This
study was carried out at the Mamou Higher Institute of Technology during the
period from March 10 to April 15, 2022, with the aim of designing and testing a
solar dryer with forced convection by drying potatoes. The dryer was designed
using local materials. Its main
geometric parameters are: 1)
height of the drying chamber (90cm), 2) length of the drying chamber (50cm), 3) width of the drying chamber (43cm), 4) surface of the racks (0.1806m2), 5) surface of the heat accumulator (0.2537m2). The
experiment focused on the vacuum test of the dryer for two days and that of the
drying of the sweet potato for three days from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The
average vacuum test temperature values of the three environments are
respectively accumulator (43°C), dryer chamber (41°C) and ambient environment (34°C). Four kilograms (4 kg) of boiled sweet
potato were dried. The average temperatures in the accumulator and in the drying chamber during the three days of
drying arerespectively 33°C and 39°C.
The final mass of the dried product is 1.2 kg, with a quantity of water extracted of 2 liters or 63% of
the initial mass of the product. The average drying rate is 0.074kg/h. The drying kinetics
showed a decreasing rate in the absence of the heating period and the constant
rate period.
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