Energy and exergy performance evaluation of a drying coffee beans system using a photovoltaic–direct solar dryer at different drying temperature conditions

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of various drying temperatures on the performance evaluation of photovoltaic – direct solar dryers in the coffee bean drying process. The use of photovoltaic systems in solar drying provides opportunities for the future to support clean and eco-friendly renewable energy. Three drying temperature conditions were tested, namely 40°C, 45°C, and 50°C, with the optimum temperature obtained at 50°C. During the drying process, the weather appears to be very sunny and cloudless, resulting in an average solar intensity of 974.36 W/m2. Utilising this solar dryer, it takes 12–16 hours for the coffee bean drying process to achieve a moisture content below 12.5% by the SNI 01-2907-2008 standard, starting from an initial moisture content of 45%. The drying and solar collector efficiencies ranged between 0% to 54% and 67.33% to 88.24%, respectively. Energy consumption is directly proportional to drying efficiency, depicted as the energy utilisation ratio (EUR), with the highest EUR being 22.96%. Meanwhile, the exergy flow (inlet, outlet, and loss) is directly proportional to the solar intensity, forming an open downward parabolic curve, with the average exergy efficiencies obtained at temperatures of 40°C, 45°C, and 50°C being 53.95%, 54.72%, and 56.88%, respectively.