Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

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Energy and exergy analyses of thin layer drying of mulberry in a forced solar dryer
Abdullah Akbulut a, *, Aydin Durmus b
a
b

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dumlupinar University, 43000 Kutahya, Turkey

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ondukuz Mayis University, 55100 Samsun, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 26 June 2009
Received in revised form
6 November 2009
Accepted 21 December 2009
Available online 8 January 2010

This paper is concerned with the energy and exergy analyses of the thin layer drying process of mulberry
via forced solar dryer. Using the rst law of thermodynamics, energy analysis was carried out to estimate
the ratios of energy utilization and the amounts of energy gain from the solar air collector. However,
exergy analysis was accomplished to determine exergy losses during the drying process by applying the
second law of thermodynamics. The drying experiments were conducted at different ve drying mass
ow rate varied between 0.014 kg/s and 0.036 kg/s. The effects of inlet air velocity and drying time on
both energy and exergy were studied. The main values of energy utilization ratio were found to be as
55.2%, 32.19%, 29.2%, 21.5% and 20.5% for the ve different drying mass ow rate ranged between
0.014 kg/s and 0.036 kg/s. The main values of exergy loss were found to be as 10.82 W, 6.41 W, 4.92 W,
4.06 W and 2.65 W with the drying mass ow rate varied between 0.014 kg/s and 0.036 kg/s. It was
concluded that both energy utilization ratio and exergy loss decreased with increasing drying mass ow
rate while the exergetic efciency increased.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Energy analysis
Exergy analysis
Thin layer drying
Forced solar dryer
Mulberry

1. Introduction
Mulberry trees are extensively grown for their leaves as food
and fruits. There are three kinds of mulberry: white mulberry
(Morus alba L.), black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) and red mulberry
(Morus rubra L.). White mulberry originated in western Asia, red
mulberry in north and South America and black mulberry is from
southern Russia. The fruits of white mulberries are often harvested
by spreading a sheet on the ground and shaking the limbs. They
have a high level of moisture content at harvest. Because of the
short season and the sensitivity to storage drying is often used as
a preservation method. In addition, mulberry is used in mulberry
molasses, juices, paste, marmalade and wine production [10,14].
Drying is dened as reduction of moisture from the products
and is a most important process for preserving agricultural products since it has a great effect on the quality of the dried products.
Drying of fruit and vegetables is one of the oldest methods of food
preservation. The major objective in drying agricultural products is
the reduction of the moisture content to a level which allows safe
storage over an extended period. Sun drying is the most common
method used to preserve agricultural products in the World and
also Turkey. However, it has some problems related to the
contamination with dust, soil, sand particles and insects [10]. In
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 90 2742652031; fax: 90 2742652003.
E-mail addresses: aakbulut1@gmail.com (A. Akbulut), adurmus1@gmail.com
(A. Durmus).
0360-5442/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.energy.2009.12.028

spite of many disadvantage, sun drying is still practiced in many

places throughout the world. Solar energy is an important alternative energy sources because it is abundant, inexhaustible,
renewable, cheap and non-pollutant. Recently, several studies
relating the mathematical modeling and drying kinetics of the
vegetables, fruits and agrobased products have been conducted by
several researchers, such as those concerning pistachio [15], carrots
[12], potatoes and apples [2], red peppers [3], gs [11], mint leaves
[13], crop [1], mulberry [10,14], hazelnut [17], grapes [19], apricot
[18]. Mathematical models have proved to be very useful design
and analysis of the mass and heat transfer process during drying.
Thermodynamic analysis, particularly exergy analysis, has
appears to be an essential tool for system design, analysis and
optimization of thermal system [8]. Exergy is dened as the
maximum amount of work which can be produced by a stream of
matter, heat or work as it comes to equilibrium with a reference
environment [9]. In the drying process, the aim is to use a minimum
amount of energy for maximum moisture removal for the desired
nal conditions of the product. Several studies have been conducted
on exergy analyses of food drying. However, the detailed literature
review for the present study has shown that there is no information
on energy and exergy analyses of the thin layer drying process of
mulberry via forced solar dryer. Therefore, this paper, as different
other studies, concentrates on the energy and exergy analyses of the
thin layer drying of mulberry via forced solar type dryer by using the
rst and second law of thermodynamics. It is believed that such
a study will contribute to mulberry producers by removing their

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

Nomenclature
A
Cp
E
EUR
Ex
F
g
gc
h
I
J
_
m
N
P
Q
s
t
T
U
v
V

area, m2
specic Heat, kJ kg1 K1
emissive power
energy utilization ratio, %
exergy rate, kW
shape Factor
gravitational acceleration, ms2
constant in Newtons law
enthalpy, kJ kg1
solar radiation, W m2
joule constant
mass ow rate, kg s1
number of species
pressure, kPa
net heat rate, W
specic entropy, kJ kg1 K1
time, minute
temperature,  C
specic internal energy
specic volume, m3 kg1
velocity, ms1

problems related to energy and exergy throughout the drying

process. The primary objective of this study is to present energy and
exergy analyses of thin layer drying of mulberry at different conditions of drying mass ow rates in a forced solar dryer. As remarkable
studies about energy and exergy analysis of drying process, the
following may be presented. Midilli and Kucuk [16] performed the
energy and exergy analyses of the drying process of shelled and
unshelled pistachios using solar drying cabinet. Dincer and Sahin [8]
developed a new model for thermodynamic analysis of drying
process. Akpinar [5] performed energy and exergy analyses of
drying of red pepper slices via convective type dryer. Colak and
Hepbasli [6] performed an exergy analysis of thin layer drying of
green olive in a tray dryer. Akpinar et al. [4] conducted the rst and
second law analyses of thermodynamic of pumpkin drying process.
Corzo et al. [7] performed energy and exergy analyses of the thin
layer drying of coroba slices at three different air temperatures.
2. Material and methods
Turkey has great solar energy potential due to its location in the
Mediterranean Region (36 and 42 North latitudes). The sunshine
period of Turkey is 2624 h/year with a maximum of 365 h/month in
July and a minimum of 103 h/month in December. The main solar
radiation intensity is about 3.67 kWh/m2day.
The solar cabinet dryer is installed in the Technical Education
Faculty of Firat University, Elazg, Turkey. The solar drying experiments were carried out during the period of June 2005. Each test
started at 09:00 am and continued till 17:00 pm. The drying of
mulberries was conducted in solar cabinet dryer. A schematic
diagram and photograph view of the solar dryer system is illustrated in Fig. 1 a and b, respectively. The system consist mainly four
subsystems, namely (a) drying cabinet, (b) solar air collector, (c) air
fan and AC hertz converter (d) data logger. In the experiments,
weather temperature, inlet and outlet temperature of solar
collector and dryer, temperature of the mulberry center, relative
humidity just above the mulberry bed surface and solar radiation
were recorded at 15 min intervals. In the measurements of
temperatures, T Type copper constant thermocouples were connected with a ZA9000FST connector element to 5990 0 Almemo

w
z

1755

specic humidity, g g1

altitude coordinate, m

Greek letters
4
relative Humudity, %
hex
exergetic efciency, %
m
chemical potential, kJ kg1
Subscripts
a
air
c
chemical
col
collector
cp
connection pipe
da
drying air
f
fan
i
inlet
dc
drying chamber
L
loss
mp
moisture of product
o
outlet
sat
saturated
N
surrounding or ambient

digital data logger, with reading accuracy of 0.1  C. A thermo

anemometer (FVA645TH3) was used to measure air speed, with
reading 0.115 m/s range. Pressure drop in a collector was
measured by a FDA612MR pressure module. Mass loss of the
mulberry were recorded during drying for determination of drying
curves by FKA0251 strain strengetch in the measurement range of
0.0210 kN an accuracy of 0.01 kN. The solar radiation during the
operation period of drying system was measured with a Kipp and
Zonen solarimeter. Fresh mulberries were purchased at a local
market in Elazg, Turkey. All data were collected using an Almemo
5990-0 data logger interfaced to the personal computer and then
recorded at a 15 min time intervals. Prior to placing the sample in
a dryer, the drying system was run for at least 60 min to conduct
calibration. The solar dryer system consisted of a centrifugal fan
that was used to blow air into the solar collector through a 82 mm
diameter exible aluminum duct. By using AC hertz converter, the
mass airow was controlled. The dryer unit was made of an inner
chamber 1.2  0.74  0.74 m made of a 0.8 mm thickness stainless
steel sheet that was in turn enclosed in an outer chamber
1.5  0.75  0.75 m made of stainless steel sheet. The space
between the two chambers was lled with polystyrene insulating
materials. On leaving the heating chamber the air passed through
a (0.3  0.2  0.2 m) chimney chamber to allow it to mix and
achieve uniform temperature before entering the drying chamber.
The experiments were carried out using fresh mulberry with an
average initial moisture content of approximately 3 kg of water/kg
of dry solids and fresh mulberry were placed in the dryer. No pretreatment was applied to the fresh product.
3. Analysis
In rst and second law analyses of thermodynamics, the drying
process was considered as steady ow process. The main basis of
these analyses is the phenomena of thermodynamics of humid air.
3.1. The rst law analysis
In the scope of the rst law of thermodynamics, an energy
analysis of the thin layer drying process of mulberry is performed to

1756

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

Fig. 1. a Schematic view of the solar dryer system. b Photograph view of the solar dryer system.

determine more about the energy aspects and behaviour of drying

air throughout the forced solar dryer. The air conditioning process
throughout the mulberry drying includes the heating, cooling and
humidication processes. Actually, the air conditioning process can
be modeled as steady ow processes that are analyzed by
employing the steady ow conservation of mass and conservation
of energy principles.
For the energy and exergy analyses of the thin layer drying
process, the following equations are generally employed to
compute mass conservation of the drying air and moisture, the
energy conservation of the process and relative humidity and
enthalpy of the drying air.
General equation of mass conservation of drying air:

_ da;i
m

_ da;o
m

_
Q_  W

_ da;o
m

V2
ho o
2

_ da;o m
_ da;i m
_ da
m

!


_ da;i
m

V2
hi i
2

!
(3)

(4)

The changes in kinetic energy of the fan were take into

consideration, while the potential and kinetic energy in other parts
of the process were neglected:

wP
0:622 wPsat@T

(5)

(1)

Where wdenotes the specic humidity, P atmospheric pressure,

Psat@Tthe saturated vapor pressurem of the drying air.
The enthalpy of the drying air can be determined as follows:

(2)

h CPda Tda whsat@T

General equation of mass conservation of moisture:

X
X

_ da;o $wo
_ da;i $wi m
_ mp
m
m

General equation of energy conservation:

(6)

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

_ da cpda
Exergy m

In the scope of the second law analysis, the total exergy inow,
outow and losses of the forced solar dryer were estimated. The
basic procedure for exergy analysis of the drying chamber is to
determine the exergy values at steady state points and the reason of
exergy variation for the process. The exergy values are calculated by
using the characteristics of the working medium from a rst law
energy balance For this purpose, the general form of exergy equation applicable for steady ow systems was employed [16].

Ekserji

u  uN
internal
energy

 To s  sN
entropy



Po

v  vN
J
work


X
g
mc  mN Nc
z  zN

gravity gc J
chemical
c
momentum


4
Eg Ag Fg 3T 4  TN
 4TN T 3 /
radiation
V2
2gJ

12

emission
where the subscript Ndenotes the reference conditions. There are
variations of this general exergy equation. In the analyses of many
systems, some, but not all, of the terms shown in Eq. (12) are
used. Since exergy is energy available from any source, the terms

Exo

(14)

The equation of exergy inow can be written for the drying

chamber as below:



T
_ da cpda Tdci  TN  TN ln dci
Exdci m
TN

(15)

where cpda is the average specic heat of the drying air. However,
the equaition of exergy outow can also be written as



T
_ da cpda Tdco  TN  TN ln dco
Exdco m
TN

(16)

Finally, the quantity of exergy loss is calculated by applying Eq.

(14). The exergetic efciency can be dened as the ratio of the
exergy use in the drying of the product exergy to exergy inow for
the drying chamber. However, it is explained as the ratio of the
exergy outow to the exergy inow for the drying chamber.
Considering this denition, the exergetic efciency of drying
chamber can be estimated. Thus, the general form of the exergetic
efciency is written as [16],

hEx

3.2. The second law analysis

Exi 

Exi  ExL
Ex
1 L
Exi
Exi

(17)

4. Results and discussion

The drying experiments were conducted during the period of
July to August 2005 in Elazg, Turkey. During the thin layer drying

4
m=0.014

3,5

m=0.02
3
m=0.026
2,5

m=0.033

m=0.036

1,5
1
0,5
0

Time (min)
Fig. 2. Variation of moisture content with drying time.

780

(11)

720



_ da hdc;i  hdc;o
m


EUR
_ da $Cpa Tcol;o  Tcol;i
m

ExL

660

During the drying process, the energy utilization ratio of the

drying chamber (EUR) was calculated using the following equation:

(13)

600

(10)

Moisture content (kg-water/kg-dry matter)

Qdc

_ da $hdci@T  hdco@T
m

540

During the dehumidication process at the drying chamber, the

heat used can be estimated by employing the following equation
and using psychrometric chart.

Tg
To

480

(9)

 T0 ln

420



_ da $cpa $ Tcol;o  Tdc;i
QL;cp m

360

Temperature measurements show that some small heat losses

were taking place between the solar collector outlet and dryer inlet.
Because of the heat losses in this part of the system, it should be
denitely emphasized that the outlet conditions of the solar
collector would not be equal to the inlet conditions of the dryer.
Hence, the quantity of heat losses throughout the connection pipe
between the solar collector and dryer can be estimated by the
following equation.

120

(8)

60



_ da $cPda $ Tcol;o  Tcol;i
Qcol m

Tg  To

Applying Eq. (13), the inow, and outow of exergy can be

determined depending on the inlet and outlet temperatures of the
drying chamber. Then the exergy losses throughout the drying
process are determined by using Eq. (14).

Using the values of the outlet and inlet temperatures of the solar
collector, the energy transmitted to the drying air from the solar
collector can be calculated by the following equation.



300

(7)

240

wcol;i wfo
Tcol;i Tfo
fcol;i ffo
hcol;i hfo

can be developed using electrical current ow, magnetic elds,

and diffusional ow of materials. One common simplication is to
substitute enthalpy fort the internal energy and PV terms that are
applicable for steady ow systems. Eq. (12) is often used under
conditions where the gravitational and momentum terms are
neglected. In addition to these, the pressure changes in the
system are also neglected because of VVN. In this case, Eq. (12)
is derived as:

180

In order to determine the outlet conditions of the solar collector,

it is assumed that there is no heat loss throughout the connection
pipe between the fan and the solar collector, and thus, the inlet
conditions of the solar collector are approximately equal to the
outlet conditions of the fan as given in equation (7).

1757

1758

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

m
Collector

Draying chamber

0.014kg / s

Energy utilation ratio(EUR)

450

100

400

90
80

350

70
60

250
50
200

EUR (%)

Q (Watt)

300

40
150

30

100

20

50

second day

first day
0

10
0

45 80 135 180 225 270 315 360 405 450 495 540 585 630 675 720 765

time (minute)
Fig. 3. The results of the energy analysis for 0.014 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

via forced solar dryer experiments, the solar radiation changed

between 123.3 W/m2 and 939 W/m2, the temperature of ambient
air ranged from 28  C to 45  C. The air temperature reached at
maximum value between 11.00 h and 15.00 h. The initial moisture
content of fresh mulberries was close to 80% (wet basis). Drying
was continued until the sample reached the desired moisture level
(8%, wet basis). The solar radiation energy is maximum at midday
and minimum at evening in day of experiment. The energy and
exergy analyses of the thin layer drying process of mulberry via
forced solar dryer were performed by using data from the

experiments and the results obtained from these calculations are

presented in Figs. 312 and discussed in detail.
4.1. Moisture content
Fig. 2 presents the variations of moisture content as a function of
drying time for the mass ow rates of 0.014, 0.02, 0.026,0.033 and
0.036 kg/s. As the moisture content of mulberry in the solar type
dryer decrease, the moisture diffusion from the mulberry to the air
decreases as well. It can be seen that the relative humidity in the

m =0.02kg/s
Collector

Draying chamber

Energy utilation ratio(EUR)

600

50
first day

second day

45

500

40
35
30
300

25
20

200

15
10

100

5
0
0

45

80

135 180 225 270 315 360 405 450 495 540 585 630 675 720

time (minute)
Fig. 4. The results of the energy analysis for 0.02 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

EUR (%)

Q (Watt)

400

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

1759

m = 0.026kg/s
Collector

Draying chamber

Energy utilation ratio(EUR)

45

700

first day

600

second day

40
35

500

400

25
20

300

EUR (%)

Q (Watt)

30

15
200

10
100

5
0

0
0

30

58

80 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540

time (minute)
Fig. 5. The results of the energy analysis for 0.026 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

drying air declines in accordance with the moisture content in

mulberry.
4.2. Energy analysis
The energy analysis of thin layer drying process of mulberry
was performed by using data obtained from the forced solar dryer

experiments. Figs. 37 present the results of the energy analysis

of thin layer drying process of mulberry via forced solar dryer. The
values of energy utilization in the drying chamber were calculated
using Eq. (10). EUR, calculated with Eq. (11), was dened as the
ratio of the energy utilization to the energy given from solar
collector. Maximum values of Qcol and Qdc were obtained 392.8 W
and 349 W with mass ow rates of 0.014 kg/s during 405 min for

m =0.033kg/s
Collector

Draying chamber

Energy utilation ratio(EUR)

45

700

40

600
first day

second day

35

500

400

25
20

300

15
200
10
100

0
0

5
0
30 58 80 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450

time (minute)
Fig. 6. The results of the energy analysis for 0.033 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

EUR (%)

Q (Watt)

30

1760

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

m =0.036kg/s
Collector

Draying chamber

Energy utilation ratio(EUR)

700

45
a day

600

40
35
30

400

25
20

300

EUR (%)

Q (Watt)

500

15

200
10

100

0
0

30

58

80

120

150

180

210

240

270

300

330

360

time (minute)
Fig. 7. The results of the energy analysis for 0.036 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

the rst day experiments, respectively. The value of Qcol was

obtained in the ranges of 99.987345.66 W during 375 min for
the second day experiment, respectively. Fig. 3 also shows the
variations of energy utilization ratio (EUR) of drying process for
0.014 kg/s mass ow rate. It was obtained that EUR varied
between 15.99% and 89.25% during the rst day experiments. For
the second day experiments, the EUR varied between 27.11% and
45.37%. Fig. 4 shows the values of Qcol, Qdc and EUR for 0.02 kg/s
mass ow rate of the drying air. The value of Qcol varied between
276 and 515 W in the rst day experiment, 180507.55 W in the

second day experiment. For the rst and second day drying
experiments of 0.02 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air, the
maximum values of Qdc were obtained 225 W and 196 W,
respectively. On the other hand, Fig. 4 displays the variations of
the EUR as a function of the drying time. It was observed that EUR
ranged between 16.3% and 43.79% in the drying chamber during
the rst day experiments, and between 18.33% and 38.61% during
the second day experiments. Consequently, EUR of the rst day
was found to be higher that of the second. This is due to the
structure and the moisture content of the dried mulberry sample.

m = 0.014 kg/s
Exergy Loss

exergetic efficiency

90

16

first day

second day
80

14

70

12

60

10
L

Ex

50
8
40
6

30

20

2
0

10
0
0

30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540 570 600 630 660 690 720 750 780

time (minute)
Fig. 8. The results of the exergy loss and exergetic efciency for 0.014 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

ex

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

1761

m = 0.02 kg/s
Exergy Loss

exergetic efficiency

12

90

first day

second day

80

10
70
8

60
50

L
Ex

6
40
4

ex

30
20

2
10
0

30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540 570 600 630 660 690 720 750 780

time (minute)
Fig. 9. The results of the exergy loss and exergetic efciency for 0.02 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

Fig. 5 presents the results of the energy analysis of drying process

for the mass ow rates of 0.026 kg/s. It was obtained that Qcol and
EUR ranged between 394 W and 627 W, 7.86% and 29.18%,
respectively. Maximum value of Qdc was obtained 275 W with
mass ow rates of 0.026. Fig. 6 shows the variations of Qcol and
Qdc on the left ordinate and the EUR on the right, as a function of
drying time for the 0.033 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.
Qcol, Qdc and EUR ranged between 340 W and 479 W, 43 W
106.22 W and 13.64 %21.5%, respectively. Fig. 7 presents the
results of the energy analysis for the mass ow rates of 0.036 kg/
s. It was obtained that Qcol and EUR ranged between 394.26 W
525.62 W, 16.22% and 20.95%, respectively. The mean value of Qdc
was obtained 111.18 W with mass ow rates of 0.036 kg/s.
The mean values of EUR for 0.014, 0.02, 0.026, 0.033 and
0.036 kg/s mass ow rates of drying air were obtained as 55.2%,

32.19%, 29.2%, 21.5% and 20.5%, respectively. These values show that
EUR of drying chamber decreased with the increase of mass ow
rate of drying air.
4.3. Exergy analysis
The exergy analysis of thin layer drying process of mulberry via
forced solar dryer was performed by using data obtained from the
drying experiments. The values of ExLand hEx for each mass ow
rate of the drying air can be observed in Figs. 812. In the drying
experiments with ve different mass ow rates performed exergy
loss in the drying chamber increased during the rst 6 h, and after
that showed a decaying behaviour. Obviously, such time variation
of the exergy loss appeared as a consequence of the changes in the
solar radiation.

m = 0.026 kg/s
Exergy Loss

exergetic efficiency

90

first day

second day
80

70

60

50

40

L
Ex

30

20

10

0
0

30

60

90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540

time (minute)
Fig. 10. The results of the exergy loss and exergetic efciency for 0.026 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

ex

1762

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

m = 0.033 kg/s
exergetic efficiency

Exergy Loss
6

90
80

5
70
4

60
50

L
Ex
3

40
2

ex

30

first day

20

second day

10
0

30

60

90

120

150

180

210

240

270

300

330

360

390

420

450

time (minute)
Fig. 11. The results of the exergy loss and exergetic efciency for 0.033 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air.

The mean values of ExL for 0.014, 0.02, 0.026, 0.033 and 0.036 kg/
s mass ow rates of drying air were obtained 10.82 W, 6.41 W,
4.92 W, 4.06 W and 2.65 W, respectively. Maximum value of exergy
loss was obtained with a mass ow rate of 0.014 kg/s. Minimum
value of exergy loss was obtained with a mass ow rate of 0.036 kg/
s. These values show that the exergy loss decreased with increase of
the mass ow rate of the drying air. Furthermore, it can be said that
the value of radiation affected the exergy loss. The exergetic efciencies of the drying chamber are also shown in Figs. 812. The
exergetic efciency for each mass ow rate of drying air was
calculated by using Eq. (15) based on the inow, outow and loss of
exergy. The exergetic efciency of the drying chamber increased
with decrease of the temperature difference between inlet and
outlet of the dryer chamber.
The exergetic efciency values with a mass ow rate of 0.014 kg/
s were obtained as 21.378.7% for the rst day experiments and

exergetic efficiency

100
90

3,5

80

70
2,5
L

Ex

a day

60
50
ex

40

1,5

30

20

0,5
0

10
0

30

60

90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

5. Conclusions
The effect of the convective solar dryer on drying of mulberries
under ve different mass ow rates was studied successively. The
drying time considerably decreased when the mass ow rate
increased.
The drying process occurred in the falling rate period. Energy
and exergy analyses of thin layer drying process of mulberry via
forced solar type dryer were performed in the scope of this study.
Taking into consideration the results from these analyses, the
following remarks may be concluded.

m = 0.036 kg/s
Exergy Loss

35.275.6% for the second day experiments. For 0.02 kg/s mass ow
rate of the drying air, the exergetic efciencies values were recorded in the interval 30 %61.7% dyring the rst day experiments, and
in the interval 38.783.3% during the second day experiments.
However, for 0.026 kg/s mass ow rate of the drying air, the exergetic efciency altered between 40.8% and 82.1%. The exergetic
efciencies changed between 44.4% and 82.2% for the 0.033 kg/s
mass ow rate of the drying air. The exergetic efciency value in the
interval 44.4 %93.3% was recorded for the 0.036 kg/s mass ow
rate of the drying air. These values show that the exergetic efciency of the drying chamber decreased while the energy taken
from the solar collector was productively utilized.

time (minute)
Fig. 12. The results of the exergy loss and exergetic efciency for 0.036 kg/s mass ow
rate of the drying air.

 The mulberry samples were sufciently dried until a nal

moisture content of approximately 0.1 kgwater/kgdry matter, at
the ranges between 0.014 kg/s and 0.036 kg/s drying air mass
ow rates during 360780 min, and 123.3 W/m2 939 W/m2
solar radiation.
 It is said that the energy taken from the solar collector
increased with the increase of the mass ow rate of drying air.
 The energy taken from the solar collector was productively
utilized for drying chamber when the energy utilization ratio
(EUR) increased. As an important note, it is said that the energy
utilization ratio would be assumed as an important parameter
to analyze the utilization of energy in thin layer drying process.
 The exergy loss decreased with increase of the mass ow rate
of the drying air. Furthermore, it can be said that the value of

A. Akbulut, A. Durmus / Energy 35 (2010) 17541763

radiation affected the exergy loss. The most exergy losses took
place for the 0.014 kg/s mass ow rate.
 In order to increase the energy utilization for drying chamber,
an optimization study must be carry out leading to improve
collector efciency by using different obstacles in the air ow
duct for increasing the heat transfer area.
 Consequently, it is suggested that the order, structure, and
moisture content of the products on the drying chamber
should be taken into consideration to decrease the energy
utilization and exergy losses.
 It is necessary to show the variations of exergy with drying
time in order to determine when and where the maximum and
minimum values of the exergy losses took place during the
drying process.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank to Firat University Research Foundation
(FUNAF) for nancial support.

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