Development of Light Weight Solar Dryer and Optimization of Drying Process for Bottle Gourd

Abstract

The light weight solar dryer has been designed and fabricated to align with the atmospheric conditions of Kashmir valley. The experimental studies titled as “ Development of a light weight solar dryer and optimization of drying process for bottle gourd ” were conducted at the Sher-e –Kashmir University of Agricultural science and Technology , Shalimar, Srinagar J&K , in the northern part of India, during summer season of 2023. The solar dryer consists of drying chamber, drying tray, air inlet , exhaust fan for cross ventilation , temperature humidity controller module, solar panel, battery and solar charge controller. The dryer harnesses solar energy for the drying process and holds substantial promise for drying fruits, vegetables , herbs with medicinal properties and a variety of other products. The dryer has dimension of( length=36˝ , width=24˝, front height=30˝, back height 40˝ and a slope for attaining maximum sunlight intensity. This dryer has an average capacity of 4-5kg of the food product for drying. In this experiment tray is loaded with untreated and treated bottle gourd slices. In two separate trials drying completed in 20 and 32 hours for treated and untreated sample respectively .