Design, fabrication and testing of a solar tunnel drier with calcium chloride desiccant integration for pepper drying

Santanasivam, Wiswanathan (2010) Design, fabrication and testing of a solar tunnel drier with calcium chloride desiccant integration for pepper drying. [Final Year Project Report / IMRAD] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Black pepper or Piper Nigrum L. is an important and valuable commodity for Sarawak 16,678.98 tonne of pepper products valued at RM 135, 947, 190 were exported in 2006. The pepper products are primarily made from dried pepper berries of black pepper and white pepper whereby the drying process is crucial in determining productivity and quality of product. Solar tunnel drier was chosen as the preferred type of drier for this study for its high loading capacity, simple design and ability to operate as a standalone system. This study focuses on designing, fabricating and testing of a model of solar tunnel drier with calcium chloride desiccant integration. A solar tunnel drier was designed based on the basic Hohenheim solar tunnel drier design whereby a model was fabricated and tested using fresh pepper berries. Calcium chloride desiccant was used during night time and raining periods. The black pepper was successfully dried to 28.76% of its initial weight in 3 days compared to 30.62% achieved by open sun drying method which was the control batch, during the same period. Temperature ranged from 33.5°C to 49.4°C inside the solar tunnel drier. Drying was able to be continued during night time and raining periods in the tunnel drier whereas the control batch were brought into a building structure to avoid moisture re-absorption. Even though the overall result was satisfactory, but some minor improvements have to be made to realize the potential of solar tunnel drier as a black pepper drying machine for commercial use.

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