| Purpose |
It
dries fruits and vegetables using principally
solar energy but has a biomass-heated exchanger
for supplemental or full heating requirement. |
| Capacity |
It
can dry 25 Kg of sliced pineapples in 2-3 days
in good sunny days. |
| Target
client |
Farmers,
women groups producing for the (urban or export)
market |
| Advantage |
This
hybrid dryer has an increased capacity and allows
drying during the absence of sunlight. Additional
heating (e.g. the night) can be optained by using
the furnace-heat exchanger that burns 2 kg of
charcoal per hour. Other biomass fuels can also
be used such as maize cobs, wood and other dried
agricultural wastes.
It can be built from locally available materials.
The main frame and tray frames are made of wood.
The papyrus floor is covered with black PVC sheet
to aborb sunlight. The furnace-heat exchanger
is made of a 200 liter drum. |
| Disadvantage |
An
imported UV resistant plastic cover must be used
for longer life of up to 2 years. Local PVC plastic
sheets last only 60 days. |
| Cost |
Tunnel
dryer only with imported UV resistant cover &
6 trays with plastic mesh: US$ 210
Optional Biomass furnace-heat exchanger and wooden
box: US$ 70 |
| Market
potential / Status |
At
least 25 units have been built in Uganda for fruit
drying purposes by the owners. |
| Information
provided by |
Post-Harvest
Handling & Storage Project, P.O. Box 7856
Kampala, Uganda. Phone (256)-41-234531.
National Post-harvest Program, NARO, KARI, P.O.
Box 7056, Kampala, Uganda. Phone: (256)-41-567708 |
| Biomass
heat-exhanger assembly available from |
Tonnet
Enterprises, Gayaza Road, just after Kalerwe market,
P.O. Box 3136 Kampala, Uganda. Phone: (256)-077-413754 |
| Illustrations |
Illustration
of KARI with drawings (scans) |
