Smart next-gen drying solution: A study of design, development and performance evaluation of IoT-enabled IR-assisted refractance window dryer

Refractance window drying is a technique that has great potential to dry commodities, with better quality at an affordable cost. However, there is still a lack of awareness regarding its use and implementation in academic curricula as well as in industry. This study aims to design and develop a low-cost and effective Internet of Things (IoT) enabled Infrared (IR) assisted refractance window dryer. The effect of different flexible materials used as membranes with the same thickness was also investigated. Then, experiments were conducted on papaya pulp to study the performance of the developed dryer. The drying time (reduced moisture content up to 4%) was observed for the papaya pulp sample by employing Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), Polypropylene (PP), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), White Polyethylene Terephthalate (W-PET) and Transparent polyethylene terephthalate (T-PET) material as a membrane were 300, 330, 360, 330, and 300 min respectively. After thoroughly testing membrane materials properties, it is concluded that the T-PET membrane has superior thermal, mechanical, and optical properties. After an exhaustive examination of the marketplace scrutiny, the payback period was found to be 0.55 years.