Experimental study of regenerative desiccant integrated solar dryer with and without reflective mirror

An indirect forced convection with desiccant integrated solar dryer has been built and tested. The main parts are: a flat plate solar air collector, a drying chamber, desiccant bed and a centrifugal blower. The system is operated in two modes, sunshine hours and off sunshine hours. During sun shine hours the hot air from the flat plate collector is forced to the drying chamber for drying the product and simultaneously the desiccant bed receives solar radiation directly and through the reflected mirror. In the off sunshine hours, the dryer is operated by circulating the air inside the drying chamber through the desiccant bed by a reversible fan. The dryer is used to dry 20 kg of green peas and pineapple slices. Drying experiments were conducted with and without the integration of desiccant unit. The effect of reflective mirror on the drying potential of desiccant unit was also investigated. With the inclusion of reflective mirror, the drying potential of the desiccant material is increased by 20% and the drying time is reduced. The drying efficiency of the system varies between 43% and 55% and the pick-up efficiency varies between 20% and 60%, respectively. Approximately in all the drying experiments 60% of moisture is removed by air heated using solar energy and the remainder by the desiccant. The inclusion of reflective mirror on the desiccant bed makes faster regeneration of the desiccant material.