Published Paper Details:

Solar energy is the most promising of the renewable energy sources in view of its apparent limitless potential. Direct solar energy has been applied to grain drying for years. The sun and wind dry crops in the field, stack or window. Artificial drying has supplemented this process to increase the harvest rate during inclement weather or to minimize field losses. This article investigates solar grain drying as one alternative. Radiant energy from the sun reaching the earth surface is known as shortwave radiation, solar radiation, solar energy or isolation. The total radiation may be direct from the sun; diffuse, scattered by the atmosphere or reflected, from adjacent surfaces. The dryer temperature and drying rate were found to be higher than the natural open sun drying method. The results showed a considerable advantage of solar dryer over the traditional open sun drying method in term of drying rate and less risk for spoilage.