Exergy Analysis of Drying Process: An Experimental Study in Solar Greenhouse

Abstract

This article examines the exergy variation during drying in solar greenhouses. Exergy efficiencies were derived as functions of drying time and temperature of the drying air. An illustrative example is considered to verify Dincer and Sahin's model and to show the applicability of the model to actual drying processes at different drying air temperatures. This work is intended not only to demonstrate the usefulness of exergy analysis in thermodynamic assessments of drying processes but to provide insights into their performances and efficiencies. In this study, the drying performance of the passively heated solar greenhouse has been investigated. Experimental results under the meteorological conditions of Izmir, Turkey (latitude 38.24 N, longitude 27.50 E), are presented.

Keywords:

• Drying
• Exergy
• Green energy
• Sustainable development

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful for the financial support provided for the project under Project No. 08 GEE 004 by Ege University Research Fund and to the reviewers, Dr. Maria A. Silva and Dr. Guohua Chen, for the valuable comments, which increased the quality of the subject article. This study would not have been possible without the cooperation and assistance of the personnel at the Ege University Solar Energy Institute.