Development of Solar PV Assisted Dryer for Cooking Banana Slice and Analysis of Proximate Properties

Abstract

A solar PV-assisted dryer was developed for drying cooking banana and its performance tested. The proximate properties of the products dried in the solar PV-assisted dryer were compared to similar products dried using a laboratory oven, while open sun drying served as the control experiment. Fresh samples of cooking banana were obtained from a rural market in Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The samples were subjected to peeling and cleaning before being sliced to a thickness of 5 mm. The dryer was embedded with a DC blower to enhance air circulation in the drying chamber. The blower was powered by a solar panel connected to a DC battery and a charge controller. 500 g of the product was loaded in the solar PV-assisted dryer, same as the other mediums. The moisture content was observed to have reduced from 67.32 to 5.80 % within 6 hours of drying as against 13 hours of open sun drying. The drying rate of the product decreased from 0.092 to 0.028 kg/hr in the solar PV-assisted dryer. The efficiency of the dryer was 40.6 %. Crude protein, crude lipid, crude fibre, and caloric value were lower in samples dried using the solar PV-assisted dryer and higher in samples subjected to drying in the laboratory oven and the control experiment. Ash content and carbohydrates were higher in products dried using the solar PV-assisted dryer than in other mediums. The study adds significant knowledge to the development of systems for post-harvest processing of cooking banana, a product highly sought for in the local market as a viable alternative to banana and plantain