Multifactorial Contributors to the Effectiveness of a Mobile Solar Dryer

The ever-increasing global population has affected food security in various ways. Dehydrating crops serve as one of the methods to preserve food and improve their shelf life. This paper discusses the various parameters that can contribute to the effectiveness of a mobile solar dryer. Parameters studied include dryer wall profile, wall colors, tray design and crop thickness. The dryer is placed in an area with ample sunlight with its temperature and humidity measured. It is found that dryer wall profile has little effect on the effectiveness while all other studied parameters affect the dryer in various ways. Light colored walls are preferred over dark colors, metal trays are best used for drying crops, and crop thickness only serves as a reference to a specific crop used depending on the customer’s needs.