Drying Behaviour Investigation of Solar Dryer Using Polythene

Air is heated and any food item can be dried using the solar drying method, which also uses biomass energy. Drying aids in the preservation of agricultural products while reducing wastage. A solar-biomass hybrid dryer was consequently created to address the drawbacks of natural sun drying, including exposure to direct sunlight, risk of pests and rodents, inadequate supervision, and higher costs associated with mechanical dryers. In this project, a portable hybrid dryer is designed and built. It consists of a biomass combustion chamber integrated with a sun drying chamber that holds a rack of three trays. Through the air inlet, air is supplied into the solar chamber, where it heats up and is used for drying (i.e., removing moisture content from the food ingredient or agricultural product loaded). It is a solar and biomassbased hybrid drier since drying is continued using biomass energy when solar energy is not available. Pune is the design's geographic location, and climatic data were gathered to ensure appropriate design specifications. Glass, mild steel metal bars, acrylic sheets, aluminum foil, and aluminum fabrication material for the trays were among the locally accessible materials utilized in the construction