Experimental investigation of an indirect-mode forced convection solar dryer for drying thymus and mint

An indirect-mode forced convection solar dryer was designed and fabricated. The thermal performance of the solar dryer under Tanta (latitude, 30 degrees 47' N and longitude, 31 degrees E) prevailing weather conditions was experimentally investigated. The system consists of a double pass v-corrugated plate solar air heater connected to a drying chamber. A blower was used to force the heated air to the drying chamber. Drying experiments were performed for thymus (initial moisture content 95% on wet basis) and mint (initial moisture content 85% on wet basis) at an initial temperature of 29 degrees C. The final moisture contents for thymus and mint were reached after 34 and 5 h, respectively. Fourteen mathematical models of thin layer drying were tested to specify the suitable model for describing the drying behavior of the studied products. It was found that, Midilli and Kucuk model is convenient to describe the thin layer solar drying of mint. However, the Page and modified Page models were found to be the best among others for describing the drying curves of thymus. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.