Evaluation of factors affecting the solar thermal dehydration process

Abstract

The purpose of this research was the design, construction and evaluation of a prototype for dehydration of fruits and vegetables using solar thermal energy. An experimental, descriptive and correlational study was carried out. The prototype was designed in the Sketchup program, and a data collection sheet was created in Excel containing all the variables of interest. Sensors were placed in different parts of the prototype to measure the variables. The results show a significant effect of solar radiation to decrease the drying time of the onion, as well as a significant correlation between temperature, wind speed, radiation and drying time (r= -0.81; p = 0.0001), (r= -0.59; p = 0.0039), (r= 0.60; p = -0.0221). It is concluded that the drying time of onion is acceptable taking into account that the tests were carried out in days with little radiation and with the presence of rain, the drying time was determined by the significant correlation between radiation, wind speed and temperature of the camera.