PORTABLE SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM WITH INBUILT PV MODULE FOR STANDALONE FORCED CONVECTION OPERATION

A portable solar drying system with inbuilt PV module has been designed, fabricated and installed at Rajeev Gandhi Memorial College of Engineering & Technology, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh. It is having a 1.1304 m2 absorber area and 3 m2 drying area. The dryer could accommodate 10 numbers of trays of size 0.3 m2). The brushless direct current (BLDC) motor fans of two 3 W capacity were operated directly from the energy generated by the PV panel of 10 W capacity installed in the solar dryer. As a part of the single batch load test performance analysis was tested using 3 kg of freshly harvested Fenugreek, Spinach, Chilli. After 6 h drying, 75 to 90 % of moisture has been removed where the solar radiation intensity measured was between 600-800 W/m2. Thus it is concluded that besides decreasing the overall transportation costs, the solar dryer with on-site efficient drying capability of food crops is highly beneficial in reducing the damage of produce and could retain sufficient nutrients.