducted at Udaipur, India. For this purpose Rathore
and Panwar [51] designed and developed a walk-in type hemi-
cylindrical solar tunnel dryer as shown in Fig. 23. It consists of
hemispherical metallic structure covered with polythene sheet. To
generate natural current of air inside the dryer, four chimneys
were provided on the top of dryer. During experimentation, the
maximum heat loss was found in northern side of tunnel; hence a
heat protective wall was placed on the north side. The seedless
grapes of 320 kg were dried from initial moisture content of 85%
(w.b) to final moisture content of 16% (w.b) in seven days, while
open sun drying took 11 days for the same moisture level. Result
showed that air temperature inside the dryer increases rapidly and
attains the maximum value of 65 °C.
A solar tunnel dryer was designed and constructed by Palled
et al. [52] in 2010 for drying of 1000 kg grapes under the
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
Lateral GI Pipe
Support Class B
Hoops
100
No
Poly grip rth
Wa
assembly ll
G.I. Pipe
Class A
Foundation
Pipes
Fig. 23. Schematic of natural convection solar tunnel dryer.
metrological conditions of Raichur, India. During experimentation
they found a maximum temperature of 62 °C inside the dryer,
while the maximum observed ambient temperature was 35.5 °C.
Result showed that moisture content of grapes has been reduced
from 82% (w.b) to 14% (w.b) within 60 sunshine hours; however
for the same moisture removal 140 drying hours were required in
traditional drying and shows a net saving of 57.14% in drying time.
Palled Vijaykumar [53] developed and tested a semi-cylindrical
solar tunnel dryer at Raichur district in northern Karnataka, India.
The dryer was covered with polythene sheet of 200 μm and
investigation was done for drying of 350 kg of chili per batch. Two
exhaust fans were used to regulate the air flow through the dryer,
while three chimneys were provided at the roof top for removal of
warm moist air. A highest temperature of 58.5 °C was observed at
14:00 h within the dryer which was 41% higher than the max-
imum surrounding temperature at the same time. Result showed
that moisture content of chili has been reduced from 76% (w.b) to
9% (w.b) within 50 sunshine hours, while traditional open sun
drying took 105 sunshine hours for the same moisture removal.
The dehydration ratio of the chili was found to be 4:1, signifying
that four parts of the new product was reduced to single part of
the finishing product after drying.
Ayyappan and Mayilsamy [54] developed a greenhouse solar
tunnel dryer for drying of copra in natural convection mode under
the metrological conditions of Pollachi, India. The dryer was cov-
ered with 200 μm UV stabilized polythene sheet and metallic
racks were used for keeping 5000 coconuts per batch in layers for
drying. During experimentation they found that the moisture
content of copra has been reduced from 52.2% (w.b) to 8% (w.b) in
57 h. Also the RH inside the dryer was less than ambient air. This
indicates that air inside the dryer was capable to carry more
moisture from the product. Thus the efficiency of dryer can be
increased by recirculating humid air again or by adding more
quantity of product on metallic trays. Later on they used sand as a
sensible heat storage material and carried out the experimental
investigations on the same STD for drying of same quantity of
copra under natural convection mode. Result showed that use of
heat storage material (sand) improves the heat absorption capacity
within the dryer which leads to achieve higher temperature even
in night. This helps in faster drying of copra and improves the
209
Cross Connectors
Chimney
Ridge line
S
E
W
N
200
D
O 75
O
R
Exhaust fan
performance of dryer by reducing drying time and increasing
thermal efficiency. Moisture content of copra has been reduced
from 52.3% (w.b) to 7% (w.b) in 52 and 78 h with and without heat
storage material respectively; while open sun drying took 172 h
for the same moisture removal. A maximum temperature of 61 °C
with sensible heat storage material and 52 °C without heat storage
material was observed. High quality copra was produced as com-
pared to OSD method [55]. Author used a Quonset greenhouse
without any post for receiving more energy and ensuring better
use of inside space. But design of a greenhouse mainly depends
upon the latitude of the place and solar flux, so for latitude of
Pollachi (10.39°N), a roof type even span greenhouse may be an
intelligent option for enhancing the performance of existing dryer.
The drying rate was reduced by 5 h due to use of sensible heat
storage material; however this can be further reduced by recir-
culating the moist air again over the product bed.
Srisittipokakun et al. [56] manufactured a parabolic shaped
solar tunnel dryer for drying of Andrographis paniculata at Nakhon
Pathom, Thailand. The dryer consists of flat plate collector, a dry-
ing tunnel and three fans driven by 15 W photovoltaic module.
Two experimental runs were conducted for Andrographis pani-
culata in period of June 2011 and result showed that the dryer can
dry 100 kg of Andrographis paniculata from an initial moisture
content of 75% (w.b) to 7% (w.b) in just 12 h. High quality dried
Andrographis paniculata was obtained. The photograph of
experimental setup is shown in Fig. 24. The drying rate in the solar
tunnel dryer was significantly higher than that of the traditional
drying. A solar greenhouse dryer was designed, constructed and
installed by Almuhanna [57] at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.
The developed dryer (Fig. 25) was used for drying of dates. The
dimension of greenhouse was 2 m (L)
1 m (w)
1.2 m (H) and
covered with a flat fiber glass sheet of 800-μm thickness having
transmmitivity of 77.48%. To make best use of solar radiations
existing within the greenhouse, glass sheets were inclined at 30°.
An electric fan of 0.31 m in diameter was used to maintain 5.5 m3/
min of air flow. The experiments were conducted in month of
October 2010 to evaluate the thermal performance and stability of
solar greenhouse in terms of useful heat gain available for drying
process and thermal efficiency. The anticipated thermal balance
for the solar dryer was well validated with experimental results.
210 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
Fig. 24. Solar tunnel dryer.
Fig. 25. Solar greenhouse dryer.
The dryer was effectively operated for 5 days, but 55 h of bright
sunshine were used in thermal performance analysis. During
experimentation, the temperature rise of 14.1 °C and air RH
drop of 9.6% compared to ambient air was observed. Maximum
solar insolation recorded was 1000 W/m2. Result showed that
12.335 kW h of solar energy was available inside the greenhouse
and only 7.414 kW h was transformed into useful heat gain. He
also concluded that the overall thermal efficiency of green house
dryer was 60.11% and almost 39.89% of the solar energy available
inside the dryer was lost. Instead of plastic sheet, author used a
transparent glass for more absorption of solar irradiations. The
prevention of loss of thermal energy within the dryer and utili-
zation of high transmmitivity (more than 0.80) glasses may be
helpful in improving the thermal performance of dryer.
Dulawat and Rathore [58] designed and tested a semi-
cylindrical solar tunnel dryer under forced convection mode at
Udaipur, India for drying processed tobacco. The photograph of
solar tunnel drying system with flat plate collectors is shown in
Fig. 26. The hot air from 12 flat plate collectors (size-2 m2 each)
forced over the tobacco by using blowers. Cement concrete floor
was painted black for maximum absorption of solar irradiation.
Three trays of 57.24 m2, 39.75 m2 and 25.44 m2 sizes at bottom,
center and top respectively were used for loading of tobacco. A
useful temperature rise of 18–20 °C and 30 °C was achieved during
no-load, without collector and no-load with collector conditions
respectively, whereas a temperature rise of 26.56 °C was recorded
during full-load condition. The moisture content of tobacco has
been reduced from 138% (d.b) to 8.7% (d.b) within 8 h in STD and
12 h in traditional open sun drying. Author made the efforts for
Fig. 26. Semi-cylindrical solar tunnel dryer.
Fig. 27. Schematic diagram of the large-scale polycarbonate cover greenhouse
solar dryer.
nonstop and automatic loading of product inside the dryer so the
problem of toxicant gases of tobacco with workers was minimized
to larger extent. Use of 12 flat plate collectors improves the drying
performance with proper mixing of air and by maintaining uni-
form drying rate. However the cost of dryer is more. Result
showed that this type of system can be effectively implemented
for industrial production. Experimental performance of a large
scale greenhouse type solar dryer for drying of chili under the
metrological conditions of Thailand was investigated by Kaewkiew
et al. in 2012. Dryer consists of a hemispherical tunnel covered
with stabilized polythene sheet shown in Fig. 27. Nine DC fans
operated by three PV solar panels were used to remove the humid
air. The capacity of dryer is 1000 kg but for experimentation only
500 kg of chili was dried in the greenhouse. Result showed that
the moisture content of chili has been reduced from 74% (w.b) to
9% (w.b) within 3 days; however traditional open sun drying
needed five days for the same moisture removal. The payback
period of 2 years was predicted [59]. The dryer was not tested for
its full load capacity and result showed that the exit air from the
dryer has drying potential for recirculation to dehydrate the pro-
duct. In order to improve the living standards of rural peoples in
Cameroon, a double pass solar tunnel dryer (Fig. 28) with heat
storage system was developed by Berinyuy et al. [60] in 2012 for
drying of leafy vegetables and other agricultural products. The
major components of dryer were solar collector, a drying chamber
and basalt rocks as heat storage material. Both the collector and
the tunnel are covered with two layers of plastic sheet and
orientated towards south with an inclination of 6°. The dryer was
investigated for drying of cabbage, pepper, amaranth and bitter
leaf. The 17 kg of cabbage was dried from 95% (w.b) to 9% (w.b) in
five days and gives efficiency of 17.68%. Result showed a significant
reduction (30–50%) in drying time for high moisture products.
They also concluded that heat storage material permits unin-
terrupted drying of produce during periods of rainfall and low
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214 211

Chimney

Corrugated Sheet
Tray

Black Stone (Heat Storage)

Deflector

Collector Dryer

Fig. 28. Double pass natural convection solar tunnel dryer with heat storage
material.

sunshine. The tilt of 6° to dryer was given for maximum collection

of solar energy. The double pass arrangement in collector absorber
helps in attaining the uniform temperature inside the dryer. Even
though the initial cost is moderately high, the running cost of
dryer is low. The quality of final produce was good enough in taste
and color. Fig. 29. Greenhouse for papad drying under active mode.
Kagande et al. [61] investigated a solar tunnel dryer for drying
of tomatoes under forced convection mode at Zimbabwe's scien-
tific research and development centre (SIRDC). The transparent
polythene sheet of 200 mm was used to cover both collector and
drying tunnel. From local market, 50 kg fresh tomatoes were
purchased and sliced to 3–5 mm thickness and then placed on a
tray in a single layer. No pretreatment was given to tomatoes.
Moisture content of sliced tomatoes has been reduced from 93.70%
(w.b) to 6.29% (w.b) using air temperature in the range of 32–56 °C
in 15 h only. The mean ambient conditions for wind speed, relative
humidity and solar radiation were 0.77 m/s, 29% and 558.30 W/m2
respectively. A more drying time was observed due to low solar
intensity (558 W/m2) and inconsistence between two days of
drying. Solar dried tomatoes are found to be superior in terms of
color, flavor and taste than oven dried tomatoes. During last part of
drying process for tomatoes, a discolourization and growth of off-
flavors may take place with elevated temperature. To avoid above
problem, author used a thermostat and set it at a temperature of
60 °C. Author used a cylindrical shape for collection of maximum
solar irradiations but a special arrangement was required for Fig. 30. Greenhouse for khoa drying in passive mode.
covering and removing the plastic sheet. Due to use of special
arrangement for plastic sheet and thermostat, the cost of drying heat and mass transfer coefficients under passive mode. Fig. 30
slightly increases. Result showed that drying technology is money- shows the experimental setup for drying of khoa samples. Study
making for both small and large scale farmers in Zimbabwe. reveals that both heat and mass transfer coefficient increases with
The effect of convective and evaporative heat transfer coeffi- reduction in size of khoa samples. An increase of 59% and 52% was
cient under forced convection mode for greenhouse drying of observed in average value of convective heat and mass transfer
papad was investigated by Kumar Mahesh [62] at Hisar, India. The coefficient by reducing size of khoa sample size from
experimental setup for greenhouse drying of papad in forced 0.0000675 m3 to 0.0000075 m3 respectively. The experimental
convection mode is shown in Fig. 29. The greenhouse of was error in terms of percent uncertainty has also been evaluated and
constructed by PVC pipe and a fan is used to provide air velocity of found to be 33.54%. Size of khoa plays a significant role in its
5 m/s. The UV plastic sheet was used to cover the roof type even drying.
span greenhouse. For all papad samples, he observed the variation A modified solar tunnel dryer with biomass heating source for
of 6.08% in values of convective heat transfer coefficients; while day and night operation was presented by Amunugoda et al. [64]
the variation of 23.97% was noticed in values of evaporative at Colombo, Sri Lanka. The dryer consists of a solar collector,
coefficient. A linear regression analysis were used to determine the drying tunnel, two axial fans operated by PV solar panel and
constants (C and n) in the Nusselt number expression and found to heating unit. The heating unit essentially contains a combustion
be 0.996 and 0.194 respectively. The experimental error in terms of chamber, heat exchanging bottom plate, removable roof and
percentage uncertainty was also evaluated and found to be in the chimney. The heating unit was located between the collector and
range of 23–45%. Later on, same greenhouse was used by drying tunnel. A number of tests were carried out on drying of
Kumar [63] in 2014 for drying of khoa to study the effect of size on Pineapple slices, Papaya, Mango and Jackfruit at five different
212 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
Fig. 31. Rack type greenhouse-effect solar dryer.
locations in Sri Lanka. During trial at various locations, they found
that due to addition of heating unit, a temperature difference of
22–23 °C can be maintain between ambient and drying air during
night. Result showed that, modification in dryer appreciably
reduced the drying period by 1–1.5 days compared to solar tunnel
dryer. A biomass stove for providing supplementary heat energy in
drying is an intelligent option for increasing the performance and
to shorten the drying duration. The modified design of STD pre-
vents the product from direct contact with smoke and thus pre-
serves the product quality. During commercialization of drying
technology author tried to identify the field problems that stands
as obstacles for acceptance of solar dryers. Wulandania and Elsa-
mila [65] developed a new rack type hybrid greenhouse solar
dryer for drying of wild ginger under the metrological conditions
of Indonesia. The dryer consist of a transparent building with 144
trays, blowers (80 W, 04 Nos.), biomass stove and heat exchanger.
The photograph of rack type greenhouse dryer is shown in Fig. 31.
The performance of greenhouse was obtained for three conditions
i.e. without product, with 21 kg and 60 kg of wild ginger and they
found that 60 kg of ginger was dried in 30 h at 47 °C. Result
showed that drying of 60 kg of wild ginger gives the best perfor-
mance showing drying efficiency of 8% and total energy con-
sumption of 29 MJ/kg vapor. For continuous operation of green-
house a biomass fuel (wood) was used in biomass stove. Result
showed the fair quality of produce due to pale color, shrinkage and
hardness. The new design proposed by author does not maintain
the uniform drying temperature throughout the racks due to
energy loss from transparent building to surrounding. The lower
drying efficiency of 8% shows that the full load capacity of
greenhouse is not utilized and distribution of energy may be
improper.
Arun et al. [66] designed and developed a natural convection solar
tunnel dryer for investigating the drying characteristics of tomatoes.
Experiments for drying 30 kg of tomatoes were carried out in month
of June 2014 under the metrological conditions of Pollachi, India. The
solar tunnel dryer of size 4 m (w)
10 m (L)
3 m (H) was con-
structed using locally available materials and shown in Fig. 32. The
exhaust vents were used at roof top for removal of humid air. To
Exhaust Vents
End Frame UV Stabilized
Polyethylene film
Door
10
Fig. 32. Solar tunnel greenhouse dryer.
improve the performance of STD, cement flooring was coated with
black paint. A metallic racks were used for loading of tomato slices.
During trial they observed that the drying air temperature was more
than surrounding temperature by 22–25 °C. Also the maximum solar
intensity of 737 W/m2 and ambient temperature of 39 °C was recor-
ded during experimentation. Result showed that the moisture content
of tomato slices has been reduced from 90% (w.b) to 9% (w.b) in 29
sunshine hours, whereas traditional open drying took 74 h for the
same level. Basunia et al. [67] designed and constructed (12 m
2 m)
a semicircular solar tunnel dryer for drying of fish. The dryer consists
of solar collector and a drying tunnel enclosed with 0.2 mm thick
plastic sheet. The trial on 51.5 kg sardines with initial moisture content
of 66.5% (w.b) was taken under the metrological conditions of Oman.
The capability of dryer was 100 kg but due to unavailability of fish on
trial day merely 51.5 kg of fish was spread on a wire mesh net.
Moisture content was decreased from 66.5% (w.b) to 15.3% (w.b)
within 3 days in STD, while 7 days were required in open sun drying.
This shows a significant reduction of drying time in comparison with
open sun drying. As drying area of STD was not entirely utilized, the
average drying efficiency of 29.5% was observed. During testing,
average air temperature and relative humidity in collector and drying
tunnel were found to be 44.5 °C, 44.35% and 52.7 °C, 37.1% respec-
tively. Result showed that solar tunnel dryer can be used for drying of
fish and other agro-commodities. The performance of solar tunnel
dryer for drying of 300 kg limes was also reported by Basunia et al.
[68] in 2013 under the weather conditions of Oman. The dryer consists
of a solar collector (6 m
2 m) and drying tunnel (10 m
2 m) cov-
ered with stabilized plastic cover. The drying air was forcefully sup-
plied (0.1–0.3 m/s) in drying chamber with the help of solar operated
fan. During experimentation an increase in drying air temperature of
5–30 °C above ambient was observed. The performance of dryer was
compared with open sun drying and found that solar dryer took only
70 h for reducing moisture content of limes from 86% (w.b) to 10% (w.
b) whereas the open sun drying took more than 30 days.
3. Conclusion
The significant outcomes from this study are summarized
below:
1. Numerous field tests in region of different climatic conditions
have shown that solar tunnel and greenhouse dryers are ideally
suitable to preserve vegetables, food crops, estate crops and
marine products.
2. Greenhouse effect (GHE) technology appreciably improves the
quality of produce and reduces the drying time as compared to
the traditional open sun drying method.
3. From the referred literature, it has been observed that solar
tunnel and greenhouse dryers were effectively operated under
natural and forced convection mode but an auxiliary heat
 Patil, R. Gawande / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016) 196–214
energy and forced convection are strongly recommended for
assuring consistency and better control for drying.
4. The desired drying air temperature can be achieved by simply
adjusting the collector length and by altering the air flow rate in
solar tunnel and greenhouse dryers.
5. The PV ventilated solar tunnel greenhouse dryers are smart and
reliable alternative to the natural sun drying method but such
dryers must be optimized for proficient operation.
6. Experiments reveal that solar food processing should not be
viewed as merely an energy saving method, but it has great
value addition because of unmatched food quality it can deliver.
7. The drying system should have a maximum utilization factor
and must have a backup of thermal storage during night
operation.
8. Computer simulation models should be used in designing and
optimization of solar drying systems.
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