Solar drying of drying agricultural product (Apricot)

Abstract

This work allowed us to study the effects of some parameters on drying and specify the most influential. Drying is basically a phenomenon of removal of liquid by evaporation from an apricot. Solar drying is one of the processes that have found application in Algeria, because of the important quantities of solar irradiations that can be exploited in this country.Drying basically comprises of two fundamental and simultaneous processes: heat is transferred to evaporate liquid, and mass is transferred as a liquid or vapor within and the apricot as a vapor from the surface. The experimental study is investigated in the Biskra city of Algeria for drying Apricot in the drying room which it integrated with a solar air collector (new design) which the drying chamber receives the temperature from the solar collector which absorbed from sun. We have to spread the produce on a suitable surface and let it dry in the drying room and added the study of thermal performance of solar air collector and trying with three different airflow rates, namely, 0.018, 0.028 and 0.034 kg/s are conducted. Finally the results have been illustrated with mass water content, product temperature, drying room temperature, outlet temperature in both solar collector and drying room and enthalpy of solar collector and drying room which effect with increase the mass flow rate.