Design and Development of a Low-Cost Parabolic Type Solar Dryer and its Performance Evaluation in Drying of Kingfish – A Case Study in Oman

Dry fish is a rich source of proteins and nutrients and can be eaten in many forms. Oman is one of the important fish producers in the world, and there is a high demand for Oman fish in neighboring countries. The Fishery sector is considered an important economic development sector in the Sultanate of Oman. In the fishery sector, the use of technology is not up to the mark because of less awareness of technology applications among Omani fishermen. Also, there is a demand for more cold storage in different regions to store fresh fish, which has not materialized yet. Similarly, there is a demand for perfect and cheap technology in Oman for dry fish to improve the profit of the fishermen. Solar energy is abundantly available in Oman, and there are many possibilities for its use in domestic and industrial applications. Since sunlight is available throughout the year, converting it into thermal or electrical energy is possible. Electricity can be produced by photovoltaic principle (PV) or indirectly with concentrated solar power. Similarly, it is possible to use solar concentrators for many thermal applications. The solar dryer is used to dry fruits, vegetables, leaves, clothes, etc. If any of the items are dried with the help of solar energy, then we can save a lot of non-renewable energy sources and help improve the country’s economy. The sun can, at least seasonally at Oman’s latitudes, provide a substantial part of the energy needed for various applications. In this work, a solar dryer is proposed to be used to make high-quality dry fish. Using a parabolic concentrator to dry the fish is an effective solution, an innovative idea for the fishermen. The temperature variation in the dryer is directly proportional to the solar intensity. The tracking mechanism combines electronic and mechanical design to track the sun automatically. In this work, a parabolic concentrator with an automatic tracking mechanism was designed, and a performance analysis was done. In the design, copper tubes are used for heat transfer, and then the hot fluid is circulated in the box, which is used to dry the kingfish. As per the experiment, solar collector efficiency obtained from the solar dryer is 77.9%, and the overall efficiency obtained is 33.1 %, and it took three days to dry kingfish of 20kg. There are many advantages in parabolic type solar concentrators related to the quality of dryness in the fish and the time taken to dry the fish, which are elaborately discussed in this paper. This solar dryer technology will improve the green environment, reduce carbon footprint, and save non-renewable sources for the Sultanate of Oman for extended periods.