Thermal, economic, and environmental analysis of a novel solar dryer for firewood in various temperate and tropical climates

The wood drying process consumes a great deal of energy with pollutants carrying bi-products. To preserve tropical and temperate forests and protect the environment, it is important to optimize the use of energy using solar dryers that are less expensive and easy to construct. In this paper, mathematical modeling of a novel solar dryer for firewood has been examined and experimentally validated using average relative error analysis. The solar dryer functioning in forced convection is constructed with wood and wood panels, and it is constituted of a solar collector. This field experimental solar dryer is numerically simulated for climatic conditions existing in Yaounde ' and Nancy environments. The role of the solar collector is methodically identified ultimately permitting its usage as an effective dryer in a temperate environment. Our results indicate that in the tropical environment, and during the summer and spring seasons, the thermal efficiency is higher than 40 %, but lower than 30 % during the winter and autumn seasons. The construction of this solar dryer type of 7 steres capacity functioning all the year is capable of reducing the production of pollutants near 26.106 tons of CO2 and 58.433 tons of CO2 for Nancy and Yaounde ' respectively. Constructed for a life duration of 10 years, the payback period is equal to 1.893 years and 0.971 years when the dryer is used all the year from Nancy and Yaounde ' respectively.

Automated summary

A novel solar dryer for firewood has been studied, showing the potential to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve high thermal efficiency. Through experimental validation and mathematical modeling, effective usage methods in tropical and temperate environments are proposed.