A forced convection solar drier is designed with evacuated tube collector and a blower. The performance of the designed drier is evaluated by carrying drying experiments at Thanjavur District, Tamilnadu, India with amla. Solar drying of amla is carried at different air velocity flow rates – 4m/s, 4.25m/s and 4.5m/s and is compared with natural sun drying. The temperature of the drying chamber r...

An indirect solar drier of 25 kg capacity has been developed fitted with solar cell for running the fan. The bulbs are provided in the solar collector for air heating during clouds and evening & morning for faster drying reducing drying time. 15 such solar driers have been installed in the state. Various hill agricultural crops have been dried in solar drier by the farmers and collected. The ma...

Chilgoza (Pinus gerardiana) is one of the pine nuts among six species found in India which produce edible nuts. Because of the traditional handling of this nut by tribals, it lasts only for few weeks in the market. Studies were undertaken to compare the solar drying modes for drying of this nut and screen out the suitable packaging material for its storage. Extracted nuts were dried under three...

A solar drier assisted with evacuated tube collector is designed and developed to study and examine the drying Kinetics of muscat grapes in Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India.  During the drying period, temperature at various places, relative humidity, wind velocity and mass of the sample are measured on hourly basis.  The outlet temperature of the collector and temperature within the chamber varies f...

This research focuses on the need for preserving fruits in rural areas to prevent waste. The solar drier is made of vital chambers i.e. the concentrator chamber (that harvests the solar irradiance), the transport pipe (that transports the heat generated by convection) and hanger chamber (where the fruits are placed). The temperature within the concentrator chamber and hanger chamber was monitor...

429 Zingiber officinale Rosc. (Ginger), Curcuma longa Linn. (Turmeric) and Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers. ex Hook. f. & Thoms. (Guduchi) are the important spices and herbs. Ginger and turmeric are widely grown in different regions of India and are commercially important edible spices. Guduchi, as a drug plant, has bulk demand in the market ranging from 300 to 500 tonnes of dry woody stems...

Food losses in the developing world are thought to be 50% of the fruits and vegetables grown and 25% of harvested food grain (Burden, 1989). Food preservation can reduce wastage of a harvest surplus, allow storage for food shortages, and in some cases facilitate export to high-value markets. Drying is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Drying makes produce lighter, smaller, and les...

This study was done to evaluate the drying performance, efficiency, and effectiveness of five different types of improved low-cost solar driers in terms of moisture loss from two tropical African fish species Clarias gariepinus (African sharp tooth catfish) and Oreochromis niloticus (Nile tilapia) and testing the organoleptic characteristics of the dried samples. The driers used were made from ...