Thermal performance studies for drying of Garcinia pedunculata in a free convection corrugated type of solar dryer

The present work focuses on drying of Garcinia pedunculata in an efficiently developed free convection corrugated solar dryer (FCCSD) and conventional open sun. The experimental solar drying results for two batches are presented. The moisture contents of Garcinia pedunculata in the dryer was reduced to 7.22% (wb) for the first batch and 7.1% (wb) for the second batch in 28 h from the initial of 88% (wb) of moisture content. Moisture content was reduced to 10.18% (wb) and 10.08% (wb) for the first and second batches respectively in 55 h in open sun drying. Midilli and Kucuk model was found the most suitable for drying process in the developed solar dryer. Two-Term model was suitable for open sun drying. The average thermal efficiencies of the solar dryer for the first and second batches were evaluated as 33.29% and 33.45% respectively. The average specific energy requirement and average thermal efficiency of the FCCSD were estimated as 68.00 kWhkg(-1) and 10.69% for the first batch 65.54 kWhkg(-1) and 10.77% respectively for the second batch. For the newly developed FCCSD, the payback period was estimated as 0.6 year. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.