Analysis of solar-dehumidification drying

A mathematical model for describing solar-dehumidification drying is presented. Lumped dynamical models have been applied to the moist material and to the solar collector. The other units of the drying system, drying chamber and dehumidifying heatpump were considered to be in a quasi-steady state. The simulation of the weather conditions was carried out by a dynamical weather model. Drying operations under humidistat and temperature control with and without the solar collector were simulated. The analysis of the numerical study shows that although the drying time is not necessarily shorter in the case of solar-dehumidification drying than in that of simple dehumidification drying, the running time of the dehumidifier can be considerably reduced.