Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A review on development of solar drying applications

G. Pirasteh a,n, R. Saidur a,b, S.M.A. Rahman c, N.A. Rahim b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
b
UM Power Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre (UMPEDAC) Level 4, Wisma R&D UM, University of Malaya, 59990 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
c
Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, Sharjah University, University City, 27272 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Drying is an essential process in the preservation of agricultural crops and in industries, such as textile
Received 27 May 2013 production, dairy processing, cement production, clay brick production, tile production, wood and timber
Received in revised form processing, wastewater treatment, and biomass treatment. The energy requirement for drying can be
1 November 2013
supplied from various sources, namely, electricity, fossil fuel, natural gas, wood, bark forest residual, and
Accepted 22 November 2013
solar. Although the use of solar radiation for drying has existed since antiquity, it has not yet been widely
Available online 12 December 2013
commercialized, particularly in the industrial sector. Considering the rapid depletion of natural fuel
Keywords: resources and because of the rising fossil fuel cost, solar drying is expected to become indispensable in
Solar drying the future. Moreover, environmental considerations and damages caused by human beings due to
Energy consumption
increasing consumption of fossil fuel prompt governments and industries to use renewable energies as a
Drying applications
clean and sustainable resource, thus, the use of solar energy for drying. The numerous solar drying
Industrial applications
applications are classified into two main categories, that is, agricultural and industrial. Many benefits
could be exploited from solar energy for drying applications. Solar energy enables the industries and
agricultural sectors to modify their energy requirement, improve their energy stability, and increase
energy sustainability, which lead to improvement in the system efficiency. We review the role of the
drying system in industry and agriculture, the energy consumption capacity, and the availability of the
required energy for the products to be dried. In addition, the economical, environmental, and political
aspects of using solar dryers are discussed. Special attention is given to industrial drying and in finding
opportunities to use compatible dryers for a certain industry. In short, we conduct a comprehensive
review of the new approach to use solar energy in industrial drying sector.
& 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
2. Importance of drying and evaluation of energy consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
2.1. Industrial drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
2.1.1. Textile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
2.1.2. Clay brick production industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
2.1.3. Cement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
2.1.4. Wastewater treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
2.1.5. Wood and timber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
2.1.6. Biomass fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
2.1.7. Dairy industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
2.2. Agricultural crops drying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
3. Solar energy availability for drying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
4. Role of solar energy in drying systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.1. Economical aspect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 60 3 79677611; fax: þ60 3 79675317.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (G. Pirasteh), [email protected] (R. Saidur).

1364-0321/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.11.052
134 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

4.2. Environmental aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

4.3. Political aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
5. Future direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
6. Concluding remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

1. Introduction are lost because of inadequate drying. Moreover, birds, insects, and
rodents encroach on them. Other problems such as fungal attacks,
Drying is defined as the process of removing the moisture from unexpected rain, and adverse weather conditions are common.
a product and can be implemented in two stages. In the first stage, Hence, the use of solar crop dryers is increasing nowadays, and
the moisture inside the product is brought to the surface and dried they have special economic attractions [9]. Dryers using conven-
in air at a constant rate as water vapor. The second stage involves a tional solar air heaters, which have at least a 10-year lifespan, are
slow drying rate, and its process is related to the properties of the more efficient and economical than those that consume conven-
material to be dried [1,2]. Drying of different materials, namely, tional fuels such as oil or wood, as well as those that use electricity
gases, liquids, or solids, can be accomplished by different methods [10]. The application of solar drying in industrial sectors can be
[3]. Drying can be performed using chemical desiccants, by investigated for different materials, such as biomass, brick, textile,
chemical decomposition of the moisture in the stuff, or by freezing cement, polymers, paper and allied products, and timber as well as
using liquids and solids. It can also be performed mechanically by for different processes, such as drying of porous materials, waste-
compression, gravity, or centrifugal forces. However, the most water treatment, and pharmaceutical processes. For instance, the
common drying method, especially for agricultural products, is use of solar dryers in wastewater treatment reduces expenses
thermal drying, which involves simultaneous heat and mass and the duration of the conventional drying process. Another
transfer. Thermal drying is used in numerous industrial and example is solar wood drying, which requires the heating of air
agricultural processes. For example, crops such as paddy, oil seed, supplied by solar heaters in a collector resembling a greenhouse
carrot, herb and spices, and vegetables are dried using heated air. tunnel; the heated air passes through a drying chamber where the
Industrial examples of thermal drying include the drying of bricks, wood placed inside the chamber removes the moisture from the
leather, wood and timber, textile, sewage sludge, tea, and dairy product.
products. The energy consumption in such industries is high and Energy consumption is one of the most important considera-
depends mostly on both the materials to be dried and the tions in the drying systems. Energy consumption always depends
technology used in the process [4]. on the type of products to be dried. The use of conventional dryers
The sun is the largest available carbon-free energy resource for results in high energy consumption and monetary burden. One
human being. Many investigations have been conducted to learn disadvantage of solar drying is that solar energy, when used as the
how to harvest and apply solar energy as a primary source of only source of energy for drying, is not always available. Thus,
energy [5]. Governments and industries all around the world are hybrid solar dryers, wherein solar energy is combined with other
increasingly looking for ways to prevent the increase in green- sources of energy, such as fossil fuel, biomass solid fuel, and
house gas emissions in their operations. Therefore, they strive to electrical energy, are used as an alternative solar energy source to
install and use sustainable renewable energy systems to replace address the abovementioned disadvantage. Other disadvantages of
those that consume fossil fuels. Therefore, they focus on solar solar drying involve political measures that cannot implement
energy because it is the most promising energy source and has solar energy applications in drying systems, although several
many advantages compared with other kinds of energy sources policies, such as feed-in-tariff (FIT), renewable portfolio standard
such as fossil fuels. Solar energy causes no negative effect on the (RPS), and incentives, are implemented in different countries to
environment; hence, its use as one of the main energy sources in encourage the development and application of solar drying tech-
the future is expected to increase. Solar drying is particularly nologies. The main objective of the present study is to review the
applicable in countries located on the sunny belt of the Earth, that drying process in industrial and agricultural sectors as well as to
is, in regions where the sun radiation is high and the duration of determine the industrial areas where solar dryers could be utilized
sunshine is long [6]. Generally, solar energy application is categor- to reduce fossil fuel consumption, thus enhancing performance
ized into two basic groups. The first main one is the production of efficiency. The other objective of this study pertains to the
electricity using photo cells, which convert directly solar energy to environmental, economical, and political aspects.
electricity, and the other main group is the thermal application
category in which solar drying is included [7,8]. It should be added
that in some cases such as concentrated solar power, solar energy
is utilized to generate steam in a solar power station and can be 2. Importance of drying and evaluation of energy
categorized in the latter group. consumption
The first use of solar energy for drying purposes dated back to
8000 B.C.; the first solar drying equipment was found in south of Nowadays, because of the importance of energy that attracted
France. However, the conventional drying industry started around much attention, all industrial sectors regardless of the branch in
the 18th century [6]. Solar drying in agriculture, especially in the the industry, must identify more efficient means of energy
rural areas in developing countries, is not an option but a necessity utilization. Regarding drying, several methods are available to
because most of these areas do not have access to grid-connected reduce the initial moisture content of a product. For example,
electricity and cannot afford fuel for heaters to provide warm air water can be removed from solids by mechanical devices such as
for drying crops. In such areas, drying methods that employ pressure or centrifuge, whereas in the case of liquids, heat can be
heaters and fans are not appropriate because of high-energy reused in a multistage evaporator, which results in appreciable
consumption. Thus, they use traditional open-sun drying. How- reduction in the overall energy consumption. With regard to the
ever, this method suffers from many problems. For example, crops problems presented in Table 1, we must study the drying process
 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148 135

Table 1
Problems encountered in drying [56].

Mode of heating Conduction, convection, dielectric, radiation

Energy sources Coal, oil, natural gas, electricity energy, waste materials, solar energy
Pressure High vacuum (freeze drying), vacuum, atmospheric pressure, high pressure
Scale From 10 kg/h to 4100 t/h
Type of apparatus About 100 types of identified dryers are used in the world at present
Source of process control Boundary layer, inner diffusion, boundary layer with inner diffusion
Size and shape of material Powder, granules, foil, film, plate extruded material, crystalline, fabric, cardboard, fiber
Initial moisture content From almost dry ( o 1% kg/kg dry material) to full saturation(4100% kg/kg dry material)
Thermal resistance of the material From material very sensitive to temperature ( o 30 1C) to thermally resistant materials ( 4200 1C)
Value of the product From bulk chemical products ( o $70 per ton of dry material) to pharmaceutical products (4 $150,000 per ton)

Table 2 Table 3
Overall pattern of energy usage for drying [56]. Typical energy requirements for textile wet-processes, by product form, machine
type and process [62].
Subsector French British industry % Due to
industry drying Product form/machine Process Energy requirement
Drying Drying Total type (GJ/t output)
(109 MJ/year) (109 MJ/year) (109 MJ/year)
Desize unit Desizing 1.0–3.5
Food and 46.3a 35 286 12 Kier Scouring/bleaching 6.0–7.5
agriculture J-box Scouring 6.5–10.0
Chemicals 8.6 23 390 6 Open width range Scouring/bleaching 3.0–7.0
Textiles 1.9a 7 128 5 Low energy steam purge Scouring/bleaching 1.5–5.0
Paper 38.8 45 137 33 Jig/winch Scouring 5.0–7.0
Ceramic and 15.7 14 127 11 Jig/winch Bleaching 3.0–6.5
building Jig Dyeing 1.5–7.0
materials Winch Dyeing 6.0–17.0
Timber 7.9a 4 35 11 Jet Dyeing 3.5–16.0
Others 50.3 No data – – Beam Dyeing 7.5–12.5
Total E168 128 1103 12 Pad/batch Dyeing 1.5–4.5
Continuous/thermosol Dyeing 7.0–20.0
a
Added thermal energy (tons of oil equivalent) and electricity (GWh), Rotary screen Printing 2.5–8.5
extracted from original data. Steam cylinders Drying 2.5–4.5
Stenter Drying 2.5–7.5
Stenter Heat setting 4.0–9.0
Package/yarn Preparation/dyeing (cotton) 5.0–18.0
accurately because of the important role it plays in terms of energy Package/yarn Preparation/dyeing (polyester) 9.0–12.5
Continuous hank Scouring 3.0–5.0
consumption, which is not an easy task. Hank Dyeing 10.0–16.0
Many experimental studies have been conducted in different Hank Drying 4.5–6.5
countries. The results of these studies show that solar dryers are
applied extensively in crop [4,6,9,11–13]. Moreover, many studies
on the modeling and the dynamics of the drying process have
been conducted; these studies focused mostly on the agricultural As a significant stage in the industry, drying represents a
sector [14–26]. However, simultaneous energy and exergy analyses considerable component of the industrial energy use in Canada.
in the literature review are few [27–30]. All these studies revealed Approximately 70% of the total energy in wood manufacturing,
the importance of the drying process in the food industry, 50% in the finished textile fabric production, 27% in the paper
agricultural crops, and medical field and in the drying of aromatic industry, and 33% in the pulp production are consumed by the
herbs. Only a few studies are available on the application of solar drying process. The energy consumption data for drying were
drying in the industries, and more research works on drying are collected and extracted from relatively old sources dating back to
needed for different materials and processes. The energy con- 1976 for the US, 1978 for UK, and 1988–1989 for France in the
sumption of various drying applications was investigated and handbook of industrial drying [31,32]. Since then, the energy
confined mainly in the industrial and agricultural sectors. Solar consumption pattern in the drying system, similar to that in the
drying can be utilized in different processes, such as textile and other sectors of the industry, has changed. For example, in the UK
clay brick manufacturing, wastewater treatment, food and crop in 1998, approximately 348.6 PJ was used in the drying operation.
storage, wood and timber drying, biomass solid fuel process, This amount was equivalent to 17.7% of the countries'' total
biofuel process, dairy production, and cement production. The industrial energy consumption compared with the 11.6% in 1970.
evaluation of energy consumption for paddies, pomegranate arils, Bennamoun [33] reported that in the industrialized countries,
onions, and spices in the agricultural sector was conducted in this between 7% and 15% of the industrial energy consumption has
study. Each of the aforementioned items was discussed in detail. been used in the drying systems.

2.1. Industrial drying

2.1.1. Textile
Industrial dryers consume a significant portion of the total A review of the energy use and energy efficiency technologies
energy used in manufacturing processes, which is 12% on the in the textile industry was conducted, and the contribution of
average. For instance, the energy used in the drying industry was energy consumption in each sector of the textile process was
estimated to be 128  109 MJ/year in selected UK areas. The overall compiled. The textile industry is one of the most complicated
pattern of energy consumption in some drying applications in manufacturing industries. It uses various substrates, processes,
France and the UK is illustrated in Table 2 [31]. machineries, and components, as well as different methods of
136 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

fabric production and finishing process, including the preparation, In addition, it must have sufficient moisture and air-dried strength
dyeing, chemical/mechanical finishing, and coating. Hasanbeigi to maintain its shape after forming. Finally, the clay fuses when
[34] reported many applications of the solar energy in the textile subjected to appropriate temperature. Essentially, bricks are pro-
industry, which are mostly for drying and hot water supply. duced by mixing ground clay with water, forming the clay into the
Moreover, the usage of water in this sector is large, that is, to desired shape, drying, and firing. In ancient times, all moldings
produce 1 t of textile products, approximately 20 m3 of water is were accomplished by hand; however, with the advent of mechan-
required. This volume of water results in massive amount of ical drying systems in the later part of the 19th century, most
wastewater for drying; thus, using solar energy could be an bricks produced in developed and developing countries have been
efficient method. The most important factors with the largest machine made. Fig. 1 shows that the manufacturing process has
share of energy consumption in the textile industry are the six general phases, and drying is a main stage performed before
following: the firing and cooling stages. After mining, storage, size reduction,
screening, and molding or cutting, the bricks are wet, and they
 spun yarn spinning; contain between 7% and 30% moisture, depending on the forming
 weaving; method. Before the bricks are put in the kiln, they must be dried
 wet processing (preparation, dyeing, printing, and finishing); first at temperature that ranges from approximately 38 1C to
and 204 1C. The drying time varies with different clays and is usually
 man-made fiber production. from 24 to 48 h [37].
Murugesun et al. [38] studied numerically the evaporative
In the wet processing, the high amount of thermal energy used drying of a two-dimensional rectangular brick as a conjugate
in the both steam and heat forms results in major energy problem. The drying behavior of the brick was predicted using
consumption. Table 3 [35] presents the typical energy require- the Navier–Stokes equation to obtain the flow field and the
ments of the textile wet processing in terms of the product form, corresponding flow solutions by the continuum approach. They
machine type, and process. The table shows the amount of energy defined the average heat and mass transfer coefficients appro-
use for dyeing and drying. Table 4 [36] shows the contribution of priate to the conjugate problem based on the constant tempera-
each part in dyeing. The drying process also belongs to this stage, ture and moisture differentials between the solid and ambient.
whose share is 17.2%. Although the information given in the tables Their modeling led to a more efficient drying process of the clay
is the average value for the dyeing plants in Japan, it provides an bricks.
adequate illustration of where the thermal energy is largely used. The brick industry consumes 16% of the total energy in the
Moreover, a significant portion of the thermal energy in a dyeing industries in Iran. The brick industry drying process is a significant
plant is lost through the loss of wastewater, which could have stage before the wet clay brick is put into the kiln. Table 5 shows
been used to treat the wastewater itself to produce fresh water via the amount of total energy consumption in the brick industry
the drying process. sector in several countries as reported by the Iranian Fuel
Conversation Company, a branch of the National Iranian Oil
2.1.2. Clay brick production industry Company.
The clay brick industry uses the drying systems. Clay is an
abundant natural mineral material on Earth. In brick manufactur-
ing, raw clay does not have appropriate properties and character- Table 5
Energy usage for brick industry in some selected countries.
istics to produce high-quality bricks. Clay has certain plasticity
that permits it to be shaped or molded when mixed with water. Country Specific heat energy Specific total electrical energy
consumption (MJ/kg brick) consumption (kWh/t)
Table 4
Breakdown of thermal energy use in a dyeing plant (average in Japan) [63]. Iran 4–8 35–55
Belgium 1.94 43
Item Share of total thermal energy use (%) Germany 1.73 48.8
Denmark 2.16 49.1
Product heating 16.6 Spain 2.14 44
Product drying 17.2 France 2.29 57.6
Waste water loss 24.9 Greece 2.1 60
Heat released from equipment 12.3 Italy 2.11 60
Exhaust gas loss 9.3 Ireland 2.15 46.7
Idling 3.7 Netherland 2.45 34.2
Evaporation from liquid surfaces 4.7 Portugal 2.55 43.8
Un-recovered condensate 4.1 England 2.7 53.6
Loss during condensate recovery 0.6 The mean 2.18 49.4
Others 6.6 amount
Total 100 except Iran

Forming
Size
Mining Storage Screening and
Reduction
Cutting

Storage Firing Coating

and and Drying or
Shipping Cooling Glazing

Fig. 1. Clay brick manufacturing process [54].

 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148 137

Table 6 Solar energy use in the cement industry can be achieved via
Energy required by different process sections [59].
solar kiln, which has some advantages and disadvantages. Solar
Process sections Electrical energy consumption (kWh/t) kiln can be used simply and can be insulated with natural air
circulation. The dryers can automatically improve the thermal
Dry Wet efficiency and can use renewable energy, hence saving energy. On
the other hand, this process and its construction are complex. In
Raw material treatment and crushing 4 3
Mashing 44 10 the cement industry, the required heat for drying the raw
Fans and coolers 23 25 materials before putting them to the kiln is supplied by a pre-
Dust collector 6 8 heater where the energy is provided by the hot exhaust gas of the
Cement milling 45 45
kiln [41]. Table 6 shows the energy required for the equipment in a
Transportation 8 47
Total electricity required (kWh/t) 130 149
typical process of wetting and drying [42].
Fuel burned in furnaces (l/t) 112.5 156 A study on the energy balance of a cogeneration system in a
cement plant in Indiana was conducted, and the result showed
that approximately 35% of the input energy was lost with the
waste heat streams. Among this amount of wasted energy,
between 5% and 10% could have been used for the dehydration
of raw materials [43].

2.1.4. Wastewater treatment

Undoubtedly, water is one of the most important factors in the
socio-economic development and in human daily comfort. As the
world population increases, water consumption increases. Statis-
tical information shows that the distribution of water around the
world is not homogeneous. Whereas some countries such as the
European countries consume nearly 3000 m3 per year for each
inhabitant, the consumption in the developing countries reaches
200 m3 per year and even decreases to 20 l per day in some
countries such as Mali and Haiti. Statistical data show that 70% of
the produced water in the world is used in agriculture, especially
Fig. 2. Open absorption system installed at sawmill [48]. for irrigation, and 30% are used in the industries. This fact implies
that a large amount of wastewater is produced when water is used
In the clay brick production process, initially, the wet clay brick for any purposes and, in some cases, may be noxious and
contains almost 20–25% (wet basis) moisture, whereas during the poisonous to the environment. Therefore, wastewater must not
preparation for insertion into the kiln, it has approximately simply be abandoned, and a solution such as wastewater treat-
between 8% and 12% (wet basis) moisture content. Regarding the ment plant should be developed to produce drinkable water from
latent heat and the difference in temperature between the brick wastewater as well as other water with lower quality for garden-
and ambient, we can conclude that drying the brick in the brick ing, cleaning uses, cooling, and other industrial demands. In all
production process requires approximately 100 kcal/kg brick, that cases of wastewater treatment, the drying process is considered a
is, approximately 19% of the total required energy to produce basic stage after the mechanical dewatering, which may be done
bricks [39,40]. by filtration or centrifugation [44]. Dewatering up to 35% of solids
and sanitary landfilling have been indicated as the most common
form of sludge disposal [45,46]. Water that contains sewage sludge
2.1.3. Cement can simply be removed to a certain extent, and further moisture
Approximately 12–15% of the total industrial energy consump- can be expelled by drying and thermal process. After this process,
tion is used in the cement subsector. In the cement manufacturing the dry solid content in the water can be reduced to less than 5%;
process, raw materials are accurately combined to produce Port- this type of sewage sludge has lower mass and volume and,
land cement. The cement clinker consists of appropriate amount of consequently, the cost of storage, handling, transportation, and
calcium, silicon, aluminum, and iron. In the dry cement manufac- landfilling will be reduced [44].
turing process in which the raw mix is almost dry, approximately The other type of wastewater that requires treatment is olive
20% of moisture (by mass) exists in the mixture. Nevertheless, in mill wastewater (OMW). The OMW drying process, which uses an
the wet process, the raw mix is combined with water to form indirect type of natural convection solar dryer, is presented for
slurry before transferring to the kiln. The energy saving measures energy–exergy analysis [4]. OMW is produced when vegetable
in the cement industry were investigated in some sectors of water and fresh water are used in the extraction of olive oil from
cement manufacturing where the possibility of reducing and the plant. OMW contains olive pulp, mucilage, pectin, residual oil,
consequent optimization of the energy consumption exists. They and different dissolved mineral salts [47]. The production of more
are as follows: olive oil in the industry, especially in the southern regions of
Europe, such as Spain, causes environmental problems because of
 optimization of the grinding energy usage; the large amount of sludge and OMW. For example, the total
 use of high-efficiency classifier; amount of olive processed in Spain reaches an approximately
 waste heat recovery; 5.5  106 t, which generates 4  106 t/year of wastewater [4]. Thus,
 use of waste heat recovery steam generator; the drying system plays a significant role in such areas to reduce
 use of waste heat to preheat the raw materials; the volume, weight, and size of OMW and in mitigating the
 heat recovery from the kiln surface; and environmental effects and cost of storage, handling, transporta-
 Optimization of the cement plant heat source conditions for tion, and sanitary landfilling [44]. Many drying systems function
power generation. directly with fossil fuels or with the aid of combined heat and
138 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

Fig. 3. Wood dryer with absorber installed [48].

Table 7
Range of approximate energy uses for drying lumber, veneer, and particles [69].

MC (%) Energy use

Initial Dry MJ/kg H2O (Btu/lbH2O) Other

Lumber MJ/m3
Douglas fir 45 15 4.7–7.0 (2000–3000) 540–800
Southern yellow pine 100 12 3.7–5.1 (1600–2200) 1350–1800
Red oak 80 6 7.0 (3000þ) 6.5
Veneer for plywood MJ/m3,10 mm (MBtu/ft2, 3/8in)
Douglas fir 45 5 4.7–7.0 (2000–3000) 450–670
Southern yellow pine 100 5 3.7–5.1 (1600–2200) 900–1250

Particle board MJ/m3, 20 mm (MBtu/ft2, 3/4 in.)

Dry wood residues 25 5 4.7–7.0 (2000–3000) 490–760 (1.1–1.7)
Wet wood chips 100 5 3.7–5.1 (1600–2000) 1900–2320 (4.2–5.2)
Green chips 100 5 4.7–5.8 (2000–2500) 2320–2900 (5.2–6.5)

Glass cover Absorber plate Upper flow

Air flow in
B1 B2 B3 A3 A2 A1

Air flow out

Porous media Lower flow

Insulation Inlet air Inlet air
Fig. 4. The schematic of a double-pass solar collector with porous media in the Outlet air
second channel [49].
Fig. 5. The collector arrangement for the solar drying system [49].

power (CHP) processes. CHP processes are utilized to enhance the

efficiency of plants; however, applying solar drying may have long system has been advanced [49]. One of the most important
pay back periods. Therefore, substituting the solar dryer in this applications of drying is in the wood and timber industry. For
case is difficult [48]. example, when timber is to be used for a certain purpose such as
for furniture or fuel, it must be dried because the substantial
amount of water present in the green timber engenders potential
2.1.5. Wood and timber problems, such as shrinking and changes in the shapes, or the
The utilization of renewable energy in the industrial sector has timbers will be difficult to burn [50]. For simplicity and economy,
not achieved a remarkable level compared with the other sources solar timber driers, particularly the simple greenhouse type, are
of energy such as fossil fuels. Nevertheless, in some industrial an appropriate technology for major energy savings in the devel-
applications such as the drying system for timbers, the solar dryer oping countries. Johansson and Westerlund [51] suggested that
 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148 139

2920 13
final moisture content
Heat consumption(kJ/kgH2o)

75°C 12
2880 wt٪10
128°C

Steam Flowrate(t/hr)
11
2840 wt ٪ 20
10
2800 wt ٪30
9
2760
8
2720 7
2680 6
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Recycle ratio
5
4
120 140 160 180 200
700
75°C Steam Temperature(oC)
Irreversibility rate(kJ/kgH2O)

600 128°C
Fig. 8. Steam flow rates at different temperature for drying wood with 60%
500 (wet basis) and steam flue gas temperature of 250 1C [70].

400
wood and timber products is approximately 1.5–3 times more
300 than the heat of vaporization of pure water, that is, 2.3 MJ/kg
(1000 Btu/lb). Table 7 shows the range of estimated energy
200
required for drying lumber, veneer, and particles [54].
100

0 2.1.6. Biomass fuel

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Biomass is a biological material derived from living or recently
Recycle ratio
living organisms. Biomass can be any organic matter, such as
Fig. 6. (a). Heat consumption for single-stage-drying with partial recycle of spent wood, crops, weed, foliage, barks, and animal waste, and can be
air [24] and (b) irreversibility rate for single-stage-drying with partial recycle of
used as an energy source. Biomass is a well-known renewable
spent air [24].
energy source because plants and trees will continue to grow and
crops and waste will always exist. Biomass as a fuel for power
2.6
final moisture content plants is not only very competitive in price and quality compared
2.4 with fossil fuel but can also dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. For
Flue Gas Volumetric Flow

wt ٪10
2.2 instance, an electrical power plant that consumes coal or oil in the
wt ٪20 boilers can produce 1100 g of CO2 per kWh, whereas the use of
rate(105m3/hr)

2 biomass can reduce the amount of produced CO2 to 16 [55].

wt ٪30
1.8 Almost 19% of the total required energy in the forest industry in
Finland is supplied by barks, forest residues, and different types of
1.6
waste wood [56]. These sources are by-products of the main
1.4 processes and are burnt in fluidized bed boilers to produce super
1.2 heat vapor for electricity generation in steam turbine generators as
well as for thermal processes in the mill.
1
One kind of biomass is engendered from palm oil waste. Palm
150 250 350 450 550
oil is the largest product in Malaysia, which is primarily exported
Flue Gas Temperature(oC)
to other countries. Malaysia accounts for more than 60% of the
Fig. 7. Flue gas flow rates versus gas temperature for drying pine wood chips with global export of palm oil. Palm oil is used in food, non-food, and
60% (wet basis) initial moisture content [70]. pharmaceutical industries. However, a huge amount of waste pro-
duct also comes from the oil processing, such as empty fruit bunches
approximately 10% of the energy consumption in the Swedish (EFB), fibers, shells, and fronds. Researchers showed that approxi-
industry comes from various drying processes. These processes use mately 200 kg of fronds are produced per tree annually in Malaysia.
the open absorption system technique to recover the evaporation Fortunately, the fronds can be converted into useful products. Drying
heat lost with the moisture in the evacuated air because of the low the fronds can turn them into feeds for livestock and poultry.
temperature level. Figs. 2 and 3 show the components of and a Figs. 4 and 5 show that, using a double-pass solar collector with
wood dryer system pilot plant, respectively. porous media, the frond moisture decreases from approximately 63%
The energy consumption in solid products is approximately 10% to approximately 15% for a drying time of almost 7 h, whereas the
to 15% of the total energy usage in the main industrial sectors in system efficiency is approximately 25–30% [57,58]. Ruslan et al. [59]
Europe [52,53]. The energy consumption in wood drying is investigated the solar drying of oil palm fronds using a solar dryer
approximately 40–70% of the total energy in the wood product consisting of a double-pass solar collector with finned absorber,
industry. In any wood dryer, energy is required to evaporate the blower, auxiliary heater, and dry chamber. This method reduced the
water, raise the temperature of the dryer air, wood, and water to moisture content of the fronds from 60% (wet basis) to 10% (product
the operating temperature of the dryer, and replace the heat lost basis), and the collector, drying system, and pick-up efficiencies were
dissipated to the ambient. Based on the physical characteristics of 31%, 19%, and 67%, respectively.
the wood products to be dried, the drying process and efficiency of Drying is a significant and challenging step in the pre–treat-
the dryer are determined. The amount of energy for drying solid ment of biomass for production of second generation synthetic
140 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

Farm

Skimmed
Raw whole milk Skimmed
milk ≤ 6°C milk
Cooling/storage
57-70°C 30-45°°C
72-75°C
Thermization/separation Pricipitation
Pasteurization and curd
Skimmed
formation
Cream
milk 30-35°C
80-90°C 72-110°C Whey
Cooling
Pasteurization Pasteurization Homogenization separation
5°C
Curd Curd
Deodorization Cooling 72°C
72-150°C 90-95°C manufacture washing
Pasteurization/ Pasteurization pasteurization
4-6°C 40-56°C
Ripening UHT/sterilization 50-65°C
Packaging/ 40-45°C
cooling Scalding Drying
Cooling Evaporation
4-6°C
Whey
Churning Cooling
Cream Casein
Sowing Separation
Packaging Packaging Mixing Whey
Whey
Concentration Packaging 50°C
-15-+5° Fermentation 10-15°C
130-150°C Separation
Storage Drying Salting
Pasteurized/ 15-20°C 75°C
UHT/sterilized Sterilization
Separation Pasteurization
milk Cooling Cooling Pressing
Butter 10°C
5°C Storage
Drying Heating Concentration
Packaging/ Ripenung
Packaging
cooling Drying
Cooling Storage
Condensed Fractionation
Anhydrous milk Packaging
Packaging Fermented Milk Cheese
milkfat
milk products Powder Packaging
products Whey
powder
Whey
Protein concentrates

Fig. 9. The dairy industry processes [53].

fuels. The biomass feedstock is mostly wet and need to be dried milk (in various fat contents), fresh milk products such as butter
from 30 to 60 wt% moisture contents to about 10–15 wt%. Impor- and cream, different kinds of cheese, condensed milk, and dry milk
tant issues in drying are energy efficiency, emissions, heat inte- products such as whey, whole milk powder, non-fat milk powder,
gration and dryer performance. Many types of dryers or drying and caseins. Drying is one of the main processes in the dairy
processes exist in industry plants [60]. An investigation has been industry. To produce milk powder, drying is an essential stage
conducted on drying biofuels such as bark, forest residual, saw where the moisture content of the powder must reach approxi-
dust, and chips used in fluidized bed boilers to produce heat and mately 3%. Initially, the cream is separated from the raw milk using
electricity for the mill [61]. Biofuels typically have moisture a centrifugal separator. Then, the cream and skim milk are
content between 50% and 60% (water per total mass). The well pasteurized at a certain temperature. The cream, as a feed
drying of biofuels results in the increase in electricity consump- material, is then moved to the next process on site, which is the
tion. The heat consumption for biofuel drying for various recycle butter making. The milk that enters the evaporation stage contains
ratios is shown in Fig. 6a and b. Hanning et al. [62] investigated the approximately 13% of the total solid, whereas after concentration,
integration of a drying process into a power station system. The this amount reaches 50% before entering the spray dryer at 80 1C.
heat source for drying was supplied using the waste heat from a In the spray dryer, 200 1C hot air is required to transform the milk
process industry plant with 100 MW output. In this biomass into powder. The final moisture content of the milk powder is
investigation, pine chips with 60% moisture (wet basis) were dried typically 3% [64]. Fig. 9 schematically shows the main processes in
and used as the input fuel for a subsequent 40 MW power plant. the dairy sector and the drying process of the milk powder,
The potential thermal energy sources for the biomass drying were anhydrous milk fat, casein, and whey powder. One drying applica-
low-grade heat—either in the form of the flue gas from the process tion is after the concentration and separation of the cream, and
or as hot cooling water that could be used to form superheated another is during the homogenization process to produce milk
steam. In their results, the amount of required energy were not powder. In addition, drying is implemented during the production
clearly provided; nevertheless, the values of the flue gas volu- of caseins and whey powder [63].
metric flow rate in terms of the flue gas temperature and the Although energy plays a significant role in the dairy process in
steam flue rate as a function of steam temperature are shown in heat treatment during controlled bacterial growth and in prolong-
Figs. 7 and 8, respectively. ing the shelf life of milk and milk by-products, the energy share in
the total production costs is only 1–3% [65]. Quijera et al. [49]
evaluated the viability of integrating a solar thermal system to the
2.1.7. Dairy industry conventional energy structure of a dairy plant in the Atlantic side
The dairy industry covers operations pertaining to the treat- of Spain. The most appropriate technology for the dairy industry is
ment of milk for alimentary use and milk-derived products and the vacuum tube-heat-pipe type because these collectors can
by-products [63]. The most important dairy products are liquid intensively use the diffused radiation and have low coefficients
 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148 141

of linear and quadratic losses. Their results demonstrated the In the above equation, the first term on the right-hand side
technical feasibility of replacing the thermal energy source in the represents the useful energy required for sensible heating of the
dairy processing plant under the specific climate in this region wet crop from ambient temperature (Ta) to drying temperature
using solar fields with a relatively reasonable size. (Td). The second term represents the useful energy required for the
evaporation of moisture in the crop, with hfg representing the
2.2. Agricultural crops drying enthalpy of evaporation of water at the drying temperature. The
specific heat s of the wet crop can be estimated (in MJ/kg 1C) using
After harvesting agricultural products, they have to be stored, the Siebel's formula[70].
which is one of the main stages in any production. During this Another expression of the useful energy required for drying a
process, deterioration of considerable amount of the products may unit crop amount on a wet mass basis is suggested as
 
occur because of the existence of water in these products. Drying Mi  Mf
is a conventional method of preserving these products. In some UEdry ¼ hf g þ s ðT d –T a Þ ð3Þ
1  Mf
areas around the world, some field products such as wheat, herbs,
and raisins are usually spread on the ground for drying by An energy evaluation for industrial paddy drying was per-
exposure to direct sunlight. This method has many disadvantages. formed by Jittanit et al. [71]. The energy consumption of paddy
For example, in most developing countries like Nigeria, providing drying in a large-scale milling plant was investigated, and some
food is not a problem with regard to the production of enough experiments were conducted in the laboratory. The results indi-
crops; the problem is its inability to preserve food surplus. Present cated that the specific primary energy consumption in three
production is usually much more than the immediate needs; thus, drying runs was between 3.874 and 4.421 MJ/kg of water evapo-
most of the products are wasted because of the short harvest rated for the whole process. Motevali et al. [72] investigated the
periods, and scarcity occurs during post-harvest periods. Hence, to energy consumption in different drying systems, including hot-air
overcome this problem, drying has been considered as the most convection, use of microwave pre-treatment with convection
efficient preservation technique for most tropical crops [66]. dryer, microwave drying, vacuum drying, and infrared drying.
Artificial drying has been shown to be more efficient than the Pomegranate arils were chosen for testing under diverse circum-
other methods of drying, which could not be totally managed. In stances such as different temperature and three air-velocity levels
industrialized countries, the energy consumption for drying is (0.5, 1, and 1.5 m/s) with three pre-treatment of the control in the
between 7% and 15% of the total energy consumption [33]. Some case of convection drying. The following equation is used to
advantages in grain drying are the following: compute the energy consumption of the pomegranate arils:
Et ¼ Aνρa C a ΔTt ð4Þ
– increase in the quality of the harvested grain by reducing the
where Et is the total energy consumption in each drying round
crop exposure to weather;
(kWh), A is the cross-sectional area of the container where the
– reduction in the harvesting losses due to head shattering and
sample was placed (m2), ρa is the air density (kg/m3), t is the total
cracked kernels;
drying time of each sample (h), ΔT is the temperature difference (1C),
– reduction in the dependence on weather conditions during
and C a is the specific heat of air (kJ/kg 1C). Then, the specific energy to
harvest;
dry 1 kg of pomegranate arils was calculated by Ekg ¼ Et =W 0 , where
– reduction in the size and number of combined harvest equip-
Ekg is the specific energy (kJ/kg) and W 0 is the weight of the sample.
ment and labor required due to extended harvest time; and
The results showed that the energy consumption in convection drying
– longer time for post-harvest field works [67].
at the maximum condition was approximately 240 kWh/kg and was
reduced to 160 and 90 kWh/kg when 100- and 200-W microwave
Drying has been known to minimize losses of agricultural
vacuum dryers were used, respectively.
products from planting to consumption. Among the several
An investigation was conducted in the drying of onion slices,
methods for preserving agricultural products, increasing their
and the total energy requirement for different inlet air tempera-
economic lifespan, and providing maximum amount of nutrition
ture and airflow rate have been examined. The results showed that
level, drying is the most used and the most economical method
when the initial moisture content reached from 86% (wet basis) to
[68]. The following benefits can be achieved using the drying
the final moisture content of approximately 7% (wet basis), the
system for agricultural products [69]:
energy required per unit mass removed was between 23.548 and
62.117 MJ/kg, whereas the percentage of energy contribution for
 early harvest;
heating and dehydration was approximately 69% of the total
 planning of the harvest season;
energy consumption [11]. Fig. 10 shows the variation in the energy
 long-term storage without deterioration;
required in terms of time at different air temperatures for a
 advantage in higher price a few months after the harvest;
2.43 kg/min airflow rate.
 availability of seeds; and
Hollick [73] conducted a feasibility study for the spices Board of
 better quality product.
India and the US/ECRE. He proposed that the commercial drying
operation can be switched to solar drying with minimal change in
The amount of water to be removed from crops can be the operation and with a payback period of 2 years. As an example,
calculated as he reported that a company in Pune, India, dried sesame seeds and
Mi  Mf consumed 0.516 MJ energy to dry 1 kg of sesame seeds; for 30 t,
Wr ¼ ð1Þ the process required 15,480 MJ energy, whereas the efficiency of
1  Mi
the overall drying process was 17%, considered a deficiency in such
where Mi and Mf are the initial and final moisture contents (in
company.
fraction) of the crop on a wet basis. Then, the useful energy
required for drying a unit amount (on dry mass basis) of a crop can
be obtained using the following relation: 3. Solar energy availability for drying
   
1  Mf Mi  Mf Hot air is a conventional fluid used in all drying systems, which
UEdry ¼ sðT d –T a Þ þ hf g ð2Þ
1 M i 1  Mi is heated by a solar collector; thus, the amount of extracted solar
142 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

45 medium and medium-high temperature level (80–240 1C) [75].

Energy Required (MJ/kg water)

40 C°55 C°75 C°65

Kalogirou [76] investigated the viability of a solar industrial
35
process heat system in a Cyprus industry using the TRNSYS
computer program. A simulation of the contribution of the solar
30
processing heat plants under Cypriot environmental conditions
25 was carried out for different collector technologies based on this
20 software. TRNSYS can interconnect the system components in
15 various models, solve differential equations, facilitate information
output, reduce the entire problem of system simulation to a
10
problem of identifying all the components that comprise the
5
particular system, and formulate a general mathematical descrip-
0 tion of each component. This software obtains the total useful
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
energy for the whole year and yields the auxiliary energy required
Drying Time(min) for a certain system. Generally, the collectors used to extract the
Fig. 10. Variation of energy required with drying time at different air temperatures solar thermal energy in the industrial heat process can be divided
for 2.43 kg/min airflow rate [9]. into two major types: non-tracking (stationary) and one-axis sun-
tracking parabolic collectors. Table 8 shows the different types of
collectors used for drying purposes. The efficiency of the collectors
Table 8 depends on the temperature difference between the ambient and
Characteristics of non-tracking (stationary) collectors. the collector inlet. A high irradiation level indicates high collector
efficiency and performance as shown in Fig. 11 [72].
Types of stationary Indicative Efficiency irradiation Concentration
collectors temperature levels (W/m2) ratio
range (1C)
(1) Flat-plate collectors (FPCs).
500 1000 (2) Stationary compound parabolic collectors (CPCs).
(3) Evacuated-tube collectors (ETCs).
Flat plate collectors 30–80 0.71–0.75 0.72–0.75 1
(FPCs)
When high temperature and more efficient collectors are
Compound 60–240 0.45–0.73 0.58–0.72 1–5
parabolic desired, a high-performance solar collector is needed. The para-
collectors bolic collector can provide temperature of up to 250 1C for
(CPCs) process-heat applications. One type is produced by the Industrial
Evacuated tube 50–200 0.44–0.82 0.62–0.82 1
Solar Technology Corporation, whose characteristics are shown in
collectors
(ETCs)
Table 9 [76].
The annual energy yield of various collectors, including the
FPCs, advanced FPCs, CPCs, ETCs, and parabolic-trough collectors
(PTCs), for the demand temperatures considered are also shown in
Fig. 12.
1000FPC 500FPC The International Institute for Systems Analysis conducted a
0.9 1000CPC 500CPC
comprehensive assessment of the coordinated energy issues.
Fig. 13 shows that the solar energy contribution in the industry
0.8 1000ETC 500ETC
can increase from a very small amount in 2007 to almost 6 EJ in
0.7 2050, that is, the growth is from a negligible amount to 2.7% of the
Efficiency

0.6 total final energy demand. This projection was based on the Global
Energy Assessment overall hypothesis on the infrastructure, life-
0.5
style, and policy shown in Table 10 and based on the International
0.4 Energy Agency and Energy Technology's projection in the industry.
The scenarios did not include the sub-sectoral details in the
0.3
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 industry [77].
Temperature difference (TI Ta) (°C)
Evrendilek and Ertekin [78] researched and reported that,
whereas the difference between Turkey's total primary energy
Fig. 11. Comparison of the efficiency of the three types of stationary collectors at supply from the sources and the total final consumption will reach
two irradiation level 500 and 1000 W/m2.
5.71 quads in 2020, approximately 0.35 quads/year could be sup-
plied using solar energy. Ramachandra and Shruthi [79] used the
heat is a significant parameter in the feasibility study of whether Geographical Information System to map the renewable energy
sufficient energy is available for a specific application. Generally, potential Taluk-wise in Karnataka, India. Because Taluk is an
the total solar energy absorbed by a solar collector can be administrative division in the federal set up in India, which uses
calculated by [74] renewable energy, they focused on Taluk-wise mapping the solar
radiation to extract renewable energy. They determined that
Q s ¼ I t ðταÞ Ac ð5Þ
Karnataka's global radiation is in the range of 5.1–6.4 kWh/m2
where Qs is the rate of solar energy absorbed, It is the rate of during summer, 3.5–5.3 kWh/m2 during monsoon, and
incidence of the radiation for a unit area of the collector, Ac is the 3.8–5.9 kWh/m2 during winter. The other study that attempted
collector area, and τα is the effective product transmittance to determine the potential of solar harvesting was that by
absorptance. Basically, τα depends on the transmittance of the Syafawati et al. [80], which presented an analysis of the solar
transparent covers and on the absorptance of the absorbent. Solar energy extraction potential in Ulu Pauh, Perlis, Malaysia, located at
energy for drying purposes was investigated in the literature by 6.4621N, 100.3511E. Their analysis is shown in Fig. 14, which shows
many researchers, particularly for agricultural purposes. Many the solar energy received from the sun either directly or as
potential fields of application are available for solar drying at the diffused or reflected sunlight. The relationship between solar
 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148 143

radiation and ambient temperature can also be inferred. Most of Table 9

the solar radiation falls above 350 w/m2 for 6 months, and Characteristics of the parabolic-trough collector (PTC) system [77].
approximately 95% of the days in the monitored period received
Parameter Value/type
approximately 40–70% of the total sun radiation.
Rumbayan et al. [81] determined the theoretical potential of Collector rim angle 701
solar irradiation in Indonesia using artificial neural networks and Reflective surface Silvered acrylic
provided a solar map of entire Indonesia. Research works were Receiver material Steel
Collector aperture 2.3 m
conducted in five areas of the country, namely, Bengkula, Jakarta, Receiver surface treatment Highly selective blackened nickel
Samarinda, Manado, and Ambon. Fig. 15 shows the amount of solar Absorptance 0.97
radiation in terms of kilowatt-hour per square meter monthly Emittance (80 1C) 0.18
among the selected cities. They reported that the predicted results Glass envelope transmittance 0.96
Absorber outside diameter 50.8 mm
satisfactory agreed with the measured values.
Gtest—Flow rate per unit area at test 0.015
Mohammadnejad et al. [82] reported the high potential of solar conditions (kg/s m2)
energy in Iran because of its geographical position, where the solar a0—Intercept efficiency 0.762
radiation varies from 2.8 kWh/m2 per day in the north to 5.4 kWh/m2 a1—Negative of the first-order coefficient 0.2125
per day in the south. The sunshine hours are estimated to be 2800 h of the efficiency (W/m2 1C)
a2—Negative of the second-order coefficient 0.001672
annually, whereas this amount could reach an average of 3200 h of the efficiency (W/m2 1C)
annually in the central part of Iran because of the hot and dry climate b0—Incidence angle modifier constant 0.958
of this area. b1—Incidence angle modifier constant  0.298
Tracking mechanism accuracy 0.051
Collector's orientation Axis in N–S direction
Mode of tracking E–W horizontal
4. Role of solar energy in drying systems

The effective and positive benefits derived from using renew-

able energy, primarily, solar energy, have been studied by many
researchers [9,13,83–109]. Many advantages have been reported in
1200
the different applications of solar drying in agriculture as well as in 60
the industry. In this study, we have considered three aspects: 1100 90
Energy yield (kWh/m2a)

120
economical, environmental, and political. 1000 150
180
900 210
240
4.1. Economical aspect 800

700
The total area of installed solar collectors reached 185 Gwth by
600
early 2010. The percentage of contribution by China, Germany,
Turkey, and India accounted for 80.3%, 3.1%, 1.8%, and 1.1% 500
FPC AFP CPC ETC PTC
respectively, and the remaining 13.7% was contributed by more
Collector types
than 40 countries such as the US, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, South
Korea, and South Africa. Three types of collectors, including Fig. 12. Annual energy yield of collectors at different demand temperatures
unglazed, glazed flat-plate, and evacuated tube, are available in considered [77].
the market. Among the total capacity of 172.4 Gwth installed until
the end of 2009, the share of glazed FPCs, ETCs, and unglazed
collectors were 32%, 56%, and 11%, respectively, and the remaining 250
1% were glazed and unglazed air collectors [83]. Sreekumar [84]
200
conducted an economical analysis and compared the costs of
solar-dried and branded products dried using other drying meth-
Energy EJ

150
ods, such as dryers that used fossil fuels. Three methods were used
for the economical comparison of the product costs. In the first 100
method, the cost per unit weight of drying a product using solar
dryer was compared with that of the same product that used an 50
electrical means of drying. The cost of drying per unit weight was
calculated by dividing the total annual cost by the amount of 0
product dried in a year. One disadvantage of this method was that 2007 2050
Total non renewable Biomass process heat Biofeedstocks Solar thermal Heat pumps
the cost of drying did not fully capture the economics of the solar
dryer because of the cost variation during the entire life of the Fig. 13. Renewable potential in industry by 2050—final energy and feedstock.
dryer, namely, 20 years. Whereas solar dryers use electricity for UNIDO analysis [78].

blowers and axial fans, conventional dryers need more energy to

produce hot air. Thus, instead of considering a certain year to approach was employed using relevant equations for economic
assess the economic benefits of the solar dryer, we must deter- analysis of the solar dryer for domestic use [88].
mine the savings over the entire life of the dryers. The second An economical analysis of a dryer was performed based on the
method employed this concept. Initially, the savings on drying per economic situation in India. The analysis was done using the three
day of the solar dryer in the base year is determined. Then, the aforementioned methods. In the first method, the total amount of
present worth of the annual savings over the life of the system is dried products processed annually by the solar dryer was
obtained [87]. Persuading people to use this dryer depends on the 6666.66 kg, and the cost of drying 1 kg of pineapple slices was
payback period. The third method, namely, payback period, Rs. 11 (US$1 ¼Rs. 45) for the solar dryer and Rs.19.73 for the
requires the time to recover the initial investment. A similar electric dryer. From the second method, the cost of drying 1 kg of
144 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

Table 10
Global energy assessment scenario assumptions (IIASA, in preparation) [78].

GEA-L GEA-M GEA-H

Infrastructure Decentralized-renewable, limited nuclear, emphasis on Regional heterogeneity in technological Centralized, supply-orientation, e.g., CCS,
“intelligent grids” choice Nuclear, large-scale renewable
Lifestyles Major transformation in consumer choices, large uptake of Supply and demand side measures Less emphasis on “dematerialization”.
demand savings measures, mass transit systems Continued reliance on individual mobility
Policy More re-regulation; subsidies, new business models, “feed-in” Mix of policy “balanced” markets, Centrally regulated “feed-in” tariff for
tariff equivalents in end use measures across the energy system generation

.Solar Rad Temp. Out 7

Solar Radiation (Wm 2)

700 35

Solar irradiation(kWh/m2)
600 30
6
500 25

Temp(°C)
400 20
5
300 15
200 10
4 Bengkulu
100 5
0 0
3 DKI Jakarta
102
109
116
123
130
137
144
151
158
165
172
179
186
193
200
207
214
221
228
235
60
67
74
81
88
95

Day of Year. n 2 Samarinda

Fig. 14. Relationship between temperature and solar radiation recorded by Manado
weather station [81].
1
Ambon
0
pineapple slices by solar and electric dryers was calculated. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Table 11 shows that the cumulative present worth was approxi- Month
mately 17 million rupees. Thus, the investment on solar dryer was
Fig. 15. The comparisons of predicted values of the monthly solar irradiation
Rs. 550,000, and roughly 17 million rupees was saved. These
among the selected cities (Bengkulu, Jakarta, Samarinda, Manado, Ambon) [82].
results were obtained under the assumption that the life span of
the dryer is 20 years; however, the savings was obtained over the
extended life of the system. In the third method, the payback Table 11
period was calculated. Payback period is defined as the duration of Economics of the solar dryer—annual saving, present worth of annual saving and
the cumulative fuel savings that is equal to the initial investment. present worth of cumulative annual saving for each year during the life of the solar
dryer for drying pineapple and 250 days of use of solar dryer [85].
The payback period was determined to be only 0.54 year, that is,
equivalent to 191 drying days, and this is a very short time Year Annualized cost Annual Present worth of Present worth of
compared with its lifespan. of dryer (US$) savings annual saving (US$) cumulative saving
Solar dryer defines the unit cost of the solar crop drying (UCdry) (US$) (US$)
as the ratio of the total expenses during a year to the amount of
1 1460 23,800 22,000 22,000
dried crops. It is expressed as [89,93]
2 1460 25,000 31,400 43,600
3 1460 26,400 20,800 64,400
f es UEdry pc ðCRF d;T þ mÞ
UC dry ¼ ð7Þ 4 1460 27,200 20,200 84,800
365 CUFI ηd 5 1460 29,000 19,800 104,600
6 1460 30,400 19,200 123,800
For operation and maintenance, CRFd,T represents the capital 7 1460 32,000 18,600 142,400
recovery factor, which is defined as 8 1460 33,600 18,200 160,600
9 1460 35,200 17,600 178,200
dð1 þ dÞT 10 1460 37,000 17,200 195,400
CRF d;T ¼ ð8Þ 11 1460 38,800 16,600 212,000
dð1 þ dÞT  1 12 1460 40,800 16,200 228,200
13 1460 42,800 15,800 244,000
where d is the discount rate and T is the lifetime of the solar dryer. 14 1460 45,000 15,200 259,200
UEdry is the useful energy required for drying a unit amount of crop 15 1460 47,200 14,800 274,000
and is determined based on the dry or wet mass [Eqs. (2) and (3)]. 16 1460 49,600 14,400 288,600
fes is the fraction of useful energy requirement for drying supple- 17 1460 52,000 14,000 302,600
18 1460 54,600 13,600 316,200
mented by solar energy. CUF is the capacity utilization factor of the 19 1460 54,600 13,600 316,200
solar dryer, ηd is the thermal efficiency of the solar dryer, and I 20 1460 60,400 13,000 342,600
represents the design value of the daily solar radiation.
Hollic [73] performed an economical analysis of crop solar
drying and estimated the total cost of the solar dryer as 3,200,000 yields, and less land use should be included in the analysis to
Indian rupees (US$1 ¼Rs. 45). The fuel savings was 0.5 l/m2 panel obtain more accurate cost–benefit analysis.
per day, and the annual fuel consumption was 168,000 l of oil. The
price per liter of fuel was Rs. 9; thus, the savings is Rs. 1,512,000 4.2. Environmental aspects
per year, and the payback period is approximately 2 years. This
payback analysis shows a good return in using the solar energy for Undoubtedly, renewable energy technologies plays a significant
solar drying. The calculated payback period was based on the solar role in mitigating greenhouse gas emission and can prevent global
panel costs, and the expenses for the complete dryer system were warming by replacing fossil fuels and other related sources of
not considered. If the total cost of a new solar dryer project is energy. Nowadays, consumption of fossil fuels is dramatically
evaluated, the other advantages such as improved quality, higher growing because of improvements in the quality of life, increasing
 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148 145

world population, and industrialization of the developing coun- persuade industries as well as the society to use solar energy as
tries. It has two main drawbacks. First, the rate of reduction of a clean, green, and free energy as much as possible. Most of the
fossil fuel reserves will increase, and second, it can affect the policies aim to facilitate the use of various electricity generation
environment, which increases health risks and the threat of global mixes, reduce state reliance on fossil fuel, increase renewable
climate change. The most important factor that causes global energy deployment, reduce carbon emission, or a combination of
warming is carbon dioxide, which is mostly produced by fossil the aforementioned. One method to provide motivation is to
fuels [90,91]. Therefore, renewable energy is a welcome alternative mitigate tax credit, which had been subjected to many changes
as a clean energy source. over the last three decades. The production of tax credit was
Obviously, among the various renewable energy options, solar modified several times, and what was once consistent is now
thermal energy is the most abundant and is available in both [94,98].
direct and indirect forms. The sun emits energy at a rate of The Department of Energy (DOF) in the US aims to generate
3.8  1023 kW in which approximately 1.8  1014 kW is received 10–15% of the nation's energy from solar sources by 2030 [113].
by Earth [85]. A large amount of solar energy is available for Reports show that the policies implemented in the US are RPS,
thermal application such as cooking, water heating, and crop formation incentives, and production tax credit. The Canadian
drying, among others. In the solar drying technology of agricul- government has implemented new policies on taxation, energy,
tural products, the process is clean and sanitary and conforms to trade, labor, intellectual property rights protection, regulation,
national and international standards without paying bill for the infrastructure and research development, and commercialization
energy. Overall, it can save energy and time, occupies less area, for the manufacturing and processing sectors to enhance the
improves product quality, makes the process more efficient, and foundation of sustainable long-term economic growth [94]. Ger-
most importantly, it protects the environment [13]. many pursues two policies: FIT and incentives. The mechanism of
Piacentini and Mujumdar estimated the production of carbon FIT in the country is determined within the duration of 20 years,
dioxide in a drying system [86]. They studied a drying system and a constant reward is provided for energy production. Various
whose electricity energy consumption was 100 kWh/day and FITs are paid for different rated generation systems. Incentives and
operated at 25 days per month and 11 months per year. Under beneficial credit terms provide additional support [114].
these conditions, the estimated emitted carbon dioxide was France has established an extensive plan to increase the share
approximately 14.77 t per year. In another study [93] on solar of energy from renewable resources to 23% by 2020. Similar to
crop drying and CO2 emission potential, the estimate was that a Germany, France has two main policies, namely, FIT and incentives.
1 m2 aperture area of solar irradiation can prevent the production FIT was established in July 2006. FIT obligates users to purchase
of 463 kg of carbon dioxide in the determined life cycle. electricity generated by renewable energy producers in its service
Wide distribution of the solar drying applications, especially for area and to pay a tariff determined by public authorities and
crops, decentralizes the application of solar energy, particularly in guaranteed for a specific time period. As an incentive, some forms
developing countries [9,93,96]. Ekcchukwu and Norton [9] inves- of additional support are provided by the government [100]. China
tigated the mitigation of CO2 emission due to the implementation exhibited a double-digit rate of economic growth in the past two
of solar drying. They suggested that solar drying for cash crops decades. This rapid growth entailed huge amounts energy con-
such as tobacco, tea, small cardamom, coriander, seeds, and onion sumption and a significant environmental impact [101]. China has
flakes is one of the possible areas for immediate intervention of a high potential for solar power application. The National People's
solar energy that can reduce CO2 emission. Congress passed the Renewable Energy Law (REL) in 2005, thereby
opening a new stage of renewable energy development in China
4.3. Political aspects [102]. Subsequently, numerous supporting regulations and guide-
lines were considered to implement REL. The National Develop-
Today, because of the obvious importance of protecting the ment and Reform Committee (NDRC) identified three priorities
environment, governments and industries worldwide are continu- for renewable energy development in 2006. The first is to support
ously finding ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emission. They renewable electricity generation, including wind, solar, and water.
focus on renewable energy resources, particularly solar energy [8]. The second is to study energy resources as an alternative for
Governments address the issues of energy development by estab- oil, and the last is to provide incentives for the use of solar
lishing energy policies, along with the development of the energy energy in buildings. More laws and regulations were reported by
industry to support its growth, including energy production, Wang [103].
distribution, and consumption. The focus of the energy policy Pakistan is a country where all types of renewable energy can
includes legislation, international treaties, and incentives to inves- be exploited. Despite having a huge solar energy potential, the lack of
tors. Government policies can considerably mitigate the effects of technical knowledge renders existing systems in this country non-
global warming and energy crisis due to energy resource defi- operational. To address this situation, the Pakistan Council of Renew-
ciency [110,111]. A comparative study of the worlds' total installed able Energy Technology (PCRET) began to ensure the development
solar energy capacity from 2008 to 2009 shows a growth rate of and sustainability of solar and other renewable energy projects in the
46.8% in which the amount of exploited energy was 22,928.2 MW country. The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) joined
in 2008. Policies such as feed-in-tariff (FIT), renewable portfolio such effort in [104]. Aside from other sporadic departments operating
standard (RPS), and incentives implemented by many govern- in this field, Pakistan has two other full-fledged departments. PCRET
ments around the world can provide great motivation and interest and AEDB aim to accelerate the development of renewable energy
in using solar technology such as in drying in some industries. No technologies [105]. However, only a few reports pertaining to RETs
specific model is established to achieve this goal, and every and solar energy harvesting, particularly for agricultural applications,
country can have its own particular policy. Various policies such have been presented. Sheikh presented a number of suggestions to
as FIT, RPS, tax credit, pricing laws, production incentives, quota develop, disseminate, and obtain efficient renewable energy [106].
requirements, and trading systems, can be implemented [97,112]. The suggestions include formulating adequate laws to encourage
Solangi et al. [94] reviewed the solar energy policies in some investors, tax rebate, commercial and grid-connected RET projects,
countries, including the US, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, improving the quality of installation and technology used, supporting
China, Pakistan, Australia, and Malaysia. They revealed that, honesty and dedication instead of personal benefits, developing
depending on the situation, each country pursues policies to human resources, and establishing RET plants in the country. FIT,
146 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148

subsidies, and emission reduction are the issues considered to Table 12 shows some countries' policies about solar energy
promote renewable energy commercialization in Australia. The level in brief.
of greenhouse gas emissions per capita is extremely high in Australia
compared with other industrialized countries because of the large
amounts of domestic reserves of coal that make electricity generation 5. Future direction
inexpensive. Australian policymakers established a mechanism to
increase the proportion of emission-free renewable energy as well Many studies have tried to exploit solar energy for drying of
as to prevent the production of more GHGs. In 2001, Australia agricultural crops, and many researchers have presented their
introduced the first national renewable energy market that employs theoretical, empirical or semi-empirical results. Solar energy as an
tradable certificates. energy source for drying purposes in industries is not overly
Another country that was considered is Malaysia. By 2020, expected, and high potential on improving the knowledge in
electricity generation is expected to reach 23,099 MW. In 2010, the industrial drying exists. Industrial processes such as cement
total installed capacity was 20,493 MW, 47% of which is the energy production, textile process, dairy process, clay-brick production,
reserve margin for peninsular. The total energy demand is shown wood and timber process, bio-fuel drying, wastewater treatment,
in Fig. 16 [107]. Malaysia hopes to become a developed country by OMW treatment, drying of waste products of palm oil, and food
2020 by improving various parameters, including social, environ- preservation can employ solar energy for drying as one important
mental, and economic, and eliminating subsidies for non-renew- part in their processes. The drying system for industrial purposes
able energy sources. One of the current policies implemented by should be precisely studied based on energy and exergy analysis.
the Malaysian government is to involve research institutions and So far, no comprehensive research on industrial solar drying has
universities in the improvement of energy research and develop- been performed; thus, further research and investigation are
ment. Many institutes and universities, including SIRIM Berhad, indispensable to identify the obstacles and barriers.
University of Malaya, University Putra Malaysia, University Sains
Malaysia, and University Kebangsaan Malaysia, are currently
performing research on this area. Solar energy is used for applica- 6. Concluding remarks
tions such as domestic hot water systems, water pumping, and
drying of agricultural products at present. Environmental argu- Drying, a basic process in the preservation of crops and in some
ments alone are not sufficient to motivate public acceptance. The industries, can be performed using solar radiation as the main
appropriate support mechanism must be established to create the source of energy. The amount of energy required for dryers
market, and the prohibitive pricing of RE must be eliminated to depends on the materials to be dried as well as the technology
encourage businesses to adopt the technology [94]. Malaysian employed. Considering the many programs of the governments
government provides subsidies for NG to PETRONAS. Studies have and industrial sectors around the world to prevent the increase in
revealed that subsidies for conventional energy use should be greenhouse gas emissions to the environment, solar energy is
gradually removed or transferred to RE to level the playing field; proposed as the most promising reserve energy source. Moreover,
the same subsidies should be given to RE for the time [94,108,109]. depletion of fossil fuels will be prevented. Fortunately, many
studies and reports revealed the large potential of exploiting solar
radiation as a sustainable energy supply for future use.
Solar drying not only plays a significant role in keeping food
140000
and agricultural products from deterioration but also improves
120000 their quality. Studies indicate that the drying process is essential in
100000 some industries such as food, dairy, textile, sewage sludge, wood
and timber, and cement industries. Hence, knowledge on energy
(Ktoe)

80000
consumption is important in evaluating whether the available
60000 solar energy is sufficient for these various applications.
40000 Because heat energy is employed basically for drying, sensible
20000 heat must be supplied to the materials from the ambient to the
drying temperature, and latent heat must be provided for eva-
0
poration of moisture in these products; therefore, the amount of
2000 2010 2020 2030
energy required is related to the process to be performed. On
Coal Oil Gas Electricity Others average, 12% of the total energy used in the manufacturing process
Fig. 16. Total energy demand in Malaysia (ktoe). is consumed by the drying system. For instance, in the best
Source: Preliminary Energy Outlook, PTM [106] situation in the cement industry, the specific energy consumption

Table 12
Summary of solar energy policy of different countries [93].

Country Principle Investment Financing/public Target implementation Legislation R&D Strength

support support loan (e.g., GHGs emission) support (highlight)
(FIT/RPS) (e.g., subsidies)

USA RPS Yes Yes Yes (25% of supply, 2025) Yes (25%, 2025) Yes Investment and production tax credit
Canada FIT Yes Yes Yes (12 GW, 2016) Regulatory framework Yes Production incentive of cent/kWh for the
in2008 first 10 years
Germany FIT Yes Yes Yes (30 GW, 2010) Yes (20%, 2020) Yes Electricity feed-in tariff
Spain FIT Yes Yes Yes (500 MW, 2010) – – –
France FIT Yes Yes – – – –
China – Yes Yes Yes (total capacity 30 GW, – – Locally made components
2020)
Pakistan – Yes Yes – – – –
 G. Pirasteh et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 31 (2014) 133–148 147

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