Design and construction of a hybrid gas and biogas dryer for fruits, vegetables, meat and fish

Abstract

The problem of food loss due to lack of proper conservation and preservation scheme is pertinent. In an attempt to reduce such losses, the agronomic sector is constantly innovating with technological accessories to solve the related problem. The problem with such accessories lies in the fact that most of them do not consider present global developmental objectives coupled to the fact that they are expensive and have a high cost of maintenance regarding the amount and type of energy needed to run them. As such, local tools were used to design and construct a hybrid biogas/liquefied gas dryer for food products with a wide range of application spanning from fruits and vegetables to meat and fish. The advantage with this dryer lies in its energy sources which are readily more available and the ability of alternative fuel which is biogas can readily be produced even in remote / rural zones for domestic and industrial use. The use of a renewable alternative makes it not only cost effective but also tied to the millennium development goals. The addition of a solar powered fan and an Arduino control unit solves a major problem of temperature and humidity control. The prototype constructed has the following characteristics: A functional hybrid dryer of external dimensions 125 cm × 75 cm × 65 cm; useful volume: 420,000 cm3; number of trays : 10 trays of dimensions : 60 cm × 70 cm; drying surface : 46,200 cm2 ;Volume / surface ratio : 10. The products dried successfully include: White cabbage, Lemon Grass, Bitter leaf and Green Aramanth.