This article was downloaded by: On: 17 January 2011 Access details: Access Details: Free Access Publisher

Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 3741 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Drying Technology

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713597247

SOLAR DRYING OF GRAPES

W. Eissena; W. Mhlbauera; H. D. Kutzbacha a Institute of Agricultural Engineering Hohenheim University, Garbenstrasse Online publication date: 27 September 2010

To cite this Article Eissen, W. , Mhlbauer, W. and Kutzbach, H. D.(1985) 'SOLAR DRYING OF GRAPES', Drying

Technology, 3: 1, 63 74

To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/07373938508916255 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07373938508916255

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

DRYING TECHNOLOGY, 3 ( 1 ) , 63-74 (1985)

SOLAR DRYING OF GRAPES W. Eissen, W. Muhlbauer and H.D. Kutzbach Institute of Agricultural Engineering Hohenheim University 7000 Stuttgart 70, Garbenstrasse 9 Federal. Republic of Germany

KEY WORDS AND PHRASES

Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

Batch; d r y i n g r a t e ; economics; l o s s e s ; m e t e o r o l o g i c a l i n f l u e n c e s ; r a i s i n s ; storage; temperature; v e n t i l a t i o n ; water p e r m e a b i l i t y o f skin (increasing).

ABSTRACT Mass losses and low quality are the most serious disadvantages of traditional grape drying methods. For the production of high quality raisins an increase in the drying rate is required and the grapes should be protected from rain, dust and insects during drying. Under the terms of a joint German-Greek research program low-cost solar grape dryers were developed in the Institute of Agricultural Engineering of Hohenheim University and were tested in Greece in cooperation with the Crete Agricultural Research Center. The required data basis for optimizing solar grape dryers was obtained by additional laboratory tests measuring the influence of various drying parameters on drying rate and quality. Tests with the solar dryers have shown that it is possible to reduce the drying time and improve the quality significantly compared to the traditional drying methods. Also mass losses due to rain can be prevented.

Copyright O 1985 b y Marcel Dekker,lnc.

0737-3937/85/03014063S3SO~O

EISSEN, MUHLBAUER, AND KUTZBACH

The solar dryers can be constructed by the farmers themselves or by craftsmen using locally available materials and simple tools.

INTRODUCTION The world raisin market demands a hiqh quality product. The raisins must be absolutely free of foreign materials and insects and in addition must be of uniform colour and size. In Mediterranean countries raisins are produced mainly on small farms with an acreage of less than one hectare. About 8 tons of fresh grapes are harvested manually with a moisture content of 78 70 80 percent w.b. To increase water permeability the grapes are dipped in an alkaline solution before drying. For storage conditions the qrapes must be dried to a moisture content of 14 percent w.b., meaning that 3000 kg of water must be removed per ton raisins. For drying, the qrapes are traditionally spread on the ground where they are exposed to sun and wind. Natural sun drying results in low-quality raisins because they are exposed to rain, dust and insects. Furthermore, direct exposure to solar radiation results in undesired colour changes. There is also the risk that large percentage of the crop can be destroyed by heavy rainfalls. To increase the income of the raisin producers it is essential to develop drying systems with which hiqh quality raisins can be produced. The investment and operating costs of mechanical dryers are too prohibitory, considering the socio-economic situation of the small farmers.

Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

SOLAR DRYING OF GRAPES

An analysis of the meteorological conditions in the Mediterranean countries during the drying period and the drying behaviour of the grapes showed that solar dryers may be a possible alternative to the traditional methods.

OBJECTIVES The general purpose of the study described in this paper was the development of low-cost solar dryers for grapes. The specific objectives were: conducting laboratory drying tests to determine the influence of air temperature, air velocity and chemical pre-treatment on drying rate and quality, development of various types of solar dryers of different drying capacities using locally available materials, field tests of the newly developed solar dryers with respect to drying time, product quality and reliability, economical evaluation of the solar drying systems in comparison with the traditional methods.

Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

LABORATORY -

TESTS

For optimal design of solar grape dryers it is necessary to investigate the effects of the drying-air temperature, air velocity and chemical pre-treatment on the drying rate and quality. Laboratory drying-tests were carried out to determine the drying behaviour of thin layers of freshly harvested grapes (Eissen, 1 9 8 4 ) . Figures 1 to 3 show the results of the thin layer drying tests: As shown in Figure 1 drying-air temperature has a great effect on the drying rate. For example an increase in

66

EISSEN, MUHLBAUER, AND KUTZBACH

Figure 1: Influence of the drying air temperature on the drying rate of sultana grapes

83
B

i
Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

6 LO

; e g
. I

0 0

20

30

LO

SO

Dry~nglm. hours

Figure 2 and 3:

Influence of the air velocity and the chemical pre-treatment on the drying rate of sbltana grapes

temperature from 40 to 60C reduces drying time from 90 to 20 hours. However the increase in temperature is limited to approximately 70C, since higher drying-air temperatures result in juice leaving the berries and caramelization of sugars. This phenomenon causes low quality raisins. Drying rate is also affected by the air flow-rate (Figure 2 ) . An increase in air velocity from 0 . 1 to 0:25 m/s shortens the drying time approximately 30 percent. Air velocity higher than 0.5 m/s only results in a slight increase in drying rate.

SOLAR DRYING OF GRAPES

Furthermore t h e chemical pre-treatment has a g r e a t in-

67

f l u e n c e on t h e d r y i n g r a t e ( F i g u r e 3 ) . Water permeab i l i t y o f t h e s k i n i s i n c r e a s e d by d i p p i n g t h e ? r a p e s i n t o an a l k a l i n e o i l - i n - w a t e r (Grncarevic e t a l . emulsion b e f o r e d r y i n g

1968, P o n t i n g e t a l .

1970). Compared

t o u n t r e a t e d g r a p e s , d i p p i n g i n t o 7% K2C03 + 0.4% o l i v e o i l s o l u t i o n d e c r e a s e s d r y i n g t i m e by a p p r o x i m a t e l y 30 p e r c e n t . Another d i p p i n g m a t e r i a l b a s e d on e t h y l o l e a t e r e d u c e s t h e d r y i n g t i m e e v e n more ( F i g u r e 3)

The l a b o r a t o r y t e s t s have shown t h a t f o r o p t i m a l drying s o l a r d r y e r s s h o u l d b e d e s i g n e d i n a way t h a t d r y i n g Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

a i r t e m p e r a t u r e i s a b o u t 50 t o 60C a n d t h e a i r v e l o c i t i e s 0.25 t o 0.5 m / s . Furthermore it i s p a r t i c u l a r l y important t o chemically increase grape permeability b e f o r e d r y i n g . On t h e s e p r e m i s e s it a p p e a r s p r a c t i c a l t o r e d u c e d r y i n g t i m e s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n o r d e r t o produce r a i s i n s of higher q u a l i t y .

FIELD TESTS M a t e r i a l s and Methods S e v e r a l t y p e s o f l o w - c o s t s o l a r g r a p e d r y e r s were des i g n e d a t Hohenheim U n i v e r s i t y and t e s t e d on t h e C r e t e I s l a n d i n c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e C r e t e A g r i c u l t u r a l Res e a r c h C e n t e r d u r i n g 1980 a n d 1982. F o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e s o l a r d r y e r s l o c a l l y a v a i l a b l e m a t e r i a l s s u c h a s p l a n k s and b o a r d s , w i r e mesh, t r a n s p a r e n t and b l a c k p l a s t i c f o i l s were u s e d . The s o l a r d r y e r s w e r e also d e s i g n e d i n s u c h a way t h a t t h e y c o u l d b e b u i l t with simple t o o l s .
A l l tests w e r e c a r r i e d o u t with f r e s h l y harvested s u l -

t a n a grapes. Before drying c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e

68

EISSEN, MUHLBAUER, AND KUTZBACH

grapes such as moisture content, size, sugar content and acidity were determined. During the tests, direct and diffuse radiation, temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air, as well as wind speed and precipitation, were measured. Solar collectors, used for drying purposes, were tested according to the specifications of the BSE-Standards, 1980, and temperature rise, pressure drop and collector efficiency were determined to evaluate the collectors. The solar dryers.were assessed by measuring the weight losses of the grapes. Changes in moisture content during drying were measured to evaluate the uniformity of drying. The drying process was surveyed by measuring temperature and relative humidity of the drying air as well as the temperature of the berries at different locations. The quality of the raisins was evaluated in terms of colour, microorganism count and uniformity of drying. To compare the solar dryers with natural sun drying, a control sample was always dried under the same weather conditions. The meteorological and thermodynamic data were recorded continuously. Moisture content of the grapes and quality characteristics were measured daily. All data were processed by a computer.

Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

Solar Dryer with Natural Ventilation In Mediterranean countries grapes are generally dried in the vineyard where electricity is not available. Therefore a solar dryer, which does not require any external power source, was developed. The solar dryer with natural ventilation consists of a solar collector and a drying chamber (Figure 4).Drying air is heated in the solar collector consisting of a

SOLAR DRYING O F GRAPES

69

transparent foil cover and a black absorber sheet. The drying chamber holds the trays for the grapes. A transparent sheet covers the dryinq chamber and protects the grapes from rain and dust. Ventilation is provided by natural convection inside the collector and the drying chamber, and is enhanced by a sucking effect at the air outlet caused by wind. Similar systems have been described in previous publications (Szulmayer, 1971, Bolin, 1980 and Puigalli, 1981). The maximum drying-air temperature reached was close to 50C at an ambient temperature of about 30C. The loading capacity of the drying chamber was 100 kg fresh grapes per square meter of the drying chamber and 25 kg grapes per square meter of collector area. With the dryer described above drying time could not be reduced significantly compared to natural sun dryinq. However, it offers a means of protecting the product completely from rain and dust and improves the quality of the raisins. The disadvantage is the small capacity of the dryer. Therefore it seems to be more suitable for drying agricultural products which are produced in smaller quantities.

Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

Figure 4: -

Solar dryer with natural ventilation

EISSEN, MUHLBAUER, AND KUTZBACH

S o l a r Tunnel Dryer A l l d r y i n g s y s t e m s b a s e d on n a t u r a l c o n v e c t i o n ,

lack

c o n t r o l o f m o i s t u r e removal. T h e r e f o r e s p o i l a g e c a n n o t b e e x c l u d e d . To a s s u r e t h e r e q u i r e d m o i s t u r e r e m o v a l , forced a i r c i r c u l a t i o n , e.g. with a fan, is necessary. The most s i m p l e method t o r e a l i z e t h e s e demands i s t o u s e t h e g r a p e s a s an a b s o r b e r and t o f o r c e a i r between t h e g r a p e s and a t r a n s p a r e n t c o v e r ( F i g u r e 5 ) . The s o l a r t u n n e l d r y e r t e s t e d was 1 . 5 m i n w i d t h and 1 6 . 0 m i n l e n g t h , was e q u i p p e d w i t h a 1 0 0 Watt f a n and had a c a p a c i t y of 2 5 kg o f f r e s h g r a p e s p e r s q u a r e m e t e r .
Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

The main a d v a n t a g e s o f t h e s o l a r t u n n e l d r y e r a r e a
3 t o 4 day s h o r t e n i n g of t h e d r y i n g t i m e , uniform

d r y i n g and c o m p l e t e p r o t e c t i o n of t h e f r u i t from r a i n , d u s t and i n s e c t s . The q u a l i t y o f t h e r a i s i n s i n terms of c o l o u r and f o r e i g n m a t e r i a l s was s i g n i f i c a n t l y h i g h e r compared t o n a t u r a l sun d r y i n g .

S o l a r Multiple-Layer

B a t c h Dryer

For d r y i n g q u a n t i t i e s o f more t h a n t e n t o n s p e r y e a r a more s o p h i s t i c a t e d b a t c h - t y p e s o l a r d r y e r was d e v e l o p d .

F i g u r e 5:

Solar tunnel dryer

SOLAR DRYING OF GRAPES

T h i s d r y e r i s s u i t a b l e f o r u s e on f a r m s w i t h an a c r e a g e o f more t h a n o n e h e c t a r e . The d r y e r i s composed o f a f l a t - p l a t e s o l a r a i r c o l l e c t o r , a f a n and a m u l t i p l e layer batch dryer (Figure 6 ) . The suspended a i r c o l l e c t o r c o n s i s t s o f a t r a n s p a r e n t f o i l c o v e r and a c o r r u g a t e d - m e t a l a b s o r b e r p a i n t e d b l a c k . To p r e v e n t d u s t c o n t a m i n a t i o n o f t h e a b s o r b e r s u r f a c e , t h e a i r i s sucked u n d e r n e a t h t h e a b s o r b e r i n s t e a d o f f o r c i n g t h e a i r between t h e a b s o r b e r and t h e t r a n s p a r e n t c o v e r . The c e n t r i f u g a l f a n c a n be d r i v e n by an e l e c t r i c motor o r a d i e s e l e n g i n e a t w i l l .
Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

The b a t c h -

t y p e d r y e r i s d e s i g n e d a s a c o n t a i n e r i n which f i v e wire-mesh t r a y s c a n b e i n s t a l l e d . The maximum d e p t h o f e a c h l a y e r s s h o u l d n o t e x c e e d 0.2 m t o p r e v e n t s q u a s h i n g of t h e g r a p e s u n d e r t h e i r own w e i g h t . The dimens i o n s o f t h e c o l l e c t o r and t h e d r y e r a r e shown i n F i g u r e 6 . The c a p a c i t y o f t h e d r y e r i s 500 kg of f r e s h g r a p e s p e r s q u a r e m e t e r of t h e d r y e r s u r f a c e o r 38 kg o f g r a p e s p e r s q u a r e m e t e r o f c o l l e c t o r s u r f a c e . The a i r - f l o w r a t e i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2000 m3 a i r p e r h o u r , c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o a n a i r v e l o c i t y o f 0.35 m / s i n t h e d r y e r . The power r e q u i r e d f o r d r i v i n g t h e f a n i s 0.8 k W and a t o t a l p r e s s u r e d r o p o f 50 mm WC i n c o l l e c t o r and d r y e r i s n e c e s s a r y .

8"
- .2 3-

A-P

Figure 6:

Solar multiple-layer batch dryer

72

EISSEN, MUHLBAUER, AND KUTZBACH

Based on the drying behaviour of the qrapes in the first stage of drying the dryer was operated with an air-flow rate of 2 0 0 0 m3/h. In the second stage the air-flow rate was reduced to 1 4 0 0 m3/h, correspondinq to an air velocity inside the dryer of 0.25 m/s. With the higher air-flow rate and a total radiation of 900 W/m2, a temperature rise of 20 K was reached at a collector efficiency of 7 0 % . The reduction in the airflow rate causes a temperature rise close to 30 K at a collector efficiency of 5 0 % . The tests have shown that dryins can be completed within 5 to 6 days, which means a reduction of approximately 50 percent compared to natural sun dryins. However, the main advantage of this system seems to be the excellent quality of the raisins produced. The protection of the grapes against direct radiation causes the desired golden colour. During drying, the product is completely protected against rain, dust and insect contamination.

Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

EVALUATION OF THE SOLAR DRYING SYSTEMS Table 1 summarizes the features of the various solar drying systems tested and those of the traditional sun drying methods. In terms of quality, protection from rain, dust and insects, as well as in terms of production reliability, the solar tunnel dryer and the batch type solar dryer offer extraordinary advantages over the traditional drying methods. Moreover a significant shortening in drying time can be observed. For the application of the new drying systems they must be economically superior in addition to beinq technically feasible. An economical analysis of the newly

SOLAR DRYING O F GRAPES Table 1: Results of drying tests

Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

developed solar-drying methods shows certain advantages compared to traditional methods (Eissen, 1984) The increased income of the farmers resulting from reductions in mass losses and from the hiqher prices for better quality raisins should more than compensate for the higher investment for the solar dryers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors acknowledge the German Ministery of Research and Technology for funding the investigation~ and the Crete Agricultural Research Center for the cooperation.

REFERENCES Bolin, H.R., Huxsoll, C.C. and D.K. Salunkke 1980 Fruit drying by solar energy. Confructa 25 ( 3 ) : 147-160 BSE-Richtlinien und Hinweise f i i r die Bestimmung der Gebrauchstauglichkeit von Solarkollektoren. Bundesverband Solarenergie 1980. Wehlmann Press, Essen, Fed.Rep.Germany

E I S S E N , MUHLBAUER, AND KUTZBACH

E i s s e n , W. 1 9 8 4 . T r o c k n u n g von T r a u b e n m i t S o l a r e n e r g i e . R e s e a r c h R e p o r t T84-089, F e d e r a l M i n i s t r y o f Research a n d T e c h n o l o g y , Bonn, Fed.Rep.Germany G r n c a r e v i c , M . , F. R a d l e r a n d J . V . P o s s i n g h a m 1 9 6 8 . The d i p p i n g e f f e c t c a u s i n g i n c r e a s e d d r v i n g o f grapes demonstrated with an , a r t i f i c i a l c u t i c l e . J o u r n a l o f E n o l o g y a n d V i t i c u l t u r e 19 ( 1 ) : 2 7 - 2 9 P o n t i n g , J . D . a n d D . M . McBean 1 9 7 0 . T e m p e r a t u r e a n d d i p p i n g t r e a t m e n t e f f e c t s o n d r y i n g times o f g r a p e s , p r u n e s a n d o t h e r waxy f r u i t s . Food T e c h n o l o g y 24: 1403-1406 P u i g a l l i , J . R . 1 9 8 1 . D i s p o s i t i f s d e Campagne p o u r l e SQchage S o l a i r e d e P r o d u i t s Agro-Alimentaires, F r u i t s e t Grj\ins. Ph.D.-Theiss, U n i v e r s i t y o f Bordeaux, France
Downloaded At: 11:06 17 January 2011

S z u l m a y e r , W . 1 9 7 1 . From s u n - d r y i n g t o s o l a r d e h y d r a t i o n . Food T e c h n o l o g y i n A u s t r a l i a 23:440-501