Experimental Study of the Impact of Drying Parameters on Dandelion Root by a Solar Dryer

Abstract

The proliferation of microorganisms, as well as the development of various chemical reactions, are the main causes behind the deterioration of the product. Both are caused by the quantity of water held within food. The following study aims at modelling the drying process and optimizing its conditions of use, as well as analyzing the interaction between the factors based on experiments, statistical calculations, and analysis. The drying kinetics of Dandelion root were carried out in an indirect active solar dryer with a separate solar collector and a drying unit. Drying is a process engineering operation that involves the removal of free water and some of the bound water without affecting the chemical structure in such a way as to lighten the weight and minimize the risks of many unwanted chemical transformations. To perform this procedure we use a technique based on solar energy, called solar drying forced convection, which requires sufficient sunlight to give a radiant energy to insulator in order to heat the air sucked by the fan. The modelling of the solar dryer is done in several methods, the plans of experiments, is one of these methods, based on statistical and experimental studies. This work is devoted to optimization of solar dryer setting parameters for plants. The outcome is a model that helps to analyze the impact of the drying parameters on the response, which is the time of drying. A determination of factors that affect the response in order to analyze their impact on the response.