Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547

Development of a solar-assisted dryer and evaluation

of energy requirement for the drying of onion
P.N. Sarsavadia
Department of Renewable Energy and Rural Engineering, CAET, JAU, Junagadh 362 001, India
Received 9 August 2006; accepted 24 December 2006
Available online 19 March 2007
Abstract
A solar-assisted forced convection dryer was developed to study the effect of airow rate (2.43,
5.25, 8.09 kg/min), air temperature (55, 65, 75 1C), and fraction of air recycled (up to 90%) on the
total energy requirement of drying of onion slices. The dryer was provided with a at plate solar air
heater having both the corrugations and triangular ns to the absorber plate. For drying of onion
slices from initial moisture content of about 86% (wet basis) to nal moisture content of about 7%
(wet basis), the energy required per unit mass of water removed during without using recirculation of
air was found between 23.548 and 62.117 MJ/kg water. The percent energy contribution by the solar
air heater, electrical heater, and blower was found between 24.5% and 44.5%, 40.2% and 66.9%,
and 8.6% and 16.3%, respectively. The savings in total energy due to fraction of air recycled were
determined at 65 and 75 1C air temperature for the above three airow rates. The maximum saving in
total energy up to 70.7% was achieved by recycling of the exhaust air. The energy required per unit
mass of water removed was found between 12.040 and 38.777 MJ/kg water. The percent energy
contribution by the solar air heater, auxiliary heater, and blower was found between 22.4% and
40.9%, 33.6% and 62.6%, and 11.2% and 37.2%, respectively.
r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Solar-assisted dryer; Drying of onion; Recycling of air; Energy requirement
1. Introduction
Use of solar energy for drying crops saves conventional fuels and also offers the
advantage of less pollution. Experiments conducted in many countries have clearly shown
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E-mail address: pnsarsavadia@yahoo.com.
that solar energy can effectively be used to dry agricultural crops. Solar dryers with normal
collectors generally provide low-grade heat and, thus, are good for agricultural crop drying
purposes as it meets the requirement of high airow rate with small temperature rise.
Sodha et al. [1] shown that the dryers using conventional solar air heaters with lifespan of
10 or more years are economical when compared with those using wood, oil or electricity.
In India, sliced onion is commercially dried in trays in a cabinet-type mechanical dryer or
in a continuous belt dehydrator. In these dryers, electricity is used to drive blowers, and
fuel wood or fuel oil is used for heating air. The hot air is forced through the bottom of the
trays and passed through the onion bed. Onion slices are generally dehydrated from initial
average moisture content of about 86% (wet basis, w.b.) to nal moisture content of about
7% (w.b.) or less for efcient storage and processing.
Onion is generally harvested in the months of February or March when the solar energy
is available in plenty. Therefore, solar energy may be substituted for fuel wood or fuel oil
in the dehydration process of onion. However, onion cannot be directly exposed to sun for
dehydration as it deteriorates the quality of the dried product [2]. Dehydration of onion
only using a natural convection solar dryer takes more than 12 h, which is very high
compared to mechanical drying which takes about 5 h [3]. It is also noted that the large
drying period for which the product is exposed to the atmospheric oxygen has an adverse
effect on some quality aspects like reduction in ascorbic acid, etc. Because of the
uncertainty in the availability of the solar radiation, it can be best utilized as a
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Nomenclature
a
w
water activity
c drying constant
C
ga
constant of GAB, Eq. (2)
COD coefcient of determination
F
r
fraction of air recycled (%)
GAB Guggenheim, Anderson, and deBoer
k drying rate constant (l/min)
K
ga
constant of GAB Eq. (2)
_ m mass ow rate (kg/min)
M moisture content of the material at any time t, dry basis (decimal)
M
eq
equilibrium moisture content of the material, dry basis (decimal)
M
f
nal moisture content of the product, dry basis (decimal)
M
in
initial moisture content of the product, dry basis (decimal)
M
m
monolayer moisture content, dry basis (decimal)
MR moisture ratio
t drying time (min)
T temperature (1C)
T
ab
absolute temperature of drying air (K)
v airow velocity (m/s)
W humidity ratio of air (kg/kg)
Z
c
daily average efciency of the solar collector (decimal)
w
2
chi-square
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2530
supplementary source of energy in the indirect mode forced convection solar drying of
onion. Moreover, it is also now fully realized that instead of stand-alone solar systems, the
hybrid systems using a suitable combination of renewable energy and conventional energy
sources will be more appropriate from the cost and reliability point of view for the
industrial application. This will also provide the uniform air temperature for better quality
end product.
The hot air used for drying purposes becomes humid after drying and has generally been
exhausted to the ambient air. The exhaust air, in spite of being more humid, still has
signicant energy content and can be reused for drying to conserve energy by its partial
recirculation. Partial recirculation of the exhaust air also seems to more fully utilize its
drying potential and to offer promise for reducing further energy consumption. Harner et
al. [4] found improved efciency of energy utilization in peanut curing by partial
recirculation of air. Cook et al. [5] reported 20% energy saving in recirculating dryers
without increasing drying time. Young [6] also found 36% energy saving by partial
recirculation of air in peanut drying. Chung et al. [7] found that energy saving increased
from 12.9% to 57.3% with the increase of recirculation of dehumidied air from 10% to
80% in a rice drying system. Soponronnarit et al. [810] used up to 90% recycled air for
drying of papaya glace, banana, and pineapple glace.
With the increased energy cost in the drying process, studies on the effect of recycling of
the drying air have become important for the drying of onion. Very less information on the
effect of recycled drying air for the drying of onion is available in the literature. Keeping
the above background in mind, the present research work was undertaken to develop a
solar-assisted forced convection dryer using electrical energy for the auxiliary heating and
running of a blower facilitated with an exhaust air-recirculating duct for onion
dehydration. The total energy requirement and the contribution to the total energy by
the solar collector, auxiliary heater, and blower for drying of onion were determined
experimentally. Energy savings due to the fraction of air recycled for dehydration of onion
were also determined.
2. Materials and methods
Fresh, medium-grade (5570 mm diameter), fully matured white onions (Allium cepa-L,
variety: Agri found white-1) were used for the study. Experiments on the energy required
to dry onion slices and energy contributed by the solar air heater, electrical heater, and
blower were determined separately using without any recirculation of air and using partial
recirculation of exhaust air with the help of a solar-assisted forced convection dryer
specically developed for the purpose. For without recirculating exhaust air, the
experiments were conducted at three levels each of drying air temperatures (55, 65, and
75 1C) and airow rates (2.43, 5.25, and 8.09 kg/min) corresponding to three levels of air
velocity in the drying chamber (0.3, 0.65, and 1.00 m/s). The effect of fraction of exhaust
air recycled was studied by conducting the experiments at two levels of drying air
temperature (65 and 75 1C) and above three levels of airow rates. The fractions of air
recycled at air mass ow rates of 5.25 and 8.09 kg/min were chosen to be 25%, 50%, 75%,
and 90% whereas, at the air mass ow rate of 2.43 kg/min, the fractions were chosen to be
25%, 50%, and 75% only. At air mass ow rate of 2.43 kg/min, for 90% recirculation of
the drying air, the air drawn from the collector will be only 0.24 kg/min and contribution
by the solar air heater will be insignicant. Therefore, a total number of 31 experiments
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P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2531
were conducted. In the onion dehydration process, slices of thickness varying between 2.5
and 5.0 mm are used [11]. The maximum thickness of 5.0 mm slices was considered for the
study, as it will provide the benchmark information on upper limit to the energy required
for dehydration. Similar thickness was considered by Rapusas et al. [12]; and Sarsavadia
et al. [13] for the study of drying behavior of onion.
2.1. Solar-assisted forced convection dryer
The schematic diagram of the solar-assisted forced convection indirect dryer is shown in
Fig. 1. It consists of mainly a solar air heater, solar air heater outlet trapezoid, a centrifugal
blower, auxiliary heating chamber, drying chamber, plenum chamber, drying chamber
outlet trapezoid, and recirculating duct. Fig. 2 shows a photograph of the solar-assisted
forced convection dryer. The specications of the developed drying system comprising
each main component are given in Table 1.
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Fig. 1. Sectional details of solar-assisted forced convection dryer.
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2532
A nned-type corrugated at plate solar air heater (2120 1030 mm) with single glass
cover was developed to preheat the air. Fig. 3 shows the cross-sectional view of the solar
air heater. It consists of a U-corrugated aluminum absorber (0.5 mm thick, painted dull
black) of size 2040 940 mm provided with triangular ns, insulation, and GI (0.9 mm
thick sheet) outer cover box. A rectangular air duct underneath the absorber was
formed by providing a rear plate (bottom plate) below the U-corrugated aluminum
absorber at a spacing of 35 mm to each other. The U-shaped, 15 corrugations (10 mm
wide and 10 mm deep) were provided on the absorber plate parallel to the direction
of airow. Aluminum triangular ns (0.2 mm thick) were tted to the backside of
absorber between each corrugation. The south-facing solar at plate collector was
installed at an angle of 301 with horizontal. Solar air heater outlet trapezoid was provided
to collect and guide the preheated air to the blower. The inner trapezoid was also made
from the 0.5 mm thick aluminum sheet. Glass wool insulation of 50 mm thickness was
provided between rectangular duct and outer GI box as well as between inner and outer
trapezoid.
A centrifugal blower having 8.0 m
3
/min capacity was used to circulate the air through
the solar-assisted dryer. The blower was operated with the help of a single-phase, 1 hp, and
2800 rpm electric motor. A gate valve (V2) was provided for regulating the airow rate.
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Fig. 2. Photograph of solar-assisted forced convection dryer.
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2533
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Table 1
Specications of the solar-assisted drying system
No. System/components Specications
Size of the drying system: 2800 2800 1070 mm
1. Solar air heater
Type Finned-type corrugated
Size (casing) 2120 1030 130 mm (Al, 0.9 mm)
Absorber plate and duct 2040 940 mm (Al, 0.5 mm) rectangular duct, top and bottom plate spaced
35 mm
Absorber coating Painted dull black color
Corrugations U-type, 15 corrugations (10 mm wide 10 mm deep, spaced 60 mm center to
center), parallel to direction of airow
Fins Triangular (Al, 0.2 mm)
Glazing 2070 970 4 mm, single glass, 35 mm above the absorber
Insulation Glasswool (50 mm)
Duct connector One end of duct (opening area, 940 35 mm) coupled to solar air heater
outlet trapezoid using neoprene gasket
2. Solar air heater outlet trapezoid
Absorber duct end Inside: 940 35 mm (Al, 0.5 mm), outside: 1040 135 mm (GI, 0.9 mm)
GI pipe duct end Inside: 80 mm diameter, supported by ange, outside: 180 180 mm (GI,
0.9 mm)
Length 500 mm
Insulation Glasswool (50 mm)
3. Centrifugal blower Capacity: 8 m
3
/min, 1, 1 hp, 2800 rpm electric motor operated
4. Auxiliary heating chamber
Size 550 420 380 mm (MS, 3 mm), inner-lined with asbestos sheet (4 mm)
Electrical heater Six in no., each 1 kW capacity
Insulation Glasswool (30 mm)
5. Drying chamber
Size Inside: 350 350 mm (Al, 0.5 mm), outside: 550 530 mm (GI, 0.9 mm)
Height 800 mm
Insulation Glasswool (100 90 mm)
Drying tray Five in no., 350 345 25 mm, spaced vertically 65 mm, chicken wire mesh
(0.5 mm, 3.5 3.5 mm opening)
Front door 470 600 mm, with sponge rubber sealing
End connections A rim of 590 610 mm with gasket provided to both ends
6. Plenum chamber
Drying chamber end Inside: 350 350 mm (Al, 0.5 mm), outside: 450 450 mm (GI, 0.9 mm)
GI duct band end Inside: 80 mm diameter, supported by ange, outside: 180 180 mm (GI,
0.9 mm)
End connections A rim is provided to drying chamber end and 80 mm diameter ange
coupling with gasket is provided to other end
Insulation Glasswool (50 mm)
Height 500 mm
7. Drying chamber outlet trapezoid
End connections Similar to that of plenum chamber
Height 300 mm
8. Duct pipe 80 mm diameter GI pipe, band, etc. (glasswool insulated, 30 mm)
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2534
Mixed air, from the solar air heater and recirculating duct, was further heated to required
constant temperature in the auxiliary heating chamber (550 420 380 mm) made of
3 mm thick MS plate. Six electrical heaters each having 1 kW capacity was suitably
installed in the auxiliary heating chamber. The temperature of the drying air entering in the
drying chamber is controlled by regulating the voltage supplied to the electrical heaters of
auxiliary heating chamber with the help of variable autotransformers. Energy meters
(520 A loading capacity) were suitably connected to the blower and electrical heaters of
auxiliary heating chamber to measure the conventional energy consumption.
A vertical drying chamber (350 350 800 mm, inside) was provided for keeping the
sample holding trays through which the hot air passed from the bottom tray to the top
tray. Five drying trays (350 345 25 mm) were stacked evenly at a vertical spacing of
65 mm to each other in the drying chamber. A door (470 600 mm) was provided with
locking arrangement on one side (front side) of the drying chamber for loading and
unloading of trays. A trapezoidal-shaped plenum chamber is provided below the drying
chamber to help in maintaining proper distribution of air. The drying chamber outlet
trapezoid was provided above the drying chamber to guide the exhaust air properly into
atmosphere through a gate valve (V3). A recirculating duct pipe was provided to
recirculate the exhaust air. A gate valve (V4) was used to regulate the recirculating air. The
inner side of all the chambers was also made from 0.5 mm thick aluminum sheet and the
outer box of the chamber was made from GI sheet (0.9 mm thick) provided with 50 mm
glass wool insulation. All the components were connected through 80 mm diameter GI
pipe. All the pipes, valves, blower, and auxiliary heating chamber were insulated by about
30 mm thick glass wool insulation protected by wire mesh and thin plastic lm.
2.2. Sample preparation
Onions were hand peeled and sliced (5 mm thick) at right angle to the vertical axis with
the help of hand-operated slicing machine. The slices were brined by steeping in 5% NaCl
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Fig. 3. Sectional details of nned-type corrugated solar air heater.
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2535
solution for 10 min to prevent browning. After draining the solution, the surface water was
removed by lter paper. The initial moisture content of the onion sample was determined
by the vacuum oven method. About 2 kg of onion slices were loaded in single layer in all
the ve trays of the drying chamber.
2.3. Drying test
For achieving stable environmental condition of temperature at particular airow
rate in the drying chamber, the dryer was operated at no-load conditions at least 1 h
before loading. Drying trays were lled with the prepared slices in single layer. For
determining the moisture loss data, instead of weighing entire contents of each of
the drying tray, each drying tray was provided with a smaller tray (100 100 mm) holding
four slices. The drying state of the contents of each drying tray was determined by
measuring weight of the corresponding four slices placed in all the ve smaller trays.
For all the runs, the loading was carried out at 9:00 a.m. daily. The temperatures at
different locations of the dryer were recorded (by using 3852A, Hewlett-Packard
data acquisition unit) with the help of copperconstantan thermocouples. The dry bulb
and wet bulb temperatures of the inlet and exhaust air of the drying chamber and
ambient air were recorded in addition to the dry bulb temperatures of the air at the
outlet of the collector, outlet of auxiliary heating chamber and each of the ve drying
trays. Solar irradiance was measured by means of a pyranometer (National Instruments,
India, calibration factor 7.5 mV/W/m
2
) placed in the plane of the solar air heater. A hot
wire anemometer was used to measure the wind velocity. All the observations were
measured at 15 min interval. The drying run was stopped when the nal moisture content
reached about 7% (w.b.).
2.4. Product moisture content
The moisture content of onion was predicted with the help of single-term exponential
model given as
MR
M M
eq
M
in
M
eq
c expkt. (1)
The equilibrium moisture content of onion, M
eq
, can be obtained from the well-known
GAB equation [14] given as follows:
M
eq

M
m
C
ga
K
ga
a
w

1 K
ga
a
w
1 K
ga
a C
ga
K
ga
a
w

. (2)
The average air properties between the space of air of the ve trays were considered and
computed as per the equations presented by Wilhelm [15] from observed values of the dry
bulb and wet bulb temperatures measured at a distance of 25 mm below the bottom tray
and above the top tray.
Sarsavadia et al. [13] determined the value of thin-layer drying constant of onion,
variety: Agri found white-1 as c equal to 1.01 and the dependence of drying rate constant,
k, on drying air variables (temperature, velocity, and humidity) was developed in the
form of Arrhenius-type model and used for predicting the moisture content of onion. The
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P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2536
equation is written as follows:
k 47:57v
0:31
W
0:20
exp
3034
T
ab

(3)
COD; r
2
0:988 and w
2
1:02 10
7
for 0.25 m/spvp1.0 m/s, 50 1CpTp80 1C, and 0.0075 kg/kgpWp0.0640 kg/kg.
Based on the drying rate, the total energy required per unit weight of water was
computed considering the contribution by all the three components supplying energy to
the air, i.e. solar air heater, electrical heater, and blower.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Thermal performance of the solar air heater
Thermal performance of the solar air heater was evaluated experimentally at six
different airow rates on six different clear sunny days covering whole day from 9.00 a.m.
to 6.00 p.m. The inlet air temperature was taken to be equal to ambient temperature, as
inlet air was directly drawn from the ambient. The maximum outlet air temperature of 73.0
and 48.2 1C was obtained from the collector for the lowest (0.53 kg/min) and highest
(8.09 kg/min) airow rates, respectively. The maximum air temperature rise of 38.2 and
11.2 1C was obtained at the lowest and highest airow rates, respectively.
For various natures of climatic parameters, Lunde [16], and Ting and Shove [17] explained
the use of average collector efciency over the desired time period. Soponronnarit et al. [9]
developed a relation between daily average collector efciency and the air mass ow rate. A
correlation between the daily average collector efciency and the airow rate for the present
study is established [18] in the form of an equation given by
Z
c
0:8141 exp0:518 _ m
a
, (4)
for 0.53 kg/minp_ m
a
p8.09 kg/min.
The average daily efciency of the collector varied between a minimum value of 22%
and a maximum value of 81% indicating a good performance of the collector.
3.2. Experimental conditions
During all the experimental runs, ambient temperature, wind velocity, and relative
humidity ranged between 23.0 and 39.9 1C, 0.9 and 3.6 m/s, and 17.5% and 62.6%,
respectively. Maximum solar irradiance (around noon hours) varied between 843 and
998 W/m
2
. Fig. 4 shows the variation of ambient conditions with time of day during the
experimental run conducted at 65 1C drying air temperature, 2.43 kg/min airow rate, and
75% fraction of air recycled (run no. 12).
Experimental drying conditions in terms of drying air temperature, air mass ow rate,
fraction of air recycled, and elapsed drying time with their initial and nal moisture
contents for all the 31 experiments are given in Table 2. It is seen from the table that the
elapsed drying time for all the experimental runs ranged between 225 and 555 min. The
amount of total air required per unit mass of dry onion ranged between 2627 and 12328 kg
during all the experimental runs. As expected, it is seen from Table 2 that the total amount
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P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2537
of air required per unit mass of dry onion decreased with increase in drying air temperature
while increased with increase in airow rate. The total amount of air required per unit mass
of dry onion is increased marginally with increase in fraction of air recycled.
3.3. Drying behavior
Drying behavior is shown by plotting the curve between the mean moisture content of
onion of all the ve trays and elapsed drying time. Fig. 5 shows the variation of mean
moisture content with drying time for different fractions of air recycled at 65 1C drying air
temperature and 0.65 m/s air velocity. It is obviously observed from the gure that the
moisture content is decreased faster at the initial stages of drying and thereafter became
slower as drying proceeds. It is seen from the gure that the drying rate decreased
marginally with the increase in fraction of air recycled. It is also observed from these curves
that the predicted moisture content (Eq. (1)) agreed closely with its measured values.
3.4. Exhaust air temperature and relative humidity
Fig. 6 shows the variation of experimental and predicated values of exhaust air
temperature with drying time at different airow rates and at 55 1C drying air temperature.
It is seen from these curves that the exhaust air temperature increased faster during the
initial stage of drying and became almost constant during the nal stage of drying. The
value of exhaust air temperature is higher for the higher airow rate in the initial stages of
drying and is almost same for all the airow rates during the nal stage of drying. Likewise
variation of exhaust air temperature with drying time for airow rate of 5.25 kg/min and
air temperature of 65 1C in the drying chamber for different fractions of air recycled is
shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen from the gure that no signicant difference is observed in
the variation of exhaust air temperature with drying time at different fractions of air
recycled.
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9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
500
600
700
800
900
S
o
l
a
r

I
r
r
a
d
i
a
n
c
e

(
W
/
m
2
)
Time of day (h)
1
2
3
4
5
6
W
i
n
d

V
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

(
m
/
s
)
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
A
m
b
i
e
n
t

R
H

(
%
)
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
A
m
b
i
e
n
t

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

C
)
Fig. 4. Variation of ambient conditions with time of day during the experiment conducted at 65 1C drying air
temperature, 2.43 kg/min airow rate, and 75% fraction of air recycled (&: solar irradiance; J: ambient
temperature; W: ambient RH; : wind velocity).
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2538
Similarly, variation of the exhaust air relative humidity with drying time at different
airow rates and air temperature of 55 1C is shown in Fig. 8. It is seen from Fig. 8 that the
relative humidity of the exhaust air is higher in the beginning of drying and decreased with
drying time as drying proceeds and became constant in the nal stage of drying. This is
because the higher drying rate of the onion during initial stage of drying results in release
of more moisture in the drying air. It is also observed from the gure that during the initial
stage of drying, the relative humidity of the exhaust air is higher for the lower airow rate.
Though, at lower airow rate, the rate of release of moisture from the product is lower, the
decrease in dry bulb temperature of exhaust air is higher, resulting in higher relative
humidity of the exhaust air. This also means that the effect of decrease in air temperature
dominates over the effect on the relative humidity.
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Table 2
Experimental drying condition and drying time with their respective initial and nal moisture contents of the
onion slice for solar-assisted drying of onion
Run
no.
T
(1C)
v (m/s) F
r
(%)
Air mass ow rate Air mass
(kg/(kg dry
onion))
Weight of
the sample
(kg)
M
0
(% d.b.)
M
f
(% d.b.)
t
(min)
kg/min kg/(minkg
dry onion)
1 55 0.30 00 2.43 07.67 4258 2.2722 616.50 8.10 555
2 55 0.65 00 5.25 17.90 8594 2.1347 628.33 7.42 480
3 55 1.00 00 8.09 28.34 12328 2.0809 628.86 6.89 435
4 65 0.30 00 2.43 08.21 3201 2.1478 624.64 7.95 390
5 65 0.65 00 5.25 16.66 5749 2.3103 633.68 7.56 345
6 65 1.00 00 8.09 26.55 7566 2.2103 624.99 7.52 285
7 75 0.30 00 2.43 08.43 2654 2.0846 623.14 8.06 315
8 75 0.65 00 5.25 17.86 4554 2.1244 649.93 8.14 255
9 75 1.00 00 8.09 28.33 6374 2.0993 630.33 7.77 225
10 65 0.30 25 2.43 07.72 3127 2.2940 627.86 7.89 405
11 65 0.30 50 2.43 07.94 3333 2.2250 625.50 6.99 420
12 65 0.30 75 2.43 08.29 3608 2.1385 629.06 7.83 435
13 65 0.65 25 5.25 16.52 5698 2.3709 646.06 8.05 345
14 65 0.65 50 5.25 16.47 5927 2.3891 649.42 7.48 360
15 65 0.65 75 5.25 17.19 6445 2.2852 648.60 7.56 375
16 65 0.65 90 5.25 17.26 6730 2.2443 637.90 7.36 390
17 65 1.00 25 8.09 26.30 7494 2.2169 620.38 8.35 285
18 65 1.00 50 8.09 25.91 7773 2.2680 626.22 7.98 300
19 65 1.00 75 8.09 27.09 8939 2.2126 640.74 7.23 330
20 65 1.00 90 8.09 27.75 9573 2.1568 639.43 7.38 345
21 75 0.30 25 2.43 07.96 2627 2.2661 641.30 7.35 330
22 75 0.30 50 2.43 08.21 2709 2.2103 645.69 7.80 330
23 75 0.30 75 2.43 08.35 2881 2.1633 642.54 7.82 345
24 75 0.65 25 5.25 17.05 4605 2.2553 640.38 7.66 270
25 75 0.65 50 5.25 16.38 4669 2.4029 650.10 7.35 285
26 75 0.65 75 5.25 16.44 4687 2.3813 646.22 7.54 285
27 75 0.65 90 5.25 17.04 5111 2.2968 645.46 6.51 300
28 75 1.00 25 8.09 27.39 6574 2.1882 640.64 7.41 240
29 75 1.00 50 8.09 26.30 6311 2.3240 655.29 7.86 240
30 75 1.00 75 8.09 26.19 6679 2.3455 659.48 6.87 255
31 75 1.00 90 8.09 28.03 7147 2.1707 652.02 6.94 255
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2539
3.5. Specic energy required
Fig. 9 shows the variation of energy required with drying time at different drying air
temperatures and airow rate of 2.43 kg/min. It is seen from Fig. 9 that the energy required
is lower at higher levels of drying air temperature. It is obviously observed that as drying
proceeds the required energy is also increased.
Fig. 10 shows the variation of energy required per unit mass of water removed with
mean moisture content at different fractions of air recycled for 75 1C drying air
temperature and 5.25 kg/min airow rate. It can be seen from this gure that energy
required per unit mass of water increased with the decrease in mean moisture content of
ARTICLE IN PRESS
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
40
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
56
58
E
x
h
a
u
s
t

A
i
r

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

C
)
Drying Time (min)
Fig. 6. Variation of exhaust air temperature with drying time at different air velocities for 55 1C air temperature
(&: 2.43 kg/min; +: 5.25 kg/min; J: 8.09 kg/min).
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
M
e
a
n

M
o
i
s
t
u
r
e

C
o
n
t
e
n
t
,

(
d
e
c
i
m
a
l

d
.
b
.
)
Drying Time, (min)
Fig. 5. Variation of mean moisture content with drying time at different fractions of air recycled for 0.65 m/s air
velocity and 65 1C air temperature (W: 0%; : 25%; J: 50%; +: 75%; &: 90%; : predicted).
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2540
the onion slice. This is in keeping with the normal drying behavior of biological materials
and can be explained by realizing that the drier is the product, more will be the energy
needed per unit mass of water removed for further drying. It can be seen from Fig. 10 that,
at any stage of drying, the energy required at given mean moisture content, as expected, is
lower for higher levels of fraction of air recycled.
3.6. Total specic energy required
Total energy required per unit mass of water as well as energy contributed by solar air
heater, auxiliary heater, and blower for dehydration of the onion slices from an initial
moisture content of about 86% (w.b.) to nal moisture content of about 7% (w.b.) at
different temperatures, airow rates, and fraction of air recycled is given in Table 3.
During without using recirculation of air, at a given air temperature, the contribution to
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50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
0.050
0.075
0.100
0.125
0.150
0.175
0.200
0.225
0.250
E
x
h
a
u
s
t

A
i
r

R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e

H
u
m
i
d
i
t
y

(
d
e
c
i
m
a
l
)
Drying Time (min)
Fig. 8. Variation of exhaust air relative humidity with drying time at different airow rates for 55 1C air
temperature (&: 2.43 kg/min; +: 5.25 kg/min; J: 8.09 kg/min).
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
54
56
58
60
62
64
E
x
h
a
u
s
t

A
i
r

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

C
)
Drying Time (min)
Fig. 7. Variation of exhaust air temperature with drying time at different fractions of air recycled for 5.25 kg/min
airow rate and 65 1C air temperature (W: 0%; : 25%; J: 50%; +: 75%; &: 90%).
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2541
the energy by each of the energy contributing components (i.e. solar air heater, auxiliary
heater, and blower) increased with increase in airow rate. The increase in the contribution
to the total energy by auxiliary heater is much larger than the increase by the blower and
solar air heater. It is also seen that, at a given air mass ow rate, the contribution to the
total energy by the solar air heater, auxiliary heater, and blower decreased with increase in
temperature. This is due to the fact that the total drying time is reduced as the drying air
temperature is increased.
The percent energy contribution (Table 3) provided by the solar air heater, auxiliary
heater, and blower ranged between 24.5% and 44.5%, 40.2% and 66.9%, and 8.6% and
16.3%, respectively. At a given drying air temperature, the percent energy contribution by
the solar air heater decreased while that of auxiliary heater increased with increase in
airow rates of the drying air. This is understandable because at higher airow rates, the
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
E
n
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R
e
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i
r
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d

(
M
J
/
k
g

w
a
t
e
r
)
Mean Moisture Content (decimal d.b.)
Fig. 10. Variation of energy required with mean moisture content at different fractions of air recycled for 5.25
kg/min airow rate and 65 1C air temperature (W: 0%; : 25%; J: 50%; +: 75%; &: 90%).
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
E
n
e
r
g
y

R
e
q
u
i
r
e
d

(
M
J
/
k
g

w
a
t
e
r
)
Drying Time (min)
Fig. 9. Variation of energy required with drying time at different air temperatures for 2.43 kg/min airow rate
(&: 55 1C; +: 65 1C; J: 75 1C).
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2542
temperature of the air at the collector outlet will be decreased and hence the outlet air from
the collector will be required to be heated by the auxiliary heater by larger temperature
difference. At a given airow rate, but at different drying air temperatures, very less
difference in the percentage contribution to the total energy by the solar air heater is
observed. For a given set temperature of the drying air, percent energy contribution by the
auxiliary heater is decreased with increase in airow rates due to reduction in total drying
time. The percent energy contribution by the auxiliary heater is increased with increase in
temperature of the drying air, as the auxiliary heater will have to heat the preheated air
from the collector by large temperature difference.
The total energy per unit mass of water ranged between 23.548 and 62.117 MJ/kg water
at the highest air temperature of 75 1C and lowest airow rate of 2.43 kg/min, and lowest
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Table 3
Total energy required (E
MJ/kg water
) and energy contribution of solar collector, electrical heater, and blower for
solar-assisted drying of onion
Run
no.
T (1C) v (m/s) F
r
(%) Energy contribution (MJ/(kg water)) Total
energy
(MJ/
(kg water))
Energy
saving
(%)
Solar air
heater (%)
Electrical
heater (%)
Electrical
blower (%)
1 55 0.30 00 17.941 (44.5) 16.229 (40.2) 6.193 (15.3) 40.364 00.0
2 55 0.65 00 18.586 (36.6) 24.786 (48.8) 7.438 (14.6) 50.810 00.0
3 55 1.00 00 18.996 (30.6) 35.195 (56.7) 7.927 (12.8) 62.117 00.0
4 65 0.30 00 12.031 (42.7) 11.561 (41.0) 4.609 (16.3) 28.201 00.0
5 65 0.65 00 12.403 (32.5) 20.998 (55.0) 4.802 (12.6) 38.203 00.0
6 65 1.00 00 12.562 (25.0) 32.690 (65.1) 4.973 (09.9) 50.225 00.0
7 75 0.30 00 10.088 (42.8) 09.745 (41.4) 3.715 (15.8) 23.548 00.0
8 75 0.65 00 10.994 (32.4) 19.188 (56.4) 3.799 (11.2) 33.981 00.0
9 75 1.00 00 11.545 (24.5) 31.716 (66.9) 4.092 (08.6) 47.353 00.0
10 65 0.30 25 09.255 (39.6) 09.488 (40.6) 4.642 (19.8) 23.385 16.4
11 65 0.30 50 07.536 (37.9) 07.499 (37.7) 4.841 (24.4) 19.875 29.0
12 65 0.30 75 04.668 (28.0) 06.814 (40.9) 5.915 (31.1) 16.676 40.4
13 65 0.65 25 11.095 (37.0) 14.049 (46.9) 4.831 (16.1) 29.975 21.5
14 65 0.65 50 09.870 (40.9) 09.309 (38.6) 4.927 (20.5) 24.106 36.9
15 65 0.65 75 06.987 (37.1) 06.438 (34.2) 5.426 (28.7) 18.851 50.7
16 65 0.65 90 03.495 (22.4) 06.308 (40.4) 5.820 (37.2) 15.623 59.1
17 65 1.00 25 12.568 (32.4) 21.123 (54.5) 5.085 (13.1) 38.777 22.8
18 65 1.00 50 11.319 (38.4) 13.052 (44.2) 5.146 (17.4) 29.517 41.2
19 65 1.00 75 08.473 (39.5) 07.229 (33.6) 5.688 (26.6) 21.351 57.5
20 65 1.00 90 04.473 (25.3) 06.934 (39.2) 6.290 (35.5) 17.697 64.8
21 75 0.30 25 07.456 (39.3) 07.802 (41.0) 3.734 (19.7) 18.992 19.6
22 75 0.30 50 05.661 (36.5) 05.998 (38.7) 3.846 (24.8) 15.505 34.3
23 75 0.30 75 03.580 (28.2) 05.061 (39.9) 4.048 (31.9) 12.690 46.3
24 75 0.65 25 10.432 (38.1) 13.129 (47.9) 3.846 (14.0) 27.407 19.4
25 75 0.65 50 08.205 (39.1) 08.918 (42.4) 3.899 (18.5) 21.022 38.1
26 75 0.65 75 05.684 (37.7) 05.299 (35.2) 4.080 (27.1) 15.064 55.7
27 75 0.65 90 02.692 (22.4) 05.067 (42.1) 4.281 (35.6) 12.040 64.6
28 75 1.00 25 09.634 (26.2) 23.018 (62.6) 4.099 (11.2) 36.751 22.4
29 75 1.00 50 08.973 (33.1) 14.005 (51.7) 4.102 (15.2) 27.080 42.9
30 75 1.00 75 07.104 (39.3) 06.786 (37.5) 4.097 (23.2) 18.087 61.8
31 75 1.00 90 03.878 (28.0) 05.413 (39.0) 4.581 (33.0) 13.872 70.7
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2543
air temperature of 55 1C and highest airow rate of 8.09 kg/min, respectively. This suggests
that from energy point of view, the drying should be undertaken at higher permissible
drying air temperature and lower airow rate. As the airow rate increased from 2.43 to
8.09 kg/min, the total energy required increased by 53.9%, 78.1%, and 101.1% at 55, 65,
and 75 1C of the drying air temperature, respectively. Likewise, as the drying temperature
increased from 55 to 75 1C, the total energy required decreased by 41.7%, 33.1%, and
23.8% at airow rates of 2.43, 5.25, and 8.09 kg/min, respectively. The effect of airow rate
and drying air temperature on total energy required is also shown graphically in Figs. 11
and 12, respectively. Total energy required increased with increase in airow rate and
decreased with increase in drying air temperature.
The total energy required per unit mass of water during recirculation of air is also given
in Table 3. It can be seen from the table that the total energy ranged between 12.040 and
38.777 MJ/kg water removed. It can be seen that the total energy decreased with increase in
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
T
o
t
a
l

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y

R
e
q
u
i
r
e
d

(
M
J
/
k
g

w
a
t
e
r
)
Air Mass Flow Rate (kg/min)
Fig. 11. Effect of airow rate on total energy required (&: 55 1C; +: 65 1C; J: 75 1C).
55 60 65 70 75
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
T
o
t
a
l

E
n
e
r
g
y

R
e
q
u
i
r
e
d

(
M
J
/
k
g

w
a
t
e
r
)
Air Temperature (C)
Fig. 12. Effect of air temperature on total energy required (&, 2.43 kg/min; +, 5.25 kg/min; J, 8.09 kg/min).
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2544
fraction of air recycled. This clearly indicated that with proper choice of drying air
parameters one could reduce the energy requirement for drying of onion signicantly.
Fig. 13 shows the effect of air mass ow rate on total energy required at different
fractions of air recycled for 65 1C drying air temperature. The total energy required
increased with increase in air mass ow rate at all the levels of fraction of air recycled.
Likewise, Fig. 14 shows the effect of fraction of air recycled on the total energy required at
different airow rates for 75 1C drying air temperature. The total energy required
decreased with increase in fraction of air recycled.
The percent saving of total energy required for drying of onion slices per unit mass of
water removed by recycling of the drying air can be calculated by comparing the obtained
values of total energy required with the respective values of zero percent fraction of air
recycled and is also given in Table 3. Savings in energy up to 70.7% can be achieved with
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
T
o
t
a
l

E
n
e
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R
e
q
u
i
r
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d

(
M
J
/
k
g

w
a
t
e
r
)
Air Mass Flow Rate (kg/min)
Fig. 13. Effect of air mass ow rate on total energy required at different fractions of air recycled for 65 1C air
temperature (W: 0%; : 25%; J: 50%; +: 75%; &: 90%).
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
T
o
t
a
l

E
n
e
r
g
y

R
e
q
u
i
r
e
d

(
M
J
/
k
g

w
a
t
e
r
)
Fraction of Air Recycled (%)
Fig. 14. Effect of fraction of air recycled on total energy required at different airow rates for 75 1C air
temperature (&: 2.43 kg/min; +: 5.25 kg/min; J: 8.09 kg/min).
P.N. Sarsavadia / Renewable Energy 32 (2007) 25292547 2545
recycling of the hot exhaust air (for T 75 1C, _ m 8.09 kg/min, and F
r
90%). It is
observed that savings in energy increased with increase in the fraction of air recycled,
airow rate, and drying air temperature. Percent contribution of energy provided by the
solar air heater ranged between 22.4% and 40.9%. Percent energy required by the electrical
back-up heater and blower ranged between 33.6% and 62.6%, and 11.2% and 37.2%,
respectively.
4. Conclusions
The developed solar-assisted forced convection dryer operated well for dehydration of
onion slices for the controlled conditions of drying air temperatures and airow rates
similar to those employed in commercial onion dehydration. The dryer is also facilitated
with recirculation of exhaust air. The total energy required for drying of onion slices
increased with increase in airow rate and decreased with increase in drying air
temperature. For drying of onion slices from initial moisture content of about 86%
(w.b.) to nal moisture content of about 7% (w.b.), the total energy required per unit mass
of water ranged between 23.548 and 62.117 MJ/kg water during without using any
recirculation of air. The percent energy contribution by the solar air heater, electrical
heater, and blower to the total energy requirement ranged between 24.5% and 44.5%,
41.0% and 66.9%, and 8.6% and 16.3%, respectively.
The total energy required for drying the onion slices ranged between 12.040 and
38.777 MJ/kg water for the experiments conducted using partial recirculation of exhaust
air. The percent contribution to the total energy required by the solar air heater, electrical
back-up heater, and blower ranged between 22.4% and 40.9%, 33.6% and 62.6%, and
11.2% and 37.2%, respectively. Total energy decreased with increase in fraction of air
recycled. The maximum savings in total energy up to 70.7% can be achieved with recycling
of the hot exhaust air.
Acknowledgments
The author gratefully acknowledges to the vice-chancellor for deputation granted to him
by the Gujarat Agricultural University, Sardar Krushi Nagar (Gujarat), India.
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