Experimental and thermodynamic analysis of solar air dryer equipped with V-groove double pass collector: Techno-economic and exergetic measures

•Thermodynamic model and experimental validation of v-groove solar dryer.•Optimum flow rate of air within the collector was obtained for maximum efficiency.•SEC was 3.01 kWh/kg at 0.041 kg/s with 59 % energy saving for apple drying compared with electricity driven heating.•Sustainability indices of the solar air collector and dryer are 1.50 and 1.047 respectively.•Energy payback period for the system is less than 1 year. Optimised solar air dryers, in terms of efficiency and performance, can solve some major concerns in the agro-industrial processing sector. Solar air dryers can reduce the large share of energy costs of a final product and can provide sustainable energy in rural areas where access to energy is often limited. In this study, a pilot scale v-groove double pass solar air collector has been analysed thermodynamically with real time solar radiation and mass flow rate (0.021–0.061 kg/s) inputs and validated experimentally in terms of first and second law efficiencies. Performance of the process was assessed using experimental drying measures including final moisture content, drying rate and exergy efficiency for drying of Pink Lady apples. Energy payback time and specific energy consumption were calculated to reveal the techno-economic value of the system. The maximum thermal efficiency of the collector was observed to be 88.8 % at 0.061 kg/s having exergy efficiency of 6.6 % which shows an efficient sourcing for the operation. In terms of the performance of the dryer, mass flow rate of 0.041 kg/s offers a higher moisture removal. Specific energy consumption (SEC) was 3.096 kWh/kg. Thermodynamic model was validated with matching experimentation with acceptable RMSE for the range of investigated measures. Energy payback period time calculated by the embodied energy of the system was obtained to be 0.78 years which implies that the system is capable of addressing a large capacity drying if it is to be scaled-up.