Investigation of the Drying Characteristics of Seaweed using Offshore Dryer

Abstract

The seaweed industry in the Philippines lack technological means in ensuring consistent rate and quality of producing dry Seaweeds. The current techniques used such as open sun drying and hang drying takes approximately three days to reduce moisture content to 40%. These techniques are subject to Seaweed quality reduction due to uncontrollable weather conditions. These issues are addressed by the successful design, fabrication, and testing of an Offshore Seaweed Dryer. The dryer makes use of radiation, convection heat transfer, air flow, and dehumidification in a closed chamber equipped with active elements. It achieves flotation through a constructed raft. The team conducted four runs to reduce moisture content of wet seaweeds with varying weights at varying conditions. An average of 44.98% moisture content yield was achieved using the dryer throughout a span of 24 hours.