Development of a Dryer Coupled to a Solar Concentrator for Drying Food (Vegetables and Fruits) as a Sustainable Alternative to Reduce Post-Harvest Losses in Manica Province

The prevalence of problems related to food waste has gained significant global visibility today, with around 30% of food produced being wasted annually, compromising the sustainability of our planet in some way. In Mozambique, it is estimated that between 30% and 50% of food produced, mainly vegetables and fruits, decomposes in warehouses, with the aim of minimizing food waste, this article was developed, whose main objective is to develop a dryer coupled with a solar concentrator for drying food as a sustainable alternative for reducing post-harvest losses. This is an experimental study; however, thermometers and scales, both calibrated to monitor temperature variation and food mass during the drying process, were used to collect data, ensuring compliance with food safety standards. In addition, with the help of NASA data, values for weather conditions such as solar radiation, relative humidity, and wind speed were obtained from the point where the device was tested. Microsoft Excel was used for statistical data processing with the help of SigmaPlot software version 15.0. The results obtained reveal that the dryer coupled to the solar concentrator for drying foods such as okra, kale, tomatoes, bananas, and mangoes demonstrated compliance with expected standards, presenting good visual quality and moisture content in accordance with established recommendations, below 25% for dried fruits and 12% for dried vegetables. In terms of mass efficiency, the solar dryer ranged from 86.2% to 99.7% for different foods, demonstrating its viability in both rural and urban areas. This makes it an effective solution to combat food waste without relying on electricity, thus contributing to food security and reducing environmental impacts. The efficiency of the dryer, together with the solar concentrator, reached 61.0%, highlighting solar concentrators as a promising option for improving the efficiency of food drying using solar energy.