Experimental study of performance of a Forced convection Hybrid Dryer (Solar-electric)

In this research, an experimental analysis of an innovative hybrid dryer was carried out for medicinal plants. Dryer design was carried out according to product type, drying capacity and weather conditions of the area such as the amount of radiation per unit area, temperature and relative humidity of the air, Sunshine hours a day, The type of materials used in building solar energy collector and dryer chamber. According to the results, It was observed that the average increase in air temperature inside the collector chamber during the day for perfectly cloudy, semi-cloudy, and sunny atmospheric conditions was 15, 16 and 20 °C, respectively. The heat dissipation from the coating plate is 90% total thermal dissipation. The drying energy efficiency in experiments using solar thermal energy is about 36% and is estimated at 28% for experiments using thermal heater energy.