ANALYSIS AND NUMERICAL MODELING OF SOLAR DRYERS IN AGRI-FOOD CHAINS: INVESTIGATION ON PINEAPPLE DRYING PROCESS

Mathematical modeling of solar drying systems is to forecast the drying time required for a product and the type of dryer in a given environment. Computational modeling provides information on solar drying problems that are geometry-specific. Numerical modeling has recently been used to develop new methods for solar drying food products. The present work aims at emphasizing existing models and delve a new heat balance model specifically for pineapple drying, which has not been addressed in previous literature. This work additionally highlights gap and proposes a comprehensive methodology that accurately reflects the unique meteorological conditions of Cotonou, Benin. Furthermore, comparing the performance of various dryer designs and configurations was done. About 1135 articles from five major academic databases was retrieved. Following a rigorous selection process, the review included 101 studies for final analysis. Pineapple is not the most studied crop. Surprisingly, none of the 101 papers addressed the development of a pineapple model in Cotonou weather conditions. The focus on local climate adaptation distinguishes this work from others, which often apply generalized models without considering specific regional factors. Three models (Page, Wang, and Singh, two terms) commonly used in the literature are selected to determine a suitable model for pineapple.