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Energy and exergo-environmental (3E) analysis of wheat seeds drying using indirect solar dryer

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Abstract

Food insecurity is becoming a big problem due to the continuous increase in the population, for which there is a requirement of effective drying method for the storage of agricultural items which can solve this problem at global level. Hence, the present study deals with the evaluation of energy, exergy, and environmental parameters of low-cost indirect solar dryer with paraffin wax as energy storage material in rural areas for drying of wheat seeds to check its thermodynamic as well as environmental feasibility. The wheat seeds were dried in solar dryer from initial moisture of 20.2% in 6 h to achieve recommended moisture content which took lesser drying time as compared to open sun drying. The maximum value of collector exergy efficiency, exergy efficiency of drying chamber and pick-up efficiency are 1.5%, 72.62%, and 30.4% respectively. Environmental impacts assessment has revealed that the energy payback, CO2 mitigation, CO2 emission per year and carbon credit earned (at $80 per carbon credit) with present system are 1.35 years, 6.67 tons, 7.32 kg and $533.7, respectively considering the lifetime of solar dryer as 25 years. The performed study shows that the indirect solar dryer with paraffin wax is suitable for the households of rural areas with enhanced performance, lesser waste, sustainable, and lesser adverse effect on environment. This system can also be preferred for drying of other agricultural crops for a particular household.

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Data availability

All data are given in the manuscript.

Abbreviations

A:

total area exposed to radiation (m2)

b:

width of solar collector (m)

cpa :

specific heat of the air (J/kg-K)

h:

heat transfer coefficient (W/m2-K)

I:

total solar insolation (W/m2)

l:

length of solar collector (m)

L:

lifetime (years)

m:

mass flow rate of inlet air (kg/s)

Me, Mi :

equilibrium, initial moisture content (% wt/wt)

Mt :

moisture content on wet basis at any time (% wt/wt)

N:

total sunshine days in a year

Q:

thermal energy transfer from collector to air (W)

QR :

rate of heat transfer (W/m2)

T:

temperature (°C)

U:

overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2-K)

v:

velocity of air (m/s)

w:

specific humidity (kg/kg of dry air)

wb:

wet basis

Ex:

exergy (Watt)

α:

absorptivity

ε:

emissivity

η:

efficiency (%)

μ:

dynamic viscosity (N-s/m2)

ρ:

density of air (kg/m3)

σ:

Stefan–Boltzmann constant (W/m2-K4)

Σ:

summation

τ:

transmittivity

DR:

Drying rate

IST:

Indian standard time

INR:

Indian Rupee

MC:

Moisture content

MR:

Moisture ratio

ab:

absorber

ab,loss:

loss due to absorption in absorber plate

ac:

acrylic sheet

amb:

ambient

b:

back plate

B:

bottom

C,loss:

total loss in collector

d:

solar dryer

ex:

exergy

ev:

evaporated

f:

fluid (air)

eff:

effective

f,loss:

loss due to transfer of heat to fluid

fr,loss:

loss due to fluid friction

i:

inlet

o:

outlet

opt,loss:

optical loss

pcm:

phase change material

Q,loss:

collector to environment loss

s:

adiabatic saturation

sky:

sky

T:

top

th:

thermocol

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, MMMUT, Gorakhpur, India

    Dheerandra Singh & Sanjay Mishra

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, MMMUT, Gorakhpur, India

    Ravi Shankar

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  1. Dheerandra Singh
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  2. Sanjay Mishra
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Contributions

Dheerandra Singh — investigation, writing original draft. Sanjay Mishra — review and editing. Ravi Shankar — review and editing.

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Correspondence to Dheerandra Singh.

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Singh, D., Mishra, S. & Shankar, R. Energy and exergo-environmental (3E) analysis of wheat seeds drying using indirect solar dryer. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 120010–120029 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30503-x

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