Solar Biomass Hybrid Dryer Research Articles

Design analysis of an innovative solar biomass hybrid dryer for drying turmeric

Design analysis of an innovative solar biomass hybrid dryer for drying turmeric

Effect of Drying Temperature on Proximate Composition and Viability of Maize Dried in a Solar Biomass Hybrid Dryer

Maize is an important cereal produced for food and feed and its nutritional composition and viability could be affected when subjected to inappropriate drying conditions. This study investigated the effects of drying temperature on the proximate composition and viability of maize grains dried at different levels in a solar biomass hybrid dryer. Proximate analysis was performed using standard A.O.A.C. methods. Germination test was done using sterilized Petri–dishes lined with filter papers to determine the viability of dried grains. Overall mean temperature, 43.63 ± 8.6 ˚C in the dryer was 9 ˚C higher than the average ambient temperature. The moisture content (MC) of grains in the dryer reduced from average 17 % to 11 % (w.b.) in 8 h at an average drying rate of 0.64 %/h. The overall drying efficiency was 12.7 % compared to 5.7 % for the open-sun drying process. The viability of grains dried in the dryer (avg. 95%) compared favourably to the viability of sun-dried grains (96%). The results show that, the temperature in the dryer had no adverse effect on the proximate nutritional composition and viability of dried maize grains. The adoption of solar biomass hybrid dryers for use by smallholder farmers is encouraged due to its suitability in providing a viable drying option to open-sun drying.

Effects of Fermentation Periods and Drying Methods on Postharvest Quality of Cocoa (Theobroma Cacao) Beans in Ghana

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) contributes significantly to Ghana’s GDP and has made Ghana a recognized leader in the cocoa industry. However, there are myriad problems associated with Ghana’s cocoa bean quality. One such problems stems from farmers paying less attention to the required postharvest activities (fermentation and drying) which contributes significantly to bean quality losses. This study investigated the effect of the duration of the traditional heap fermentation period and different drying methods: solar biomass hybrid dryer (SBHD) and traditional sun drying method (TSDM) on the bean quality of two cocoa varieties (hybrid cocoa and Amazonia). Quality attributes of cocoa beans such as pH, moisture content, fat content, crude protein, free fatty acids, phenolic contents, colour, and bean size were examined. The statgraphics statistical tool was used to analyse data and the least significant difference (LSD) was used to compare treatment means. Purple beans incidence was observed to be lower in hybrid with a value of 21.90% in the solar biomass hybrid dryer after 5 days of fermentation. Hybrid recorded the highest flavonoid value of 6069.74 mg QE/g DW in the traditional sun drying after 7 days of fermentation. Hybrid as well recorded the highest total phenolic value of 711.44 mg GAE/g DW in the solar biomass hybrid dryer under 5 days of fermentation. Results also indicated that using the solar biomass hybrid dryer resulted in the best moisture content removal and was very efficient compared with the traditional sun drying method in ensuring high-quality beans per international market standards. Cocoa beans dried under SBHD had the overall highest purity and were of better quality compared to those dried directly in the sun. There were no significant differences (p≤0.24) in percentage purity among the cocoa samples studied.

Development and performance investigation of a novel solar-biomass hybrid dryer

• A novel dryer dependent on solar and biomass was developed. • Four different drying strategies used for two agro-products. • Developed dryer found better than similar systems available in literature. • Intermittent drying method yielded better products in lesser time. In this article, a novel drying system incorporated with energy storage has been developed to operate on 24-hours basis and utilize renewable energy- solar and biomass as heat source. Study of literature revealed that such a system has not been considered by past researchers. There was also lack of experimental studies on heat and mass transfer in potato during intermittent drying; while the drying behaviour of chayote under intermittent conditions was entirely missing. Therefore, impact of four heating/drying methods- constant hot air drying (CHAD), constant vacuum drying (CVAD), intermittent hot air drying (IHAD) and intermittent vacuum drying (IVAD) on heat and mass transfer, drying kinetics and physical attributes like shrinkage, porosity, bulk density and particle density were evaluated for two bio-products-chayote ( Sechium edule ) and potato ( Solanum tuberosum ). Results showed that the developed system was capable of operating without interruption of the drying process between day and night. Intermittent drying had 16.7% lesser effective heating time but produced similar final moisture levels in the products. The average drying rate for CHAD and IHAD were respectively 0.4935 and 0.4889 kg/kg-hr for potato and 1.25 and 1.11 kg/kg-hr for chayote showing a greater positive impact on potato as compared to chayote.

Experimental investigations on drying kinetics, modeling and quality analysis of small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) dried in solar-biomass hybrid dryer

An indirect active solar-biomass hybrid dryer (SBHD) has been developed to study the drying kinetics, mathematical modeling, and quality of dried small cardamom. The experiments were carried out in hybrid (solar with biomass) and biomass mode to assess the performance of the dryer. Freshly harvested small cardamom with a moisture content of 82.4 % on a wet basis (w.b) was dried to 9.1 % (w.b) in hybrid mode. In biomass mode, moisture content was reduced from 83.2 to 9.5 % (w.b). The drying period of 19 h was sufficient in both modes of drying to attain the required final moisture content. The drying rate curve depicted that the small cardamom drying occurred under the falling-rate drying period in both SBHD and Biomass mode. In this study, non-linear regression analysis was performed to determine the drying behavior of small cardamom. Eleven empirical models were used to determine the coefficients of determination (R2) and model constant for drying characteristics of small cardamom. Midilli model recorded the highest R2 value of 0.992 and 0.988, least chi-square of 0.0001 and 0.0005, and RMSE of 0.0002 and 0.0002 for SBHD and Biomass mode, respectively. The average drying efficiency of 28.63% was observed for the drying of small cardamom in the SBHD while 23.98% was obtained from Biomass mode. The colour analysis showed that the retention of green colour was better in SBHD than biomass mode of drying. The biochemical analysis revealed that the small cardamom dried under SBHD retained the maximum percentage of oleoresin (3.30 %) and volatile oil (7.33 %) compared to biomass mode. The microbial quality of dried small cardamom was within the acceptable limit for both SBHD and Biomass mode.

Modification and the Performance Enhancement of Solar Biomass Dryer

Drying is an important agricultural process, particularly for crops, and shriveled products are used all over the world. The performance of drying green chili was also tested in this article, which created an alternate way of drying agricultural products. The goal of this study is to provide a solar biomass hybrid dryer with improved design, construction, and performance testing. During most hours of the trial, the temperature within the solar collector and dryer was sufficiently higher than the ambient temperature, according to the results obtained during the test period. The temperature of the ambient air at the collector intake ranged from 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. The temperature of the air at the collector's outlet ranged from 54 to 64 degrees Celsius, while the temperature of the drying chamber ranged from 51 to 60 degrees Celsius, making it suitable for drying green chili and a variety of other agricultural products. The collector was found to be 46.54 percent efficient. The findings revealed that the alteration of the collector, which produces turbulent air flow and improves chamber wall insulation, affects drying. Based on the results of this study, the created solar biomass hybrid drier is cost-effective for small-scale crop growers in rural areas of developing countries.

Financial and Economic Analysis of a 1-Tonne Capacity Mobile Solar-Biomass Hybrid Dryer for Maize Drying

Drawbacks associated with natural convection solar dryers are encouraging the development of low-capacity hybrid drying systems which integrate renewable energy in their operation. However, information on the cost-effectiveness of such drying systems for decision-making by investors is lacking. This study seeks to assess the financial and economic feasibility of a solar-biomass hybrid dryer for maize drying. A cost-benefit analysis was done using net present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and internal rate of return (IRR) as well as payback period to measure the financial viability of the dryer operation and the profitability of the investment. The results show that the total capital expenditure required to establish the drying system is $ 5,263 with a running cost of $ 1,166 per year. Using an economic utilisation period of 10 years, the investment in the dryer was determined to be viable with an NPV of $ 4,876 and an IRR of 38% at a capital cost of 24%. At a drying charge of $2.11/bag, the results show the initial capital invested can be recouped in a PBP of 2.7 years at a BCR of 1.48. These financial indicators suggest that investment in the dryer is profitable. Further analysis shows that, at a projected 30, 266.80 tonnes of maize produce per season by smallholder maize farmers in the study area, about 210 of the hybrid dryers are needed to provide drying services to the farmers. This translates into about 420 direct job opportunities created for the youth and the potential to prevent economic loss of maize grains equivalent to $ 5,684.2 per year due to post-harvest losses of maize in the study area. The adoption and scale-up of the dryer have implications in addressing maize post-harvest loss at the smallholder level and job creation for the youth in the country.

Effectiveness of the solar biomass hybrid dryer for drying and disinfestation of maize

The Solar Biomass Hybrid Dryer (SBHD) is a new technology developed in Ghana for grain drying and utilizes biomass (agro-residues, timber scraps, etc.) along with solar drying, and is especially useful for drying during rainy periods of the year when solar drying cannot be relied on. This study assessed the effectiveness of a 5.0-MT SBHD comprising a solar tent and a furnace for thermal drying and disinfestation of maize. Mortalities of adults of Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky), Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) and Cryptolestes ferrugineus Stephens were assessed. Additionally, mortalities of immatures of these three species were assessed. Internal and cage temperatures (°C) in the SBHD, sun drying (SD) and laboratory (control) were monitored, as were moisture content (MC) and thermally (stress) damaged kernels (TDK) (%). During the 7-h experiment, mean internal temperatures in the SBHD, SD and laboratory were 52.3 ± 1.0 °C, 41.4 ± 0.8 °C and 30.3 ± 0.2 °C, respectively. Similarly, temperatures in cages in the SBHD (49.5 ± 1.0 °C) were higher than those for cages in the laboratory (29.9 ± 0.2 °C) and SD (38.2 ± 0.6 °C). Reduction in the moisture content of maize dried using SBHD, SD and under laboratory conditions were 7.7, 5.2 and 2.9%, respectively. This corresponded to grain MC reduction rates of 1.1%, 0.74% and 0.4% per hour. There was 100% mortality of S. zeamais and C. ferrugineus adults achieved in only the SBHD; some immatures of all three species survived in all three treatments. However, survival of immatures was highest in the laboratory, followed by SD and lowest in the SBHD for all three species. Percent TDK was higher in the SBHD (6.7 ± 0.9) than SD (3.3 ± 0.3) and laboratory (2.7 ± 0.3). These data show that the SBHD is effective for both drying and disinfestation of grain.

Evaluation of plastic and steel bins for protection of stored maize against Insect Infestation in Ghana

Maize is a staple food in Ghana where there is ever increasing demand for its use to also support poultry and livestock production. However, post-harvest loss of maize is high in Ghana. This study evaluated the effectiveness of plastic and steel bins as bulk storage structures to reduce maize post-harvest loss in Ejura, Ghana during the period from February 2016 to January 2017. Maize pre-disinfested with a solar biomass hybrid dryer was stored in the following treatments: i. a white 7-ton plastic bin filled with untreated maize, ii. agreen 7-ton plastic bin filled with untreated maize, iii.a 6-ton Kikapu steel bin filled with untreated maize, iv. six 50-kg polypropylene (PP) bags filled with maize treated with Betallic Super (80 g pirimiphos-methyl and 15 g permethrin per liter as an emulsifiable concentrate (EC)), and v. six 50-kg PP bags filled with untreated maize ascontrol. Moisture content, insect pests, insect damaged kernels (IDK), grain weight loss, aflatoxin and fumonisin levels data were collected monthly. Sitophilus zeamais, Tribolium castaneum, Cathartus quadricollis, and Cryptolestes ferrugineus were the dominant insect species collected from maize samples. At the end of 12 months of storage, % IDK in the control was >17% while IDK values in the other treatments were <3%. Mean grain weight losses of <1% were recorded in the bin treatments. Mycotoxin levels in the control were above the allowable threshold of 15 ppb. Our data suggest that use of plastic and steel bins has potential to reduce post-harvest loss of maize during storage.

Performance assessment off a commercial scale solar biomass hybrid dryer for quality seed maize production: Presentation

Though several maize varieties have been developed and introduced over the years in Ghana, farmers still face challenges of access to quality seed maize. Among the major constraints is lack of proper drying systems to quarantee quality of seed produced. Peculiar to most parts of Africa, drying of maize in the open, on bare ground along shoulders of roads is still a common practice in Ghana. In this study, a 5-tonne capacity solar biomass hybrid dryer was developed for drying maize for seed and food/feed in Ghana. Effect of drying air temperature in the dryer on the physiological quality and germination of maize kernels was investigated. Maize grains were dried in the open sun simulating farmers practice and using the dryer at 4 varying levels (L1, L2, L3 and L4) with corresponding heights (0.6m, 1.2m, 1.8m and 2.4m) respectively. Harvested maize at 22.8% moisture content was dried at the varying levels until reaching overall mean moisture content of 12.8 ± 0.2% (wb). Results showed that, drying air temperatures in the dryer increased in accordance with height with lowest mean temperature of 44.4 ± 4.6°C recorded at L1 and mean maximum of 52.8 ± 5.4 °C at L4. The increase in drying temperature at L4 increased kernel stress crack index by an average of 14% and reduced germination by 33%. However, drying temperatures at L1-L3 and in the open sun had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the germination potential of maize grains. This satisfies the dryer’s potential to be used for drying maize grains for high quality seed production on commercial scale.

Performance and CO2 mitigation analysis of a solar greenhouse dryer for coconut drying

A natural convection solar greenhouse dryer with biomass back-up heater was developed and tested for its performance during summer and winter months under the meteorological conditions of Pollachi, India, using coconuts as drying material. The dryer maintained the temperature between 33°C and 60°C during summer, 26°C and 43°C during winter periods. The biomass heater maintained the temperature inside the dryer between 35°C and 45°C during night. The coconuts were dried from an initial moisture content of 53% to a final moisture content of around 7% in 54 h in summer and 74 h in winter in the solar-biomass hybrid dryer compared to 153 h during summer and 247 h during winter in open sun drying. The thermal efficiency of the solar-biomass hybrid dryer was found to be 24% and 21%, respectively, during summer and winter time. The embodied energy of the dryer is found to be 18,302 kWh and the CO2 emission was 1518 kg per year. The net CO2 mitigation is 678 tonnes and the total carbon credit earned is $18,645. The payback period of the drier was found to be 3.3 years.

Drying Temperature Effect on Kernel Damage and Viability of Maize Dried in a Solar Biomass Hybrid Dryer

Though several maize varieties have been developed and introduced over the years in Ghana, farmers still face challenges of access to quality seed maize. Among the major constraint is lack of proper drying systems to guarantee quality of seed produced. As in most parts of Africa, drying of maize in the open, on bare ground along shoulders of roads is still a common practice in Ghana. In this study, a 5-tonne capacity hybrid solar biomass dryer was developed for drying maize for seed and food/feed in Ghana. Effect of air temperature in the dryer on the physiological quality and germination of maize kernels was investigated. Maize grains were dried in the open sun simulating farmers practice and using the dryer at 4 varying levels (L1, L2, L3 and L4) with corresponding heights (0.6 m, 1.2 m, 1.8 m and 2.4 m, respectively) from the ground. Harvested maize at 22.8% moisture content was dried at the varying levels until reaching the final desired moisture content of 12.8% ± 0.2% (wb). Results showed that, air temperatures in the dryer increased in accordance with height with lowest mean temperature of 44.4&degC ± 4.6&degC recorded at L1 and mean maximum of 52.8&degC ± 5.4&degC at L4. Drying temperatures recorded at L1 - L3 and ambient had no significant effect (p

Performative Improvement of Solar-Biomass Hybrid Dryer for Fish Drying

The solar–biomass hybrid dryer had been developed, and recently its design was improved. The dryer was basically UV12% plastic house, equipped with a drying chamber with the trays inside, two heat collector, a furnace embedded in a heat exchanger and a chimney. The objective of this study was to investigate the performance of the dryer after the design was improved by testing it for fish drying with different modes of energy supply i.e: solar energy (SE), biomass energy (BE), solar energy followed by biomass energy (SEBE), and simultaneous solar energy and biomass energy (SEBES). Coconut shell was used as the biomass energy source, and “Bleberan”fish ( Pepetak Leiognatus spp.) was employed as the experimental commodity. SE mode generated the average drying air temperature 10.6 o C higher than that of ambient air and the average drying air relative humidity 21.9% lower than that of ambient air, and completed the drying process in 16.6 hours compared to 23.3 hours needed to finish the drying process for the sun drying. Operating with 3 kg fuel first supply and 1.5 kg fuel subsequent supplies per 20 minutes, BE mode produced the average drying air temperature 28.2 o C higher than that of ambient air and the average drying air relative humidity 44.7% lower than that of ambient air, and the drying process was completed in 8.6 hours with the fuel consumption of 0.375 kg biomass per kg wet fish. In SEBE mode with the same fuel supplies as BE mode, the average drying air temperature was 27,7 o C higher than that of ambient air, and the average drying air relative humidity was 45% lower than that of ambient air, and the drying process was completed in 13.4 hours with the fuel consumption of 0.19 kg biomass per kg wet fish. For SEBES mode with 3 kg fuel first supply and 1 kg fuel subsequent supplies, the average drying air temperature was 25.6 o C higher than that of ambient air, the average drying air relative humidity was 43.9% lower than that of ambient air, and the dryer finished the drying process in 9.1 hours and consumed 0.29 kg biomass per kg wet fish. The uniqueness of the dryer was manifested by its shape, the heat exchanger and electricity free.

Development of prototype solar-biomass hybrid dryer and its performance evaluation using salted fish (Cynoglossus spp.)

Salted and dried fishes are the source of low cost dietary proteins. Solar drying is an alternative method to traditional open sun drying to produce high quality product and minimise the post-harvest losses. The solar-biomass hybrid dryer (in which solar energy and heat energy from biomass burning are integrated) is gaining momentum. In the present study, a solar-biomass hybrid dryer (SBHD) was fabricated using polycarbonate sheet as solar collector which has advantages of longer durability over glass and polythene sheets. Coconut husk with shell was used as the source of biomass. Salted soles (Cynoglossus spp.) were used to evaluate the drying efficiency. Temperature and relative humidity recorded in the dryer during the experiment were in the range of 35 to 50oC and 24 to 40%, respectively. The drying rate curve of salted soles dried in SBHD did not show constant rate drying period. Drying efficiency of solar energy and biomass energy in the designed dryer was 10.66 and 34.66% respectively. The overall drying efficiency of the SBHD was 18.33. Mathematical modeling of the data on drying indicated that the Page model describes satisfactorily the drying characteristics of salted soles in SBHD.

Mathematical modeling of drying behavior of cashew in a solar biomass hybrid dryer

The main objective of this study is to analyze the drying behavior of cashew nut experimentally in a so- lar biomass hybrid dryer using mathematical models. Suitability of fifteen different mathematical drying models available in the literature is used to describe the drying characteristics of cashew. Experimen- tal data of moisture ratio, temperature and relative humidity obtained from different dryer conditions were fitted to the various empirical drying models. The performance of the drying model was compared based on their correlation co-efficient (R 2 ), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Reduced Chi-Square ( χ2 ) between the observed moisture ratios. The two terms and Midilli models showed the best fit under so- lar drying. Page model was found to be the best model for describing the thin layer drying behavior of cashew for biomass drying and hybrid drying.

Effect of microwave blanching and brine solution pretreatment on the quality of carrots dried in solar‐biomass hybrid dryer

The effect of microwave blanching time (0–3 min), followed by dipping in brine solution (sample to solution ratio 0–4) prior to drying of carrot slices and shreds in solar-biomass hybrid dryer on the final moisture content of the samples, drying rate, rehydration ratio, color change, textural firmness change, and beta carotene content was studied using two-factor 3 level factorial design. Pretreatment parameters were optimized using response surface methodology. As the microwave blanching time increased, there was an increase in the drying rate, rehydration ratio, and beta carotene content, with minimum changes in textural firmness, color, and final moisture content. Increase in brine solution to sample ratio impacted the drying rate and beta-carotene content in the samples, positively. Microwave blanching time of 3 min and brine solution to sample ratio of 2 were found to be the optimum pretreatment parameters for drying of carrot slices and shreds. Practical applications Solar energy is abundantly available in tropical countries like India and this renewable energy can be utilized to preserve food materials, economically. Carrots being seasonal in nature require be drying and preserving for further use during off seasons, and potential of a solar-biomass hybrid dryer can be tapped to reduce the energy requirement for a high energy requiring processing operation like drying. The study recommends pretreatments to carrot slices and shreds like dry microwave blanching, followed by brine solution dipping of carrot slices and shreds for better quality in terms of faster moisture removal leading to lower drying period, beta-carotene retention, better rehydration characteristics as compared to control samples, where no such pretreatments were given. This recommendation can be very well be utilized to reduce the energy demand in food processing industry.

Comparative evaluation of the performance of an improved solar-biomass hybrid dryer

A solar biomass hybrid dryer intially designed with a front pass flat plate solar air heater and a biomass heating stove was redesigned, reconstructed in order to minimize the excessive convective heat losses and its performance re-evaluated. Due to poor design and contruction of the biomass heating and solar collector sections, the efficiency of the initial design was low. It is believed that the drying efficiency of the dryer could be enhanced if a back pass solar collector and a biomass heating stove incorporated with a gas to gas heat exchanger to ensure that the hot air reaching the samples is clean, smokeless and ash free, substitute for the original solar collector and biomass unit respectively in the improved version. The system’s drying performance was tested on both no load and full capacity load under different meteorological conditions within Nsukka (Lat. 7oN) for two weeks. The testing results showed that the incorporation of a new back pass solar collector and the heat exchanger enhanced the trays temperatures on no load test. Similarly, the efficiency of the dryer based on solar, biomass and solar-biomass heating in drying of fresh okra, fresh groundnut and fresh cassava chips increased from 5.19 – 16.04%, 0.23 – 3.34% and 1.636 – 8.96% respectively over the initial construction. This shows that the dryer can help improve the post-harvest processing and storage quality of farm produce by drying if further optimized.

Comparative evaluation of the performance of an improved solar-biomass hybrid dryer

A solar biomass hybrid dryer intially designed with a front pass flat plate solar air heater and a biomass heating stove was redesigned, reconstructed in order to minimize the excessive convective heat losses and its performance re-evaluated. Due to poor design and contruction of the biomass heating and solar collector sections, the efficiency of the initial design was low. It is believed that the drying efficiency of the dryer could be enhanced if a back pass solar collector and a biomass heating stove incorporated with a gas to gas heat exchanger to ensure that the hot air reaching the samples is clean, smokeless and ash free, substitute for the original solar collector and biomass unit respectively in the improved version. The system’s drying performance was tested on both no load and full capacity load under different meteorological conditions within Nsukka (Lat. 7oN) for two weeks. The testing results showed that the incorporation of a new back pass solar collector and the heat exchanger enhanced the trays temperatures on no load test. Similarly, the efficiency of the dryer based on solar, biomass and solar-biomass heating in drying of fresh okra, fresh groundnut and fresh cassava chips increased from 5.19 – 16.04%, 0.23 – 3.34% and 1.636 – 8.96% respectively over the initial construction. This shows that the dryer can help improve the post-harvest processing and storage quality of farm produce by drying if further optimized.

Modeling and simulated design: A novel model and software of a solar-biomass hybrid dryer

Solar-biomass hybrid dryers are widely used as environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuel dryers for the preservation of agricultural food products. However, the design and optimization of hybrid dryers often involve construction of expensive prototype systems and time-consuming studies. This study presents a novel hybrid dryer model and a dryer design and simulation software, which can be used to improve hybrid dryer design efficiency. The methodologies adopted are those of functional analysis, mathematical modeling and virtual prototyping, with SolidWorks employed for CAD modeling, and Matlab for numerical simulations and implementation of mathematical models into a user interface. The software package has as main functions (a) dimensioning the hybrid dryer, which comprises a solar collector, combustion reactor and tunnel drying chamber, (b) cost analysis and financial appraisal, and (c) temperature dynamic simulation in the system. The novel software has been successfully employed to dimension a hybrid dryer for drying of green pepper.

Mathematical modeling of drying behavior of cashew in a solar biomass hybrid dryer

The main objective of this study is to analyze the drying behavior of cashew nut experimentally in a solar biomass hybrid dryer using mathematical models. Suitability of fifteen different mathematical drying models available in the literature is used to describe the drying characteristics of cashew. Experimental data of moisture ratio, temperature and relative humidity obtained from different dryer conditions were fitted to the various empirical drying models. The performance of the drying model was compared based on their correlation co-efficient (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Reduced Chi-Square (χ2) between the observed moisture ratios. The two terms and Midilli models showed the best fit under solar drying. Page model was found to be the best model for describing the thin layer drying behavior of cashew for biomass drying and hybrid drying.