The Design and Development of a Solar Dehydrator for Fruits

Abstract

An active solar dehydrator is designed for dehydrating fruits and vegetables. The solar collector transfers thermal energy to the drying air. The temperature inside the drying chamber is maintained between 45 °C and 50 °C by a feedback control system. The design is based on the December solar irradiance of Islamabad, which is found to be 572 watts per square meter. The energy required to dry one kilogram of apple and banana is 245 watts and 220 watts, respectively. The dried product from the solar dehydrator is better in terms of quality and taste compared to the product produced by ordinary open sun drying.

Keywords

• solar dehydrator
• drying fruit
• dehydrator control
• dehydrator temperature