DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A FORCE CONVECTIVE SOLAR DRYER FOR PLANTIAN DRYING

A forced convective solar dryer was designed and fabricated for the drying of plantain slices. The dryer was embedded with the axial blowers of 4.32 W each, which ensured even distribution of hot air inside the drying chamber. The materials used for the fabrication of the dryer were sourced for locally. The dryer was tested for performance using plantain of slice thickness 5mm to compare notes with open sun drying experiment which served as the control experiment. The proximate properties of the dried products were also evaluated. The dryer was able to reduce the moisture content of the experimental product from 59.99 to 10.21 % (dry basis) within 570 minutes of drying, as against open sun drying which required 840 minutes to achieve same feat. The solar dryer saved about 40 % of the drying time. Results of the proximate analysis from the medium showed that crude lipid, ash content, crude protein were higher in the samples dried using the solar dryer than open sun drying. The carbohydrate and energy level of products dried is open sun were higher than those in the solar dryer. This is an indicator that the solar dryer would guarantee better quality for the final product and could address the challenges of small holder farmers who are into processing of plantain.