Experimental analysis on Solar Drying of Tomatoes and Cucumbers using PV/T Hybrid Solar Air Dryer

Abstract

Drying is a method for removing moisture from food that is frequently used for storage and preservation. The most important goods in the agriculture industry are fruits and vegetables. Because of its extremely high nutritional value, it needs to be kept. The best way to maintain a food's nutritional worth is to keep it fresh. There are numerous ways to preserve this food, but nut drying is the most popular because it lengthens the item's shelf life. These items can contain up to and sometimes even more than 90% moisture. The key contributing factor to the proliferation of microorganisms that cause putrefaction is thought to be water content. This study compares the effectiveness of solar drying versus sun drying for drying fruits and vegetables. Rate of drying, weight. The experiments were carried out on tomatoes and cucumbers. The collector is inclined at 45° with horizontal and oriented in South – North direction with drying time of 5 hrs per day.  During experimentation 5 temperatures, absolute humidity, air velocity and solar intensity were measured hourly in the month of March and April, 2023 for drying of tomatoes and cucumber slices. The hot air was transferred through the pipes to the chamber to dry the tomatoes and cucumber slices. The drying of tomatoes and cucumbers are reached around 90% with half of the time compared to conventional drying.