Solar Dryers

A sustainable approach is necessary in the context of the increasing energy crisis. The food processing sector should explore renewable energy resources to replace traditional and energy-intensive unit processes, such as drying. Solar energy for food drying remains promising in reducing energy consumption, cost-effectiveness, and rural application. However, a significant technological gap exists in building low-cost, energy-efficient dryers for high-quality food processing. The efficient use of thermal energy necessitates proper design and equipment selection for a solar dryer. Understanding the drying process‘s mechanics is crucial in dehydrating food and agricultural materials. Advanced computer-based modeling & and simulation methods can help design new types of dryers, modify the existing systems, decrease energy consumption, and optimize processes. During the drying of food products, food quality (water content, cracking development, and case hardening.) is also a significant characteristic that can be enhanced using appropriate models. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a well-known modeling technique that has recently gained popularity in food processing. CFD can forecast the hydrodynamics of fluid flow, heat transfer, and mass transfer during drying. The foundations, benefits, and limitations of using CFD to model drying processes, with a focus on food dehydration, are examined in this chapter. Although unit operation drying is still growing, CFD is emphasized to predict future food drying processes, such as infrared and superheated steam drying, microwave-assisted drying, and typical convective drying systems.