Study of the temperature and humidity regime in solar drying of agricultural products

Abstract

This article presents the results of experiments on the temperature and humidity regimes in the drying chamber when drying apples and apricots in a refrigerator with a combined solar collector and heat pump. The combined dryer is designed for simultaneous drying and long-term storage of the product. Experiments on the study of temperature and humidity regimes were carried out under natural convection conditions. Experimental studies of temperature and humidity regimes showed that the maximum temperature inside the chamber reached 46 oC and the maximum humidity reached 62%, and in these temperature and humidity regimes, apples were dried in 30 hours and apricots in 48 hours. From a product with a starting mass of 5 kg, 0.65-0.7 kg of dried product was obtained. Experimental results on temperature and humidity during drying of apples and apricots t=f(h) and w=f(h) and presented in the form of a dependency graph.