Experimental analysis of solar fish dryer using phase change material

The drying process for food preservation is very general for a number of agriculture and food products. Drying is a better option than refrigeration of food products with respect to the cost and complexity of devices. As energy consumption is a crucial issue in case of food preservation methods, a dryer uses non-conventional energy like solar energy to ensure minimum investment and reliability. The comparative study of some of the available solar dryers shows that the solar dryer relatively reduces the drying period of products through the sensible use of heat storage materials like Rock Bed, Pebbles etc. The application of Phase Changing Material (PCM) as an energy storage in solar air drying process has a large scope for experimentation and investigation. The basic objective of the present experimental investigation is to establish a solar Air dryer as a means for fish drying, assisted by the Phase Changing Material, and to investigate the effect of PCM on heat availability, heat utilization and drying kinetics of fish. Hence, experimental investigation was done to assess the comparative effect of two Phase Changing Materials having different melting points. Temperature range and moisture content are the key factors in any drying process. The other perspective of using PCM is to control the temperature inside the dryer as fish cannot sustain the temperature more than 62 degrees C. The statistical and experimental analysis confirms the enhancement in drying process and substantial decrease in drying period.