Recent development of GHE solar drying in Indonesia

Prototypes of greenhouse effect GHE solar dryer have been tested and their technical performances for drying of tropical products have been obtained. Quality of the dried products was comparable to the existing standard used in estate plantation. The latest drying experiment with fermented cocoa beans using mechanical stirrer, and with a stationary rectangular bin for coffee berries, showed that the developed drying system was capable of reducing the total specific energy to 6.2 MJ/kg and 5.2 MJ/kg water evaporated, respectively. Therefore, the results of the study suggest that the current design could now be used in helping the farmers and fishermen to produce better quality products.