Chapter VI

SOLAR ASSISTED CROP DRYERS

FOR PADDY, FLOWERS AND KENAF

Ooi Ho Seng
Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development Institute (MARDI)

INTRODUCTION

Malaysia is situated just north of the Equator and the average daily
radiation received is about 4.5 kW-hm-2 (Ong, 1977). The daily ambient
temperature ranges from 25 to 34 degrees Centigrade while the relative
humidity ranges from 60 to 95%. The average total annual rainfall for
Peninsular Malaysia is about 2400 mm while that for East Malaysia is
about 3800 mm.

Drying is one of the most critical operation in crop production and the
most commonly used method of crop drying is sun-drying. The traditional
practice of crop drying is to spread it on the ground where it is exposed to
the effects of sun, wind and rain. It is also subject to insect infestation,
mould growth and contamination with dirt. In addition it is vulnerable to
theft and damage by birds and rats. Of all the disadvantages, the most
critical one is rewetting by flash rain which in this country is not only of
high intensity but is also highly unpredictable.

PADDY DRYING BACKGROUND AND REQUIREMENTS

Private millers have specially constructed drying floors for paddy sun-
drying. The floors are usually made of concrete with a fairly smooth and
hardwearing surface. The paddy is spread in a thin layer on the floors and
raked at intervals, 7-8 times during the day, to facilitate even drying. At
night the paddy is heaped into rows and covered with a plastic sheet to

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prevent rewetting. On rainy days, private millers make use of mechanical

dryers to dry their paddy.
Previous work by the author on sun-drying has shown that paddy can be
dried from 26-28% moisture to 14% moisture (wet basis) at depths of 50-
100 mm at a rate of 3-4 kg/m².h for stirred paddy and 1.5-2.5 kg/m².h for
unstirred paddy. During a sunny day at around midday, the grain
temperatures can reach as high as 60°C resulting in grain cracking and a
drop in head rice recovery. From the studies carried out, it was found that
there was an average drop of 2.2 % in head rice recovery after sun-drying
(Ooi, 1976). During the wet season and on a rainy day, drying to 17-18%
moisture and then temporarily stored for 15-30 days before final drying is
suggested (Ooi, 1976 ; Ooi 1979). Drying of paddy to safe storage
moisture level will prevent the wet paddy from germinating and
deteriorating in quality.
Millers need to dry their own paddy to facilitate grain cleaning and to
maintain its quality (Ooi, 1976). The problem of lack of sun-drying space
can be overcome by the use of the paddy box dryer that uses waste engine
heat and supplementary solar heat for low temperature paddy drying for
temporary storage (Ooi, 1980).

FLOWER DRYING BACKGROUND AND REQUIREMENTS

A critical operation in dried flower and foliage production is drying the

flowers immediately after harvest at a low temperature (below 50 °C)
inside a dark drying chamber. This is so ensure that the quality of the
flower (in terms of minimal fading of colour and loss of fragrance) is
retained and that the dried flower stays that way over a longer period of
time of at least 3-6 months. The hang and dry method is currently being
developed by MARDI to produce dried flowers for floral arrangements.
The drying-storage shed is made of corrugated zinc roof with partly
covered corrugated zinc side walls. Electric fans are used to provide the
required air movement around the hung bunches of foliage and flowers.
With this shed design, the drying environment is not well sealed from light
and the drying air condition fluctuates widely following closely the
variation in the ambient air condition. The dried flowers produced are
generally of medium to low quality. Research work on the design and
development of an experimental dehumidifier dryer and an experimental
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solar dehumidifier dryer are being carried out to increase the efficiency of
the hang and dry method of drying as well as to improve on the quality of
dried flowers produced. These studies are carried out to investigate the
feasibility of dehumidifier drying of flowers without and with solar energy
(Ooi, 1998 ; 1999 ; Ooi and Ong, 2001 ; Ong and Ooi, 2002)

KENAF DRYING BACKGROUND AND REQUIREMENTS

Drying of kenaf crop for animal feed production is being studied by

MARDI to establish the drying protocol and to select the drying
equipment that will enable 5-6 weeks old kenaf at approximately 85%
moisture content (wet basis) to be dried to 10% for safe storage or 20% for
pelleting. The pelleting process will reduce the moisture content further to
around 10% for safe storage. The drying process must ensure that the leaf
protein (ca. 20%) is not destroyed or denatured and the colour should
remain green and not turn dark or black.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Apart from knowing the crop drying requirements as discussed above, a
good understanding of the drying principles and parameters involved is
necessary in the design of a suitable crop dryer. The major drying
parameters and technical considerations in the design of the crop dryers
include a) speed of drying b) temperatures of drying air and crop, c)
drying air humidity and ventilation, and d) uniform crop drying.

a) Speed of drying
For a good-quality product, the crop must be prepared for drying as soon
as possible after harvesting. Paddy of 24% (wet basis) and above will
begin to germinate within 48 hours unless dried very soon to safe storage
moisture content of 14% wet basis (Ooi, 1976). Similarly, flowers and
kenaf should be dried without delay. They may be dried rapidly, but not so
fast that the outside becomes hard before the moisture inside has a chance
to evaporate. Where possible, drying should not be interrupted as not only
is heat and energy is lost during cooling, mold and other spoilage
organisms may grow on partly dried crop.

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b) Drying air and crop temperatures

During the first part of the drying process, the air temperature can be
relatively high if the crop is wet, that is, 150 degrees to 160 degrees F. (65
degrees to 70 degrees C.), so that moisture can evaporate quickly from the
crop. During the rapid evaporation of moisture, the crop is losing heat
rapidly (to provide for the latent heat of vaporization) and the drying air
temperature can be high without increasing the temperature of the crop.
But as soon as surface moisture is lost (the outside of the crop begins to
feel dry) and the rate of evaporation slows down, the temperature of the
crop begins to increase. The air temperature must then be reduced to
below 140 degrees F. (60 degrees C.). Toward the end of the drying
process, the temperature should be adjusted so that it is just high enough to
reduce the humidity of the dying air to evaporate the moisture from the
crop and not to scorch it

c) Drying air humidity and Ventilation

Rapid dehydration is desirable. The higher the temperature, the lower will
be the drying air humidity and the more rapid is the rate of dehydration.
Humid air slows down evaporation. If drying takes place too fast, "case
hardening" will occur. This is when the cells on the outside or surface of
the crop gives up moisture faster than the cells on the inside. The surface
becomes hard and prevents the moisture from escaping from the inside.
Moisture in the crop is released to the drying air by evaporation and
drying can no longer take place when the drying becomes saturated. It is
therefore essential that adequate ventilation be provided to remove the
moisture saturated air and replace it with unsaturated air for drying to
continue.

d) Uniform crop drying

To dry the crop uniformly, the crop should be stirred or moved around
frequently in the dryer. This is essential because heat, air flow and drying
rate are usually not the same in all parts of the dryer. Ideally the crop
should be spread in thin layers of uniformly sized pieces to achieve the
best drying results.

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DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF SOLAR ASSISTED PADDY

DRYING SYSTEM
The commercially available box dryer has a drying bed measuring 8 ft x 8
ft (2.4 m x 2.4 m) in area with a bed depth of about 1.0 ft (0.3 m). The
drying air is heated using a kerosene or diesel burner and is blown into the
box dryer using an engine-driven fan. In the solar assisted dryer design, a
duct was made to fully enclose the engine and to direct the heated air
(heated by the waste engine heat and exhaust) into the box dryer. Two
other ducts were made for the solar- heated air to be similarly blown into
the box dryer. A slight modification of this design is as shown in Figure 1
(extracted from Ooi, 1980) where a tangential blower is used instead of
the axial flow fan and a much larger duct or enclosure is provided to
enclose the whole powertiller.
The corrugated roof can be made of galvanized iron or transparent acrylic.
When the corrugated galvanized iron sheets were used, the dryer behaved
as a bare plate solar heat collector with the galvanized iron sheets acting as
the solar heat absorber heating the air in the wooden box below it as
shown in Figure 2.
When the more expensive corrugated transparent acrylic sheets were used,
the dryer behaved as a glazed solar heat collector with the corrugated
galvanized iron sheet, that was painted black, acting as the solar heat
absorber plates (Figure 3). The vertical wooden connecting ducts shown in
Figure 1 were later replaced with the flexible and more appropriate canvas
ducts.

Figure 1 : Batch dryer using waste engine heat and supplementary solar heat

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Corrugated galvanized iron sheet

solar heat absorber plate

Air inlet

Air outlet Wooden box

Figure 2. Bare plate solar heat collector

Corrugated transparent acrylic sheet Corrugated galvanized iron sheet

black solar heat absorber plate

Air inlet

Air outlet Wooden box

Figure 3. Glazed solar heat collector

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL

SOLAR ASSISTED FLOWER DRYING SYSTEM

The experimental solar-dehumidifier dryer is a dual drying system

consisting of a solar box dryer of size 3.0m x 1.22m x 1.3m (Ong, 1991),
into which is incorporated a 0.825 kW dehumidifier unit (Ooi and Ong,
2001). The walls, doors and bottom of the dryer box are constructed from
insulated panel (made of 50 mm polyurethane layer fully laminated on all
sides with metal sheets). The top of the box is covered with a 4 mm thick
glass (surface area of 3.6 m2) that is fixed at an inclination of 7 degrees
facing South along the North-South direction (Figure 4).

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In let air 0.82 5 W G lass C orrugated plate X

vent D ehum idifier U nit solar absorber 1.1 m 3 D rying ch am ber

A ir flow 150
In sulated
box

A xial flow 600

fan
X X A ir ven t
W eighing
P latform
D isch arge 115 0
A ir vent

30 00

A ll d im ension s in m m
X indicates sensors p ositions

Figure 4a : Sectional view of the experimental solar dehumidifier dryer

The solar heat collector is made of a corrugated galvanized iron (G.I.)

sheet that is painted black to increase its coefficient of heat absorption
(Figure 4). The black corrugated G.I. sheet is placed at about 0.15 m
below the glass which is transparent to the short wavelength solar
radiation but not transparent to the long wavelength radiation from the hot
black G.I. sheet. The drying chamber has a capacity of 1.1 m3 in which is
also placed a 0.825kW dehumidifier unit. Air circulation in the dryer box is
produced by a 30mm diameter axial flow fan which gives an air flow of up
to 2000 m3 h-1. A trolley rack is used for hanging the flower and foliage
bunches in the drying chamber.

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Figure 4b : The Photograph of the Experimental Solar Dehumidifier Dryer

Sensors and data logger are used to measure and monitor the temperatures
and relative humidity of the re-circulating air before and after drying the
flowers (Ooi and Ong, 2001). The total incident solar radiation is also
measured. A weighing platform is used to monitor and record the total
weight of the flowers during the drying process. A hole at the bottom of
the dryer box was made to allow the water condensed at the dehumidifier
unit to drain out through a plastic hose. This water was collected outside
the dryer box and weighed.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF SOLAR ASSISTED KENAF

DRYING SYSTEM
A solar assisted drying system concept, presently being studied for kenaf
drying for animal feed, is made up of solar pre-drying and conventional
batch dryer system. A rain-shelter over the drying floor is designed to
provide better control and more efficient use of the solar energy for drying
of the crop. Open sided natural ventilated rain shelters, that were designed
and constructed for vegetable production, are suitable for use as rain
shelters over the drying floors for pre-drying of very wet crops like kenaf.
Research on the design and construction these open-sided natural
ventilated rain shelters have been undertaken and reported
(Yeoh,1990,1992 ; Rezuwan 2000). Table 1 gives a comparison of the

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construction cost of different rain-shelter designs that use the same

transparent ultra violet resistant plastic roofing but different structural
frames (Rezuwan, 2000). Two simple rain shelter designs with wooden
structures are illustrated in Figure 5 (extracted from Yeoh, 1990). The cost
of construction of the open sided rain shelters of the sawtooth roof design
and of the gable roof design were reported as RM 9.67 and RM 9.19
respectively (1990 values).

Table 1 : Comparison of construction cost of different rain shelter designs

(1995 values).

Dimension Roofing Construction

Rain-shelter structure L x W x H (m) cost
(RM/m2)

Green pole/ bamboo 60 x 10 x 3.2 polyethylene film 05 – 10

frame
Sawn wood frame 60 x 10 x 3.2 polyethylene film 10 –25

Galvanised iron tube 60 x 10 x 3.2 polyethylene film 35 – 45

frames

OPERATING PRINCIPLES

Drying of the crop can only take place if the RH (relative humidity) of the
drying air is lower than the value of RH corresponding to the equilibrium
moisture content of the crop (Ooi 1976). The RH of the drying air can be
lowered from hA to hB by heating the air to increase its temperature from
TA to TB while its absolute humidity remains constant at HA (i.e. HB = HA)
as illustrated in the psychometric diagram in Figure 6. The theoretical
change in the drying air conditions during adiabatic drying is represented
along the line BC where sensible heat is changed to latent heat and air
temperature falls from TB to TC while the air RH increases from hB to hC
and the air absolute humidity increases from HB to HC. The crop drying
process for unheated air is represented along line AD. The moisture
extraction process by the dehumidifier unit is represented along line AE
while the theoretical adiabatic drying process is represented along the line
EF.

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OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR ASSISTED PADDY

DRYING SYSTEM

The design of the solar assisted paddy drying system, as described in

section 2.1, involves the use of an air duct to fully enclose the engine and
to direct the warm air that is heated up using the waste engine heat and
solar heat into a commercial box dryer. Low temperature drying of the
crop to 17-18% in the dryer box is carried out without the use of the
burner during sunny days. On rainy days, the commercially available box
dryer is operated as is. The operating principles of the two solar heat
collectors designs are discussed below.

Bare plate solar heat collector

The bare plate or unglazed solar heat collector design described above
(for low temperature paddy drying for temporary storage) and illustrated
in Figure 2 is one of the simplest solar heat collector design. With no
glazing, very little of the sun’s energy is reflected before it reaches the
absorber plate. However, a large portion of the heat absorbed is lost,
especially if it is subject to windy condition. The drying air is heated up as
it moves below the hot absorber plate of the solar heat collector.

Glazed solar heat collector

The glazed solar heat collector design, as illustrated in Figure 3, involves

the use of a transparent plastic (glass or other selective surfaces can also
be used) that allow the passage of short wave radiation into the dryer to
heat up the blackened solar heat absorber plate whilst preventing heat
from being radiated in the form of long wave radiation back to the
atmosphere. Acrylic corrugated roofing is chosen even though it is more
expensive than the normal plastic corrugated roofing as it allows a larger
amount of sunlight to pass through it and it remains clear over a much
longer period. Inlet air from the ambient is heated up as it is drawn over
the hot absorber plate of the solar heat collector.

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Figure 5 : Sawtooth roof rain shelter and gable roof rain shelter

OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF THE EXPERIMENTAL SOLAR

ASSISTED FLOWER DRYING SYSTEM
At the commencement of drying, the dryer is operated as an aerator to
remove the surface moisture from the flowers and foliage. The inlet and
outlet vents of the dryer are opened as shown in Plate1. Ambient air is
heated as it passes over solar heat collector absorber plate (black
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corrugated zinc sheet). The heated air is blown through the drying
chamber and then returns into the atmosphere. When the surfaces of the
flower and foliage appear dry, the inlet and outlet vents of the dryer box
are closed and the dehumidifier unit is activated (Refer Figure 4).

Figure 6 : Psychometric diagram of the crop drying process

The dehumidifier unit is made up of 4 main components, namely a heat

pump, a built-in fan for air movement inside the dehumidifier unit, an
auxiliary heating system and a control system. The heat pump is consisted
of a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator. The electrically driven

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compressor raises the pressure (and condensing temperature) of the

refrigerant vapour which is condensed in a heat exchanger (condenser)
where it gives up its latent heat at the higher temperature. The refrigerant
is then passed through an expansion device to lower its pressure and
temperature. As it evaporates at this temperature in a second heat
exchanger (evaporator), heat is taken from the low temperature source.
The vapour from the evaporator then enters the compressor and the cycle
is complete.

Moist air from the dryer drying chamber is drawn into the dehumidifier
unit by the built-in fan. As it passes through the evaporator of the
dehumidifier unit, the water vapour in the air is condensed as water and is
drained away. The latent heat removed from the air and water vapour is
picked up by the refrigerant of the dehumidifier unit. The cooled saturated
air then goes into the condenser of the dehumidifier unit where it is
reheated by the latent heat that is given up by the refrigerant at the
condenser. The reheating lowers the relative humidity of the air that is
exhausted from the dehumidifier unit.

The air that is exhausted from the dehumidifier unit is blown by the air
circulation fan into the solar heat collector where it is heated up and its
relative humidity is lowered. It is then passed into the drying chamber
where it pick up moisture as it passes through the bunches of flowers and
foliage. The moist wet air from the drying chamber is then drawn into the
dehumidifier unit to complete the cycle. The air inside the dryer is being
re-circulated till the flower and foliage are dried to the required moisture
content.

On rainy days, the inlet to and outlet from the solar heat collector are
closed and the dehumidifier is operated on its own to dry the crop. For this
purpose a higher capacity dehumidifier unit of 2-3 times the present
capacity (or by adding 1 or 2 more dehumidifier units) is needed for
drying the crop.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF THE SOLAR ASSISTED KENAF

DRYING SYSTEM

The main principle of operation of the rain shelter over the drying floor for
pre-drying of kenaf is to raise the temperature (and heat) of the crop that is

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spread over the drying floor and to remove the moist air by natural
ventilation. The air flow is induced by the ‘stack’ effect in which hot air
rises and is drawn upwards through the openings in the roof, while
drawing in cooler air from the side below. A fan can be used to assist in
the air flow and the removal and replacement of the moist air. Stirring of
the crop is done manually. The aim is to keep the capital investment cost
low even though mechanized stirring technology is available. In the joint
MARDI –JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) R&D project on
feed processing from oil palm fronds, an automatic stirrer, that moves
along the length of the drying floor and stirs the crop at selected time
intervals during the drying process, has been installed.

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
The performance of a solar heat collector may be quantified by its
collection efficiency; i.e. the ratio of the heat gathered by the collector to
the total radiation incident on its surface. The collection efficiency is a
function of the air velocity through the collector, the geometry of the air
duct, the absorptivity of the absorper surface, and the transmissivity of the
glazing or cover. The crop drying efficiency on the other hand is
dependent on the drying air temperature, drying air velocity and physical
condition of crop such as moisture content, size, etc

Performance analysis of solar assisted paddy drying system

The bare plate solar heat collector is simple in design and low cost in
construction. It is suitable for use at farms and mills for low temperature
drying of paddy and other crops on sunny days. It is capable of operating
at a collection efficiency of up to 30-45% for an airflow of 0.10 kg/s.m².
With an average daily radiation of 4.5 kW-hm-2 (as mentioned above), the
collector is capable of raising the drying air temperature by 5-10°C to give
heat outputs of 0.15-0.20 kW/m² of the collector plate area. On the other
hand, the glazed solar heat collector is capable of operating at a higher
collection efficiency of up to 50-60% and it can raise the drying air
temperature by up to 10-20°C depending on the air flow rate to give heat
outputs of 0.20-0.25 kW/m² of the collector plate area.

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Performance analysis of solar assisted flower drying system

The results of a typical test on the experimental solar dehumidifier dryer

are presented in Figure 7 (Ooi and Ong 2001 ; Ong and Ooi, 2002). After
2 hours of aeration to remove the surface water, the dehumidifier unit is
used in combination with solar drying to dry the hang flowers. The results
showed that a 18.5 kg/24 hour capacity dehumidifier unit can be used in
combination with a 3.6m2 solar heat collector for drying 3.8 kg of hung
flowers from 79% to 34% w.b. (wet basis) over 4 sunny day. A separate
experiment on an experimental dehumidifier dryer system equipped with a
81.5 kg/24 hour capacity dehumidifier unit has shown that the dryer
system can dry 4.8 kg of wet foliage and flowers from 76% to 28% w.b.
in 8 hours (Ooi and Ong 2001 ; Ong and Ooi, 2002). Therefore, additional
1 to 2 higher capacity dehumidifier units should be provided and used on
rainy days while a smaller capacity unit can be used in combination with
the solar heat collector during sunny days.

Performance analysis of solar assisted kenaf drying system

Studies on the performance of solar drying of crop on cement drying

floors inside a rain-shelter showed that there is no significant difference
between drying in the open under the direct sun and drying inside an open-
sided transparent roof structure under natural ventilation situation. The
results of a typical test that was carried out are presented in Figure 8. It is
noted that drying rate is higher under direct sun for the first 12 hours.
After 36 hours of drying, very little decrease in moisture content takes
place for both drying methods while some rewetting occurs during the
nights.

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
An economic analysis is usually carried out from the point of view of the
country as a whole. It is sometimes used to determine whether a project is
worth supporting by the government. Cost benefit analysis is used to
compare and select the different options that are available. The net
benefits of each option may be defined as the total benefits minus the total
costs. Often, the projects being compared are required to provide identical
services and benefits. In such cases, it is sufficient to just compare the
differences in the costs between the options as is done below.

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A financial analysis is usually undertaken from the point of view of the

individual operator, company or organisation which makes the investment.
It is needed to determine whether the project is profitable enough to
interest the operator(s) concerned. Sometimes a project has to be analysed
from both economic and financial viewpoints.

90

80
Moisture content (% wet basis)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Hours of drying (h)

Figure 7 : Flower drying curve in experimental solar dehumidifier drying

80

70

60 sun drying
Moisture content %w.b.

50
solar drying
40

30

20

10

0
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84

Hour of drying, h

Figure 8 : Kenaf drying curves in sun drying and solar drying

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Economic analysis of solar assisted paddy drying systems

A summary of the economic analysis of the solar assisted paddy drying

systems for drying wet paddy to 17% w.b. (wet basis) for temporary
storage before it is dried to safe storage moisture level of 14% w.b. using
the box dryer is presented in Table 2. The Depreciation costs, the Capital
costs and the R&M (repair and maintenance) costs of the solar assisted
systems take into account those of the box dryer as well. The total drying
cost per hour per square meter of the three drying systems (namely, Sun-
drying, Box Dryer with bare plate collector and Box Dryer with glazed
collector) for drying wet paddy to 17% moisture content wet basis are
RM0.12, RM1.61 and RM1.65 respectively. After the pre-drying, the box
dryer is used with the fuel burner to dry the paddy from 17% to 14%.

In the wet harvest, the crop has a moisture content of around 28 % w.b. as
compared to 24 % w.b. in a dry harvest. The amount of moisture to be
removed from the crop to dry it to 17% [Link] the wet harvest and for the
dry harvest are estimated at 133 kg/t and 84 kg/t respectively The heat to
be supplied to evaporate the moisture from the grains are estimated at 321
MJ/t and 203 MJ/t respectively. The daily total waste engine heat available
from the 5 hp diesel engine operated for 12 hours to drive the fan is
estimated at 12h x 23.2 MJ/h (Ooi 1976).

Solar assisted drying systems require higher capital investments than sun
drying. The net benefit obtained by the miller is estimated by the total
revenue from the dried crop minus the cost of drying. From the available
rainfall data, the probability of a rainless day in the Muda area during the
dry season harvest is estimated at around 0.9 as compared to around 0.5
during the wet season harvest. The miller would gain if he invests in the
mechanical dryer in a wet harvest but would lose in a dry harvest when
compared with sun drying. The dryer is less profitable than sun drying in
the dry harvest due to the higher capital costs involved. In the wet harvest,
a lower net income from sun drying is expected due to the higher losses
for the wetter grain.

Economic analysis of solar assisted flower drying systems

Economic analysis of solar assisted flower drying systems has not been
carried out as the work undertaken is still at the experimental stage. This

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will only be carried out after a commercial size shed has been designed,
constructed and evaluated. Table 3 gives the costs of parts and
components used to construct the experimental dryer.

Table 2 : Economic analysis of solar assisted paddy drying systems

Box Dryer
with bare
Sun plate Box Dryer with
drying collector glazed collector
Capital cost (RM) 3000.00 10,600.00 11,200.00
- Concrete drying floor 3000.00
(10x10m2) 400.00 -
- Galvanized sheet (20 m2) - 1000.00
- Acrylic sheet (20m2) 4200.00 4200.00
- Shed structure, air ducts, etc 6000.00 6000.00
- Box dryer (2.4 x 2.4 m)
Life (years) 15 5 10
Use with solar (hours/yr) 480 480 480
Other use - with fuel burner - 500 500
(hours/yr)
Interest rate (%) 10 10 10
Depreciation (RM/year) 200.00 3320.00 2920.00
Capital cost (RM/year) 150.00 560.00 530.00
Total Fixed Cost (RM/h) 0.73 3.93 3.55
Repair and Maintenance Cost 2.40 21.20 22.40
(RM/h)
Labour cost (RM/h) 9.00 3.00 3.00
Fuel cost (RM/h) - 0.50 0.50
Total drying Cost (RM/h) 12.13 32.16 32.99
Drying cost (RM/h/m2) 0.12 1.61 1.65
Solar Heat Collection Efficiency 40-60 30-45 50-60
Temperature increase (o C) 10-30 5-15 10-20

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Daily Solar heat collected (kW- 1.80-2.70 1.35-2.02 2.25-2.70

h/m2)
Mean Daily Solar heat collected 810 129.6 178.2
(MJ)
Daily Waste Engine heat (MJ) 278.4 278.4

Table 3 : Cost components of solar assisted flower drying systems

Experimental Solar
Part and component cost (RM) dehumidifier Box Dryer
Solar Dryer box 5,800.00
Blower Fan 900.00
Dehumidifier Unit 1900.00
Trolley 400.00

Economic analysis of solar assisted kenaf drying systems

A summary of the economic analysis of the solar assisted kenaf drying

systems for drying wet kenaf from 80-85% to 20% w.b. (wet basis) for
temporary storage before it is dried to safe storage moisture level of 10%
w.b. using the box dryer is presented in Table 4 below.

The discussion presented above for solar assisted paddy drying systems
more or less also applied for solar assisted kenaf drying systems. The total
drying cost per hour per square meter of the three drying systems (namely,
Sun-drying, Plastic roof floor drying and Acrylic roof floor drying) for
drying kenaf to 20% moisture content wet basis are RM0.11, RM0.56 and
RM0.65 respectively. After the pre-drying, the box dryer is used with the
fuel burner to dry the kenaf from 20% to 10%.

CONCLUSION
Private millers need to dry their paddy. The two solar assisted paddy
drying systems are simple in design and are suitable for low temperature
drying of wet paddy, under sunny weather conditions, to 17-18% moisture

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for temporary storage for 15-30 days before final drying. On rainy days,
the fuel burner has to be used and operated as a conventional box dryer A
major advantage of the bare plate solar heat collector design is that it can
be easily be incorporated into an existing roof of a paddy storage building
of the private rice miller. The glazed solar heat collector design is capable
of giving higher collection efficiencies but at a higher investment cost as
the acrylic corrugated roofing sheet is more expensive than the galvanized
iron corrugated roofing sheet. With the availability of the comparatively
cheaper locally produced ultraviolet-resistant transparent plastic sheets,
now widely used in rain shelter construction, the roof of existing grain
storage sheds can also be modified to use these plastic sheets in place of
the acrylic corrugated roofing sheets. The conclusions made for solar
assisted paddy drying systems may also be applied for solar assisted kenaf
drying systems.

Table 4 : Economic analysis of solar assisted kenaf drying systems

Plastic roof Acrylic roof

Sun drying rainshelter rainshelter
Capital cost (RM) 3000.00 4,100.00 5,000.00
- Concrete drying floor 3000.00
(10x10m2) 100.00 -
2
- Plastic sheet (5 x 4 m ) - 1000.00
- Acrylic sheet (5 x 4 m2) 4000.00 4000.00
- Structure, etc
Life (years) 15 5 10
Use with solar (hours/yr) 500 1000 1000
Interest rate (%) 10 10 10
Depreciation (RM/year) 200.00 820.00 500.00
Capital cost (RM/year) 150.00 205.00 250.00
Total Fixed Cost (RM/h) 0.70 1.03 0.75
Repair and Maintenance Cost 2.40 8.20 10.00
(RM/h)
Labour cost (RM/h) 9.00 3.00 3.00
Total drying Cost (RM/h) 11.40 11.20 13.00
2
Drying cost (RM/h/m ) 0.11 0.56 0.65

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Solar Assisted Crop Dryers for Paddy, Flowers and Kenaf

Tests carried out on the experimental solar dehumidifier dryer system for
drying flowers for floral arrangements showed that the experimental solar
dryer, equipped with a 18.5 kg/24 hour capacity dehumidifier unit
managed to dry 3.8 kg of wet foliage from 79% to 34% over 4 days in 4
stages. The results showed that the solar dehumidifier dryer is suitable for
drying of flowers for floral arrangements on sunny days. On rainy days, a
much larger capacity dehumidifier unit (or by adding 1 or 2 more units)
can be used on its own for dehumidifier drying of the flowers (Ooi and
Ong, 2001: Ong and Ooi 2002).

Low temperature drying has a major disadvantage in that after the crop is
dried to a certain moisture content, further reduction in moisture content is
very slow, inefficient and therefore also not cost effective. The
temperature of the drying air must therefore at this stage be raised to lower
the air humidity sufficiently for efficient drying of the crop to take place.
However adequate cooling must also be provided to prevent overheating
of the crop. The other alternative is to physically remove the moisture
from the drying air by using a commercial dehumidifier unit.

The advantages of the dehumidifier dryer system over the conventional

batch fuel fired dryer systems are : (a) Easily available electrical energy
supply (b) No need for facilities for fuel handling and storage (c) Minimal
risk of fire (d) Better quality dried products (e) Less product spoilage (f)
More uniform dried product and (g) Less environmental pollution

Solar crop drying technologies can help reduce environmental degradation

caused by the use of fuel wood or fossil fuels for crop drying. Among the
advantages of solar assisted crop drying system over the conventional
batch fuel fired dryer systems are: (a) solar energy is free, thus no air
heating costs once the system is installed (b) this system creates no
pollution (c) the fan system is the only moving part, making this system
virtually maintenance free and (d) low cost and easy installation

REFERENCES

- Ong, K.S. (1977) Utilisation of solar energy in Malaysia – some

prospective applications. IES/IEM Engineering Convention, 7-10 April
1977: Singapore
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Ooi Ho Seng

- Ong, K.S. (1991) Development of a solar box dryer. Bulletin of

Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) July 1991, pp5-9
- Ong, K.S. and Ooi, H.S. (2002) Performances of a dehumidifier and a
solar-assisted dehumidifier for drying of flowers. J. Tropical Agri. and
Food Science : MARDI
- Ooi, H.S. (1976) Investigation on low temperature on farm drying of
paddy in Malaysia. MARDI Res. Bull. 5 (1) pp 73-86 : MARDI
- Ooi, H.S. (1979) Economic evaluation of paddy drying using heat from
powertiller. MARDI Res. Bull. 7 (1) pp 66-74 : MARDI
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for local manufacture. MARDI Report 73 : MARDI
- Ooi, H.S. (1998) Machinery for production of dried and pressed flowers.
Paper presented to MARDI Scientific Council on 10 November 1998,
MARDI, Serdang
- Ooi, H.S. (1999) Machinery for commercial production of dried flowers.
Paper presented at National Conference on Engineering Smart Farming
for the next Millennium, 14-16 March 1999, U.P.M., Serdang
- Ooi, H.S and Ong, K.S. (2001) Performance of solar dehumidifier drying
of flowers, Proceedings of Second Asian Oceanic Drying 2001
conference, pp 331-342
- Rezuwan, K. (2000). Design and Development of Naturally Controlled
Tropical Green Houses for High Value Vegetables and Fruits
Production. Proceedings Of National Horticultural Conference 2000:
MARDI
- Yeoh, K.C. (1990). Plastic-Roofed Rainshelters For Vegetable
Production In The Lowlands. Teknologi Kejuruteraan Pertanian. Jil 1. Pp
25-31: Mardi
- Yeoh, K.C. (1992). Design and construction of rainshelters. Food and
Fertiliser Technology Centre. Teipei City, Republic of China on Taiwan.
Extension Bulletin No. 350.

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