Title: Design, development and experimental investigation of a solar tunnel dryer for drying mushroom

Authors: M.A. Basunia; M.A. Rabbani

Addresses: Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Al-Khod 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. ' Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensing - 2202, Bangladesh

Abstract: A solar tunnel dryer was designed and fabricated with locally available materials having the cross sectional area of the entire tunnel 5400 × 1700 mm. The half of the nearly air tight tunnel base was used as the flat plate air heating solar collector and the remaining half as a dryer. The drying air temperature could be easily raised by some 6-10°C above the ambient temperature at an air velocity of approximately 1.5 m/sec. The moisture content of 12.5 kg freshly harvested mushroom was reduced to 10% (wet-basis) within two days from the initial moisture content of 91.7% (wet-basis). The energy utilisation efficiency of the dryer was about 32.0%. It was possible to reach the moisture content level for safe storage within less than two days with solar tunnel dryer and 3-4 days in open air natural sun drying. The improvement in the quality of ear-lobe mushroom in terms of colour, flavour, and taste and food value was distinctly recognised.

Keywords: solar drying; ear-lobe mushrooms; solar tunnel dryers; moisture content; energy efficiency; safe storage; food quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPTI.2011.043321

International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation, 2011 Vol.2 No.3, pp.286 - 300

Received: 19 Dec 2009
Accepted: 16 Oct 2010
Published online: 18 Feb 2015 *

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