Desenvolvimento de um secador solar indireto ativo.

Abstract

Brazil has a diagonal strip where the highest irradiation values occur, called the solar belt and extending from the Northeast to the Center-West.. However, it is in the region Northeast that if the best results, with average global radiation of 5.9 Kwh/m², especially the cariri paraibano, which has irradiation of more than 2.800 hours for year. Thus, the use of this clean and renewable energy source has been used in sustainable technological development, especially in the drying of agricultural products. One of the low-cost and easy-to-maintain alternative technologies for drying agricultural products is the use of a solar dryer. On the other hand, inadequate conservation techniques and poor storaging conditions lead to deterioration in the quality of agricultural products. This work proposes the development of an active indirect solar dryer for drying agricultural products, using some reused materials. An automation system with Arduino and sensors was used to read the temperature and relative humidity of the air inside the dryer. The experimental results showed that the proposed solar collector was able to increase the temperature inside the dryer about of 34 °C, indicating that the solar dryer built can be used in the drying of agricultural products, adding value to the products and, consequently,improve quality of life of the families of farmers involved in the activity.