Optimizing solar energy for wood drying under various climates: A comparative study of flat plate and photovoltaic thermal solar collectors

Salwa Chtioui and Ahmed Khouya

Renewable Energy, 2024, vol. 221, issue C

Abstract: Wood drying is an important operation in many sectors, and harnessing solar energy for this purpose has received a lot of interest due to its sustainability and cost-effectiveness. In this work, we compare how two solar collector configurations namely, Flat Plate Collector and Photovoltaic Thermal collector, perform in a solar wood drying system. The moisture content of wood was reduced from 73% to 12% in four different regions: Errachidia, Meknes, Tangier, and Rabat. The Gauss–Seidel method is used to solve the governing equations for heat transfer after discretizing them via implicit finite differences. The effectiveness of the solar collectors was simulated through the TRNSYS software, and a numerical program was generated using the Python programming language. According to our research, the FPC beats the PVT collector because of its higher output temperatures dramatically shorten the time it takes for wood to dry. The study emphasizes how temperature and humidity affect drying, showing that faster drying occurs in hotter, drier locations. Furthermore, drying time can be saved by using FPC and PVT collectors compared to conventional open sun drying.

Keywords: Solar dryer; FPC; PVT; Wood; TRNSYS; Drying time; Moisture content (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:221:y:2024:i:c:s0960148123016063

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2023.119691

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