Realization and Experimental Study of a Forced Convection Solar Dryer
Boureima Dianda *
National Center for Scientific and Technological Research, BP: 03 7047 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso and Laboratory of Renewable Thermal Energies, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, BP: 03 7021 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso.
Labayè Yves Japhet Koussoubé
Laboratory of Renewable Thermal Energies, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, BP: 03 7021 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso.
Lareba Adélaïde Ouédraogo
Laboratory of Renewable Thermal Energies, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, BP: 03 7021 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso.
Moctar Ousmane
Laboratory of Renewable Thermal Energies, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, BP: 03 7021 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso.
Dieudonné Joseph Bathiébo
Laboratory of Renewable Thermal Energies, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, BP: 03 7021 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Post-harvest losses represent a significant cause of food insecurity worldwide. These losses not only affect the availability of food, but they also impact the economic stability of farmers and communities dependent on these crops. Food drying presents itself as a viable solution to reduce these post-harvest losses and ensure greater availability of food for human consumption. It is in this context that our work on the creation of an indirect solar dryer with forced convection, integrating an automatic temperature control system, takes place. This study consisted of creating a prototype and subsequently carrying out drying experiments on onions in order to evaluate the performance of the device. Our experiments took place from October 25 to October 29, 2023 at Joseph KI-ZERBO University. After 8 hours of drying, only 12% of the initial mass of the onions remained. The solar thermal collector presented an efficiency of 62%. And a drying efficiency, estimated at 17% with an average sunshine of 600W/m2.
Keywords: Drying, forced convection, thermostat, yield, onion