Passive solar dryers play a crucial role in reducing
postharvest
losses in fruits and vegetables, especially in regions like sub-Saharan
Africa with low electrification rates and limited financial resources.
However, the intermittent nature of solar energy presents a significant
challenge for these dryers. Passive solar dryers integrated with thermal
energy storage (TES) can reduce intermittence and improve the drying
efficiency. Currently, phase change materials (PCMs) are popular heat
storage materials in dryers, and paraffin wax dominates. The main
problem with the use of PCMs is that it is necessary to closely constrain
the temperature range of the process during charging and discharging.
This can be a difficult condition to meet in simple solar dryers due
to the variable availability of solar radiation. Instead, solid-phase
materials, such as sand and rocks, are often used. Soapstone is one
of the natural rocks with good thermal properties, but it has yet
to be used as a TES material in solar dryers for drying agricultural
products. Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to
develop a novel solar dryer integrated with soapstone as a TES material
and evaluate its performance. The proximate analysis to examine the
quality of dried products using the developed technology was also
carried out. The comparative experiments for the developed dryer were
conducted in two modes: dryer with TES materials and without TES materials,
and the results were compared with open sun drying (OSD) by drying
50 kg of fresh pineapple and carrot at different times. The drying
times for pineapples in the dryer with TES, without TES, and OSD were
13, 24, and 52 h, respectively. However, the drying times for carrots
in the dryer with TES, without TES, and OSD were 12, 23, and 50 h,
respectively. Notably, the dryer integrated with TES materials could
supply heat for around 3–4 h after sunset. The thermal efficiency
of the dryer, collector efficiency, and storage efficiency of TES
materials were calculated and found to be 45, 43, and 74.5%, respectively.
Proximate analysis indicated that the dryer integrated with TES materials
effectively maintained the quality of the dried products compared
to OSD. Solar dryer integrated with soapstone showed great promise
as sustainable and efficient solutions for reducing postharvest losses
and enhancing food security in resource-constrained regions like sub-Saharan
Africa.