Design and performance test of solar vertical dryer For Salted fish

Solar energy are freely available as renewable energy and characterized with pollution free and abundant source. Generally, fishermen in Aceh and other coastal areas utilized solar energy for drying their fish products in an open spaces and direct sunlight. A major problem arose in this conventional sun drying is the a high loss of dried products due to infestations by birds, rates, cats, dogs and insects. Therefore, it is necessary to design and develop a solar dryer used for fish drying in order to increase quality and quantity of fish products. In this study, solar vertical dryer was designed, developed and tested. The dimension of dryer are 240 cm height, 90 cm length and 90 cm width respectively, with co added of solar collector. The solar vertical dryer was tested for drying of salted fish when maximum solar radiation reach 603.8 Wm(2). The averrage solar radiation was 408.0 Wm(2), while average temperature for tray 1 to 5, and ambient are observed as 46.7 degrees C, 43.0 degrees C, 41.8 degrees C, 41.3 degrees C and 40.0 degrees C respectively. It is also observed that relative humidity is very low inside drying chamber and as a consequence, drying rate is higher and can absorbs moisture content of salted fish rapidly and effectively.