DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLAR-POWERED FISH DRYER

In order to reduce the threat of food insecurity due to high rate of global food loss and waste, particularly post-harvest loss, along the various production and supply chains, a solar powered fish dryer was designed, fabricated and evaluated in Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State. The major components of the dryer include: 1.5KVA inverter, charge controller (PWM), 12V, 200Ah lead acid battery, 0.5kW heating element, PID and RTD temperature probe (thermocouple). The dryer has a volume of 553.3 x 106 mm3 with four drying cabins. The system was evaluated by using it to dry 40 kg of unsalted (USF) and salted (SF) cat fish for four (4) days. The results from the evaluation showed that the solar powered dryer preserved the nutrient of the fish while exploiting the solar energy available in the local environment to achieve the optimum dry efficiency of 72 % and the drying rate increases with increase in the battery voltage.