Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I USDA-SBIR project is to develop efficient crop dehydrators (dryers) powered by solar energy for the preservation of vital nutrients and shelf-life in dried foods. Drying is one of the oldest and cost-effective ways of preserving nutrients and increasing shelf-life in foods. It is one of the major energy intensive processes where huge operating costs are incurred in operating food dehydrators, which are typically powered by gas, electricity or fuel oil. The high operating cost limits the ability of small and mid-size growers and processors in the U.S. in producing dehydrated foods. Small growers and processor are vital to the growing local foods and urban agriculture industry, which is currently a $1 billion industry in the United States. Dehydration of foods such as fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, medicinal plants, etc. still occur using primitive open sun-drying methods on mats or trays that degrade nutrients and reduce food quality. While there are a lot of solar dryer designs available in the literature and online, none of them have been commercialized and being utilized in large numbers.The overall goal of this project is to prototype and test proof-of-concept of (1) a novel high-efficiency thermal collector design, (2) an integrated desiccant drying, desiccant regeneration and heat recovery system, and (3) a drying chamber control algorithm via a micro controller to optimize dehydration of crops/foods and conserve battery power use in a smart solar dehydrator device. The proposed solar dehydrator design approach targets increasing collector efficiency and heat transfer in the drying chamber by 2 to 4 folds over a multipurpose solar dehydrator developed by the PI (Ileleji) at Purdue University for smallholder farmers and processors in developing countries. Two full-scale prototypes of the solar dehydrator would be fabricated and tested in diverse geographical locations in the United States (Indiana-Midwest and California-West Coast) to evaluate its performance (equipment and dried product quality) and validate the modeling efforts that provide feedback that would guide design improvements.JUA Technologies International (JTI) proposed high-efficiency smart multipurpose solar dehydrator fits into USDA-NIFA SBIR Small and Midsize Program priorities in the development of new agricultural enterprises and use of renewable energy by: (1) improving methods of processing specialty crops to improve quality, nutritional value and provide a healthy food choice; and (2) enabling small and mid-size growers add value to their crops and thus increase their farm income. In Phase II, the technology would be commercialized and transferred to small and mid-size growers through partnership with US land-grant Extension outreach services and USDA-ARS labs. Benefits will also accrue to rural communities, urban agriculture/food service industries and households as sustainable zero-carbon renewable energy technologies become available in agriculture.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
30%
Developmental
70%
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to prototype and test proof-of-concept of a (1) novel high-efficiency thermal collector design, (2) heat recovery system using a zeolite moisture absorbent to extend drying period through the night, (3) a drying chamber control algorithm via a micro controller for efficient control of the dehydration process and (4) test the prototype under real-world conditions. Two or three full-scale prototypes of the solar dehydrator would be fabricated and tested in diverse geographical locations in the United States (Indiana-Midwest and California-West Coast) to evaluate their performance (equipment and dried product quality) and validate the modeling efforts that provide feedback on design improvements that might need to be made. The proposed technology to be developed and commercialized will meet the vast dehydration needs of small and medium growers in the US and globally.
Project Methods
We will address the product development efforts as stated in the objectives by pursuing the following R & D tasks:Task 1: Design and prototyping of novel high-efficiency solar dehydrator device.Task 2: Modeling and simulation to optimize performance of solar dehydrator device.Task 3: Design, prototype and testing of dehydrator controller, software and firmware.Task 4: Determine the field performance of the high-efficiency solar dehydrator device for selected specialty crops: fruits (apples, blueberries, grapes, apricots, nectarines, etc.), vegetables (tomato, carrots, hops), spices and herbs in Indiana and California.Task 1: Design and prototyping of novel high-efficiency solar dehydrator device[1]The thermal collector design will be a copper-tube heat exchanger so as to increase the thermal efficiency achievable by the collector. The heat transfer fluid will be air, driven by fans that are programmed to run at a rate determined by the set-point temperature in the drying chamber. The control system will operate on a feedback loop informed by temperature and relative humidity sensors in the chamber (Task 2). Engineering analysis of our concept would be conducted using MATLAB Simulink software (The Mathworks, Inc.), and heat and mass transfer analysis will be conducted for our designed geometry on ANSYS FLUENT software (ANSYS Inc., Canonsburg, PA) (Task 2). B & L Engineering, an engineering machine shop based in Crawfordsville, Indiana, will fabricate the smart solar dehydrator prototype device for JTI.Task 2: Modeling and simulation to optimize performance of solar dehydrator deviceThe solar collector, drying chamber, and exhaust air re-conditioning will be modeled and optimized using MATLAB Simulink and the Simscape Toolbox add-on module. Much like Simulink, Simscape uses a process flow diagram with drag-and-drop components to construct a mathematical model of a physical system. Both Simulink and Simscape use Runge-Kutta methods for time integration.Task 3: Design, prototype and testing of dehydrator controller, software and firmware (Electronics Engineering Contractor, TBD).This task involves both printed circuit board (PCB) design and firmware programming to build and test electrical circuits that will control the drying operations of the high-efficiency solar powered dehydrator, as well as circuits to provide A/C power generation from the 12V deep cycle battery. Appropriate battery type (lithium ion or lead-acid) would be explored.Task 4: Determine the field performance of the high-efficiency solar dehydrator device for selected specialty crops: fruits (apples, blueberries, grapes, apricots, nectarines, etc.), vegetables (tomato, carrots, hops), spices and herbs in Indiana-Midwest, and California-West Coast (Milczarek, USDA-ARS, Albany, CA and Ileleji, JTI, West Lafayette, IN).The following specific objectives will be pursued: (1) determine the drying rates of various specialty crops achieved by the smart solar dehydrator device; (2) test the performance of the new thermal collector and energy optimizer features of the solar dehydrator; (3) determine the phytosanitary quality of crops dried with the devices compared to open sun-drying using conventional drying trays using microbial load tests and (4) determine the organoleptic, sensory, and nutritional properties of crops dried using JTI smart solar dehydrator device in comparison to open-air sun drying methods as practiced by growers today. This task will be conducted by Dr. Milczarek of the USDA-ARS Lab in Albany under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) and Dr. Ileleji, JTI in West Lafayette, IN.The collaborators expect that the primary output of the work will be data from crop drying tests (e.g. drying curves, product quality information, etc.) conducted with the prototype drying devices provided to ARS by JTI. The crops used will be those typically grown and dried in California and Indiana as indicated in the tasks. Consultation about crops to test will also be made with growers in California and Indiana. These results will provide better mechanistic understanding of the solar drying process, dryer performance and quantification of dried crop quality by quantifying the nutrients preserved (e.g. Vitamin C). The overall results would provide data on final design prototyping, design for manufacturing, benchmarking, financial modeling, device positioning, and plans for commercialization in Phase II.Timeline and Project ManagementThe proposed work will be completed over a period of 8 months from July 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020. A Gantt chart has been developed listing the major project milestones and completion dates. Dr. Ileleji (PI), the CEO and Chief Technology Officer of JTI will be responsible for providing the overall leadership and project management (management of sub-awardees and contractors) on the project. The team would meet biweekly to discuss the project updates, where everyone on the team would present their work status, milestones reached and evaluate whether they are on track to meet the deliverables at the deadline promised. Every team member (research interns) at JTI (except the accounts manager/admin, and sub-awardees) would be required to submit weekly reports to the PI.[1] Please note that this section below contains proprietary information that needs to be handled confidentially.