Assess the use of Solar Dryer with Photonic Solar Reflectors and PCMs in Farming Products in the Andean Region

Abstract

Dehydration food products is seen as an alternative to preserve them in quality and extend their period of live and consumption, this procedure usually happens using non-renewables resources, or in the open air, which, in some cases, could contaminate the final product. An alternative is the use of solar energy for solar dyers to dehydrate agricultural products. Since Ecuador has an excellent radiant resource and an economical dependence of Agriculture activities, it is suggested to assess the performance of a solar dryer, that consider, as an improvement the use of Integrated Photonic Solar Reflectors and thermal energy storage with Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in the Province of Pichincha, in the Andean Region, applied to farming products harvesting by a local community in Cayambe. For this evaluation, in the begging will be analysed food products such as Maize and Cedron leaves, and it will be evaluated the reduction of their moisture content. The use of thermal energy storage (PCMs) will allow to show that this incorporation increase the efficiency of the solar energy system, and the addition of Integrated Photonic Solar Reflectors to the panels, also, it will be possible to suggest improvements in the design of the chosen solar dryer taken as reference for the purposes of this research.