SOLAR TUNNEL DRYER

Natural sun drying is traditional practice for drying agriculture and agro-industrial products. This
method is unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. The reason is that there is no control over the
drying rate and quality of dried products resulting in damage of the Agricultural products such as
cracks and breakage, discoloration, loss of nutrition etc. The slow drying of the products results
in deterioration of food due to fungi and bacteria. Since the dryer based on conventional energy
are not cost effective and are dependent on regular supply of fuel therefore the alternate is the use
of Solar Dryer.

A solar tunnel dryer is a simple, convenient and efficient solar dryer at low cost for drying large
quantity of agricultural and industrial product on large scale . A natural convection solar tunnel dryer
is essentially a poly house framedwith UV stabilized polythene sheet. The products could be dried

under at least partially controlled environment and is large enough to permit a person to enter
into it and carry out operations such as to load and unload material to be dried. Solar radiation
which is the propagation of energy come out from sun, travel as a short wave radiation through
the atmosphere falls on the transparent cover UV stabilized polythene sheets and in turns enters
into it is absorbed by the material which are present inside tunnel dryer and in turns emit long
wave radiation which trapped inside the dryer. This results in trapping of radiations within the
STD and subsequent temperature rise. This particular effect is called green house effect and is
basic principle utilized in all solar thermal collectors. The solar tunnel dryer is very useful in all
type of climatic conditions.

Salient features of the solar tunnel dryer are as follows:

[1]

The semi-cylindrical shaped tunnel dryer having base area as calculated from
theoretically design criteria depending upon quantity of products dried and total quantity
of moisture removed. Low cost materials are used for its construction, which were having
rigidity, long life and superior thermal characteristics.

[2]

The metallic frame structure of the dryer is covered with UV stabilized semi-transparent
polyethylene sheet of 200-micron thickness. A gradient of 2 - 5 0 is provided along the
length of the tunnel to induce natural convection airflow.

[3]

The cement concrete floor is painted black for better absorption of solar radiation. Fivecm thick glass wool insulation is generally provided to reduce heat loss through the floor.
A black body is essentially installed to reduce heat losses from the northern side of the
tunnel. Inlets for fresh air are provided all along the periphery of the tunnel (except upper
end) near ground level. Upper end of the tunnel is provided with a steel door of at least
1.6 0.75 m size for loading and unloading of the material and exhaust fan of 1000
1200 m3 h 1 air flow rate capacity and 0.75 KW power rating (as per requirement of the
products). The exhaust fan operation is automatic to maintain average relative humidity
of the inside air between 30 40 per cent.

[4]

The number and size of chimney is decided on the basis of amount of moisture removed
on a day and drying rate required.

Advantages of solar tunnel dryer:

(1) Simple in construction and control of temperature & relative humidity
(2) Cheaper model for drying of commodity on a large scale
(3) Modular design according to specific needs
(4) Local artisans can fabricate the system
(5) All industrial and agriculture products having free moisture can easily be dried in this dryer
(6) This is a new concept for integrating renewable solar energy on a large scale
(7) There is a good potential for entrepreneurship through propagation of this technology
(8) All industrial and agricultural products can be dried in single day exposure with no cost of
operation (9) Loading and unloading of material on large scale is easier
( 10 ) Drying is fast as compared to other design of solar dryer.

Products usually dried in Solar Tunnel Dryer

Agro products : Grains, Vegetables, Spices and Fruits

Food products : Fish, Processed food items, Milk products
Chemicals: Pharma products
Industrial Products: Chemicals, Powder etc
Important applications:
More than 25 tunnel dryers have been installed by MPUAT in Rajasthan for drying of Agricultural and
Industrial Products of which some of the important installed dryers are
(1) Solar Tunnel Dryer for drying of Cotton- A solar tunnel dryer of size 17 3.75 m has been
installed at M/s Cotton Products of India, Ayed, Udaipur for drying 500 kg cotton from 40 per
cent moisture content to 5 per cent moisture content in one solar day.
(2) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Fruit & Vegetable A solar tunnel dryer of 123.75m has
been constructed at M/s Greengold, Village Vana, Panchayat Samiti Bhinder, Udaipur for drying
of 750 kg of fruit & vegetable in a batch.
(3) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Vegetable: One solar tunnel dryer of 5 3.75m to dry 250 kg
materials in two days is constructed at Temple Board, Sawalia ji, Bhadsoda, Chittorgarh for drying
of vegetable.
(4) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Ayurvedic Medicine: One solar tunnel dryers of 5 3.75m
for drying 500 kg of Ayurvedic medicine in one day has been installed at M/s Sadhana
Chemicals, Factory- Road No.1, E-109, Mewar Industrial Area, Madri, Udaipur.
(5) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Ayurvedic Medicine, Digested Churns & Tablets: One solar
tunnel dryer of 123.75m to dry 350 kg materials in two days, is constructed at M/S Dwarkesh
Pharma, Pur Road, Bhilwara for drying of Ayurvedic medicine, digested churan etc.
(6) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Stevia : One solar tunnel dryers of 8 3.75m having 8 m
height for drying 750 kg of Stevia in one day has been installed at M/s Nagneshia Herbal farm,
Village Odvadia, Post Devra, Tehsil Ghatol, District Banswara.
(7) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Fruit & Vegetable A solar tunnel dryer of 10 3.75m has
been constructed at M/s G.G. Foods, Village Vana and Panchayat Samiti Bhinder for drying of
750 kg of fruit & vegetable in a batch. This unit is having a provision of forced convection
collectors for increasing rate of drying. It has been observed that through forced convection in
term of solar collectors the rate of drying increased by 50 per cent.
(8) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Rose Petals A solar tunnel dryer of 53.75m is installed in
Pushkar Valley for drying 100 kg of Rose petals in a batch.
(9) Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying of Aonla Pulp A solar tunnel dryer of 153.75m has been
constructed at M/s Shrinath Aonla Farm, Banswara for drying of 1000 kg of Aonla pulp in a
batch.

(10)M/s Aonla Utpadak Sehkasi Samiti, Baghpura Tehsil-Jhodole, Udaipur for drying 500 Kg of
Aonla Pulp is one batch.
(11) M/s Rajbhog Churan Products, Manak Chowk, Nathadwara for drying 250 kg of Churan,
Spices& other medicinal plant in one batch.
(12)M/s Krishna Dehyderation, Salpura food, Chhipa Barod- 325221, Dist-Baran, Rajasthan for
drying 500 Kg of Garlic flex for preparation of garlic powder.
(13))M/s Venkateshwar Aonla Udyog, Village Heeta, Bhinder, Tehsil Vallabhnagar, Udaipur for
drying 500 kg of Aonla pulp.
(14)M/s Punkaj Udyog, Village Vana, Bhinder for drying 500 kg of spices and vegetable in a batch.
(15)M/s. Raj Surgical, Village Lakkadvas, Udaipur for drying 900 kg surgical cotton from 40 per
cent moisture content to 5 per cent moisture content in one solar day. The system includes three
solar tunnel dryer of 19 3.75 m2 in series
(16)M/s. Phosphate India Ltd., Udaipur, for drying Di basic calcium phosphate (DCP) to a capacity
of 3 tons per day, two solar tunnel of 15 3.75 m 2 were installed in series to dry 1.5 ton material
in each tunnel.
(17)M/s. Anjana Krishi Farm House Village Dhavdha, Choti Sadri, Chittorgarh: One solar
tunnel dryer of size 15 m 3.75 m for drying 1.5 ton Aonla in a batch.
(18)M/S Aaditya Agro Biotech, Bar Road, Nimaj, Dist Pali, Rajasthan for drying about 500 kg of
processed food product including Aonla through one solar tunnel dryer of size 10 m 3.75 m .
(19)M/S Triputi Chemical, B-169B, road No. 5, MIA Madri, Udaipur, Rajasthan for drying 500
kg of Pharma Chemical products through one solar tunnel dryer of size 10 m 3.75 m.
(20)M/S Sunrise Agro Industry, A-112, Road no.1, I.P.I.A., Kota -324005, Rajasthan for drying
1000 kg of Garlic Flex, Aonla Powder, Tomato Powder etc through two solar tunnel dryer of size
10 m 3.75 m each.