Medicinal herb drying using a photovoltaic array and a solar thermal system |
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| Authors: | Hanaa M. Fargali Abd El-Shafy A. Nafeh Faten H. Fahmy Mohamed A. Hassan |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Electronics Research Institute, National Research Center Building, Cairo 12622, Egypt;2. Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt;1. Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran;2. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran;1. Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Shoolini University, Solan, H.P 173229, India;2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar NIT Jalandhar, 144011, India;1. Faculty of Technical Education Department, Govt. of H.P., Shimla, HP, India;2. Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Shoolini University, Solan, HP 173229, India;3. Department of Physics and Electronic, Hansraj College, University of Delhi, India;4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar NIT, Jalandhar 144011, India;1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand;2. Department of Energy (Energy Centre), Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, 462003, India;3. Department of Sustainable Technologies, Faculty of Tropical Agri Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, Praha 6, Suchdol, 16521, Czech Republic |
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| Abstract: | Drying of medicinal herbs should take place as soon as possible after harvesting; otherwise insects and fungi, which thrive in most conditions, render them unusable. Conventional drying methods such as open sun drying and conventional-fuel dryers are not suitable; since they may yield a less quality product and/or may increase the drying cost and/or time. Moreover, they may not be reliable and environmentally safe. Therefore, the trend is toward using controlled-nonconventional drying methods, to improve the quality of the product to be dried and at the same time to decrease the drying cost and time. These methods use renewable energy sources for their operation, which are highly recommendable. This work proposes and develops a new controlled drying method; which uses a solar collector and a bio-gas fuel to heat the drying air, and a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system to feed the electrical load of the dryer. The designed control technique ensures correct and continuous operation of the dryer’s subsystems. Also, this work presents the dynamic modeling for the different components in the solar thermal system, which is responsible for heating the drying air. The results indicate the high effectiveness of the drying method. |
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