A salient reduction of energy consumption and drying time in a novel PV-solar collector-assisted intermittent infrared dryer

Drier systems, as one of the high energy consumption systems, undertake a considerable amount of the energy consumption due to its wide applications in different industries such as agricultural process industries. In the present study, a solar assisted intermittent infrared dryer powered with a photovoltaic system has been built to investigate the effective parameters of dryer systems. Hence, the drying kinetic and temperature history of potato slices are studied in the thicknesses of 3, 5 and 7 mm at temperatures of 50, 60 and 70 °C. The obtained results are compared with the similar experiments of an infrared intermittent dryer. The results reveal that there is a reduction in the electrical energy consumption which is provided by a photovoltaic system in the range of minimum 40% to maximum 69%. In addition, a minimum 31% to maximum 52% salient reduction of the drying time has been observed with respect to infrared intermittent dryer. Finally, it is suggested using an assisted dryer for drying potatoes at the temperature of 50 °C.