Energy and Exergy Analysis on Drying of Banana Using Indirect Type Natural Convection Solar Dryer

Energy and exergy analysis, in the thermodynamics, is an important tool used to predict the performance of drying system. In this work, energy and exergy analyses are made during the drying process of banana using an indirect type passive solar dryer. Solar flat plate air collector is used to heat the air. Banana gets sufficiently dried at temperatures between 28 and 82 degrees C. Solar radiation is measured and it is ranged from 335 to 1210 W/m(2). Using the first law of thermodynamics, energy analysis was carried out to estimate the amounts of energy gained from solar air heater. Also, applying the second law of thermodynamics, exergy analysis was carried out to determine exergy losses during the drying process. The exergy losses varied from 3.36 to 25.21 kJ/kg. In particular, the exergy efficiency values vary from 7.4 to 45.32%.