Experimental study and simulation of a solar dryer for spearmint leaves (Mentha spicata)

An indirect forced convection solar dryer consisting of an air flat plate collector and a drying cabin was designed and fabricated to investigate its performance under the climate of Algiers. Drying experiments have been performed for spearmint leaves at different air flow rates in order to determine the drying velocity, the characteristic drying curve, the effective diffusion coefficient and the activation energy. A mathematical model based on thermal and mass balances over the component of the solar collector and the cabinet dryer was developed. Simulations are carried out for meteorological data of Algiers (Algeria). We analyse the effect of air mass flow rate, air temperature, products mass, collector area, air recycling rate on the drying time, the solar fraction and the efficiency of the dryer.