Improvement of the Thepsatri Rajabhat-type household solar dryer for drying bananas

Abstract

In this study, improvement of the Thepsatri Rajabhat-type household solar dryer is presented. The polycarbonate covering of this dryer can shield products from animals, dust, and rain. A drying temperature of no more than 50 °C is the right temperature when drying, it is not recommended that the temperature exceed 50 °C because it can cause dry bananas, not good quality. The side-loading solar dryer for drying bananas was put through a full-scale carried out between July and September 2021, during which season the temperature was quite high. Each drying batch of this solar dryer can dry up to 10 kg. The bananas were dried in six batches using the solar dryer to examine their effectiveness. The temperature control limit at 50 °C in a dryer decreased the moisture value of bananas from 70% (wet basis, wb) to about 30% (wb) within 3 days whereas it took about 5 days with natural sun drying in the same weather conditions. Compared to sun drying naturally, the dryer significantly reduced saving drying time by 67% and the average solar dryer’s efficiency was 49.5%. The bananas that have been dried in a dryer are a good quality dried product in terms of colour and protected from insects and dust for human consumption.

Keywords

• Bananas
• Household solar dryer
• Polycarbonate cover

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