Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air
This research aims to design and test automatic auxiliary heating unit for solar dryer cabinets to improve drying performance. The auxiliary heating unit utilizes an infrared furnace with cooking gas, a fin heat exchanger, and a blower. It is equipped with an automatic control system to regulate the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Energy Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484723013628 |
| _version_ | 1797374142050205696 |
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| author | Patipat Thanompongchart Pakamon Pintana Nakorn Tippayawong |
| author_facet | Patipat Thanompongchart Pakamon Pintana Nakorn Tippayawong |
| author_sort | Patipat Thanompongchart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This research aims to design and test automatic auxiliary heating unit for solar dryer cabinets to improve drying performance. The auxiliary heating unit utilizes an infrared furnace with cooking gas, a fin heat exchanger, and a blower. It is equipped with an automatic control system to regulate the temperature of the dryer. An agricultural product used in the experiment was fresh pineapple slides. The experimental test was divided into three cases; using (i) solar dryer, (ii) hot air dryer from the automatic auxiliary heating unit and, (iii) combined solar dryer with auxiliary heating unit. Temperature of the automatic auxiliary heating unit was controlled at 55.0 ± 3.0 °C and the air flow speed in the dryer cabinet was 1.5 ± 0.2 m/s. The thermal output from the automatic auxiliary heating unit was more than 2700 W. From the tests, it was shown that the drying time could be reduced to 12.5 h from 32 h, when the solar dryer was combined with the automatic auxiliary heating unit, compared to using only solar dryer. Dried pineapple products showed good quality. Comparative analysis of CIELAB color properties indicated low pigmentation. From a simple economic analysis, return on investment was less than 3.0 months. The use of automatic auxiliary heating units to the solar dryer enabled reduction in drying time and improved product quality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:01:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-20aca338d9274047b26ecacb9392817e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-4847 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:01:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energy Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-20aca338d9274047b26ecacb9392817e2023-12-28T05:18:04ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472023-11-019109113Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated airPatipat Thanompongchart0Pakamon Pintana1Nakorn Tippayawong2Faculty of Industrial Technology, Uttaradit Rajabhat University, Uttaradit 53000, Thailand; Corresponding authors.School of Renewable Energy, Maejo University, Chiang Mai 50290, ThailandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand; Corresponding authors.This research aims to design and test automatic auxiliary heating unit for solar dryer cabinets to improve drying performance. The auxiliary heating unit utilizes an infrared furnace with cooking gas, a fin heat exchanger, and a blower. It is equipped with an automatic control system to regulate the temperature of the dryer. An agricultural product used in the experiment was fresh pineapple slides. The experimental test was divided into three cases; using (i) solar dryer, (ii) hot air dryer from the automatic auxiliary heating unit and, (iii) combined solar dryer with auxiliary heating unit. Temperature of the automatic auxiliary heating unit was controlled at 55.0 ± 3.0 °C and the air flow speed in the dryer cabinet was 1.5 ± 0.2 m/s. The thermal output from the automatic auxiliary heating unit was more than 2700 W. From the tests, it was shown that the drying time could be reduced to 12.5 h from 32 h, when the solar dryer was combined with the automatic auxiliary heating unit, compared to using only solar dryer. Dried pineapple products showed good quality. Comparative analysis of CIELAB color properties indicated low pigmentation. From a simple economic analysis, return on investment was less than 3.0 months. The use of automatic auxiliary heating units to the solar dryer enabled reduction in drying time and improved product quality.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484723013628Solar powerClean energyAuxiliary heatingAutomatic controlHybrid drying |
| spellingShingle | Patipat Thanompongchart Pakamon Pintana Nakorn Tippayawong Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air Energy Reports Solar power Clean energy Auxiliary heating Automatic control Hybrid drying |
| title | Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air |
| title_full | Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air |
| title_fullStr | Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air |
| title_short | Improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air |
| title_sort | improving solar dryer performance with automatic control of auxiliary heated air |
| topic | Solar power Clean energy Auxiliary heating Automatic control Hybrid drying |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484723013628 |
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