Energy and exergy analysis of a mixed mode solar dryer without using storage material

Solar dryer dehumidifies the moisture for food preservation using solar radiation. In this paper, performance evaluation of mixed mode solar dryer without storage device by using energy and exergy analysis tool has been presented. Experimental work on proposed design of mixed mode dryer has been carried out at Makurdi, Nigeria. Analysis has been performed by solving the model equation of solar radiation of Makurdi, Nigeria and mathematical model of solar cabinet dryer using Engineering Equation Solver. A solution of mathematical model will give the available useful energy and exergy of solar cabinet dryer. The performance of the system is evaluated by calculating energy utilized in the drying process using experimental data. The analysis highlights the energy losses, irreversibility, exergy losses and exergy destruction at different stages. Performance comparison of solar dryer with storage device and without a storage device is also discussed. It has been concluded that the mixed mode solar dryer with storage material is able to convert 39% of solar energy as the available useful energy of dryer and convert about 13% of useful energy to exergy of the dryer system. While dryer without a storage material converts 42% of solar energy into available useful energy and converts about 17% of available energy to exergy of the dryer. Comparison of both dryers shows that mixed mode dryer without storage material has twice the exergy as compared to the dryer with a storage material.