Drying of Porang (Amorphophallus muelleri) Using a Novel Solar Dryer: 7E+Q Analysis and REA Modelling

Abstract

This research aims to develop a novel solar dryer with paraffin wax as thermal energy storage, air recirculation system, and evacuated tube solar collector applied for porang. The falling rate period dominated the drying of porang. As an improvement over the 4E analysis, the 7E+Q analysis can reveal the true performance of the dryer unit. For the first time, the reaction engineering approach modelling was implemented to predict the moisture content of porang during drying.