DRYING OF SNAKESKIN GOURAMI MARINATED IN SUAEDA MARITIMA BY USING SOLAR ENERGY COMBINED WITH HOT AIR FROM SOLAR COLLECTOR

Abstract

This research aims to design and build a solar energy dryer prototype combined with hot air from the solar collector for snakeskin gourami marinated in Suaeda Maritima. The developed dryer consists of 3 main parts, including a drying chamber with an area of 3.24 m², a solar collector with an area of 1.305 m², and a trolley for tipping snakeskin gourami marinated. In the experiment, one kilogram of snakeskin gourami marinated in Suaeda was prepared. To study the optimal drying condition, they were dried at different air velocities of 1, 2, and 3 m/s. The results showed that the air velocity of 3 m/s was the fastest drying time of 80 minutes, which snakeskin gourami marinated in Suaeda Maritima has a final moisture content of 180%db. In the drying, two-term equation was the suitable mathematical model in this study. The highest R² is 0.9925 and the lowest and RMSE are 0.0001 and 0.0044, respectively. Besides, the energy consumption of the solar dryer was also considered. In this study, the energy sources in the drying process were derived from three parts, including (1) hot air energy from the solar collector, (2) solar energy in the part of the solar chamber, and supplied electrical power to the fan for circulation and suction of hot air. Interestingly, the overall efficiency of energy consumption for the solar dryer was 18.068%.