Double-Pass Solar Collectors with Porous Media Suitable for Higher-Temperature Solar-Assisted Drying Systems
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 1
Abstract
A high-performance solar collector suitable for a solar-assisted drying system was designed, fabricated, and tested. Solar-assisted drying systems consist of the solar collector array, auxiliary heater, drying chamber, and the air distribution systems. The solar collector was a double-pass solar collector and has upper and lower channels. The lower channel of the solar collector was filled up with porous media, which also acts as a storage medium. The outlet temperature and the performance of the system increased with the presence of the porous media. The collector width and length are 120 and , respectively. The upper channel depth is and the lower channel depth is . The solar collector array consists of six solar collectors, arranged as two banks of three collectors in series. The collectors were joined in series using internal manifolding. A temperature of can be reached at a solar radiation level of , ambient temperature of , and mass flow rate of . The solar-assisted drying system was used for drying of oil palm fronds from moisture content of about 63% to moisture content of about 15%, for a drying time of about . The overall system efficiency is about 25%.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 1 • March 2007
Pages: 13 - 18
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 7, 2005
Accepted: Sep 7, 2005
Published online: Mar 1, 2007
Published in print: Mar 2007
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