Design Enhancement on Solar Tumble Dryer with Desiccant Assistance in a Warm Air Ventilated System for Pepper Drying

Lee, Chee Hoo (2005) Design Enhancement on Solar Tumble Dryer with Desiccant Assistance in a Warm Air Ventilated System for Pepper Drying. [Final Year Project Report / IMRAD] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The traditional open sun drying approach of foods has been practiced for the past few centuries and still been practiced now by a lot of agriculturists. However, this method of moisture removal is prone to spillage, contamination, and attack by birds, rodents, and insect. This project is to study on an existing solar tumble dryer and modify or redesign to improve the performance of the dryer. The purpose of this prototype is to dry the pepper berries to about 12% of moisture content in shorter time if compare to traditional open sun drying approach. The scope of studies and research are concentrated on the application of silica gel as dehumidifier and warm air ventilation system. Through the studies, the optimum amount of silica gel is determined to be 1200g. Moreover, the overall performance of drying has been increased with the application of silica gel. Meanwhile, the warm air ventilated system is designed to furthermore enhance the products drying process. The system is to introduce warm air with temperature around 40-45°C to the drying chamber. Hence, accelerate the drying speed. The result from testing shows that the temperature of the inlet air has been increased by about 3°C to 4°C. , A prototype was fabricated with the lowest cost possible. This is to increase the affordability to include conservative farmers, medium-modelled agriculturists and farmers at rural areas. However, it is recommended to further enhance the prototype in order to dry other agriculture products besides pepper

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