Optimization of solar dryer for the dehydration of fruits and vegetables

Currently, several solar dehydrator designs exist on the market, and some of these designs require expensive materials, which makes the prototype expensive and difficult to obtain for small producers. The aim of this study was to build a low-cost solar dryer with high energy efficiency based on a previous solar dryer model. The optimization of the previous solar dryer model was characterized via temperature profiles and drying kinetics to identify gaps. Theoretical and numerical modeling was used to correct the gaps, and a new prototype was then built. The inclination angle was changed from 45° in the previous model to 20° in the new model. As compared with the old model, the results indicated that the new model improved the efficiency by 43.75% for banana fruit, thereby demonstrating the optimization of the new model.