Design and evaluation of a hybrid solar dryer for postharvesting processing of parchment coffee

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41340%2F23%3A96781" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41340/23:96781 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.118961" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.118961</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.118961" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.renene.2023.118961</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Design and evaluation of a hybrid solar dryer for postharvesting processing of parchment coffee

Original language description

Due to the extended drying time open-sun and solar drying of coffee procedures undergo, the development of microorganisms, mycotoxins and molds threaten the product. Alternatives such as mechanical dryers are available, nevertheless, their running costs and setups are usually expensive and unaffordable for small-scale coffee growers. Therefore, this research aimed to design, build and evaluate a hybrid solar dryer which mixes solar and mechanical drying principles. It uses a traditional solar tunnel-type dryer as a base featuring a biomass burner which uses coffee trunks left from the yearly crop renovation as biofuel. A heat exchanger heats the drying air, afterwards blown into a plenum chamber that homogenizes the air's static pressure before crossing the coffee bed, ensuring an even moisture removal. Also, the hybrid unit includes a photovoltaic system to obtain a fully self-sufficient drying unit. The newly developed dryer was tested under three different configurations: Solar and mechanical day and night (C1), solar during the day and mechanical during the night (C2) and fully solar with non-mechanical aid (C3). The results displayed a notable drying time reduction in the three evaluated configurations: C1 reduced the drying time by 70.47%, C2 by 45.75% and C3 by 21.5%. Also, the predictive model for different plenum chamber heights was obtained through computational fluid dynamics simulations, where the ideal height was 0.25 m. A biomass consumption of 1.9 kg h-1 was registered. Also improved tem-perature and relative humidity profiles were achieved. Its design easily adapts to the existing tunnel and parabolic-type solar dryers.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

20704 - Energy and fuels

Project

—

Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

RENEWABLE ENERGY

ISSN

0960-1481

e-ISSN

0960-1481

Volume of the periodical

215

Issue of the periodical within the volume

OCT 2023

Country of publishing house

CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC

Number of pages

13

Pages from-to

—

UT code for WoS article

001055455700001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85163927230