Design and Construction of a Hybrid System Solar Dryer for Agricultural Products

A significant portion of the agricultural products- around 30-40% - goes to waste in the production process, exacerbating global hunger and environmental challenges. This issue hits hardest in developing nations, where accessible and affordable preservation methods are lacking. While natural solar drying is a practical way to remove moisture from crops, it faces challenges like pests, fungal attacks, and unpredictable weather. This paper introduces an effective solution, a hybrid solar drying system, to transform food drying in rural areas. By adopting a more efficient and hygienic approach, it promises to enhance the quality of the final product, benefiting local communities. This hybrid system achieves an impressive 39.43% efficiency in drying 9 kg of ripe pepper in just 31 hours. The CFD model in Ansys Fluent has been utilized to assess the system's performance, focusing on temperature variations and sun irradiation over three days. This data empowers consumers to conduct controlled drying, safeguarding product quality throughout the process.