Mahesh Kumar

Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology · Department of Mechanical Engineering

Experiments have been performed on an innovative stepped solar distillation-cum-active drying unit (SSD-ADU). The basin of the distillation unit is made in the stepped form and its underneath part works as a drying unit which is integrated with a solar flat plate collector. Thermal analysis of the SSD-ADU has been performed at water flow rates of 5...

Jaggery is manufactured from sugarcane juice by its continuous heating in traditional plants. These plants are fabricated by local artisans without any design considerations that causes high bagasse consumption and low thermal efficiency. In present research work, a modified two pan jaggery manufacturing plant is fabricated to overcome these drawba...

This experimental work discusses the thermo-enviro-economic analyses for effect of mass of paraffin wax as phase change material (PCM) on solar distillation in inclined stepped solar still (SSS). Three identically designed SSS units, namely, S1, S2, and S3 respectively, laden with 0.45, 0.90, and 1.35 kg of PCM filled in copper tubes are fabricated...

A sustainable energy recovery system (SERS) having series of stepped solar stills (units S1, S2 and S3) is examined for cleaner production of concentrated sugarcane juice (CSJ). The supply of overflowing energized sugarcane juice in S2 and S3 units of SERS makes them to operate in active mode that instigate us to perform this experimental work. The...

This research paper presents the effect of mass of paraffin wax as phase change material (PCM) in a stepped solar still (SSS) for obtaining concentrated sugarcane juice as final product and pure water as a by-product. Three identical SSS units, namely, U1, U2 and U3 respectively, laden with 450 g, 900 g and 1350 g of PCM (filled in copper tubes)...

The current study underscores the necessity of ongoing research to develop sustainable methods for water purification. Presently, the distilled water production industry is focused on purification of saline or tap water, while in this research work, reverse osmosis (RO) waste water is used as input for purification. A stepped solar still (SSS) load...

This work aims to investigate the effect of potato slice sample mass on the performance of a domesticated potato solar dryer (DPSD) under natural and forced con-vection modes (NC and FC modes). The drying kinetics of potato slices with varying sample masses of 68, 100 and 138 g have been evaluated. The average final moisture content under NC and FC...

An even‐span greenhouse groundnuts dryer having a reflective north wall has been developed and tested under passive and active modes. The effects of varying sample mass (580, 880, and 1180 g) on the thermal and enviro‐economic performance indicators of the dryer have been investigated. The Nusselt number expression, embodied energy (EE), and capita...

India's rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are experiencing rapid growth due to favorable regulations. As climate change becomes a growing concern, researchers are turning their attention to the effects of weather patterns on the performance of rooftop solar panels, and also to optimize their efficiency in a changing environment. Consequ...

In this experimental research work, a parallel comparison of a modified concatenated stepped solar still (MCSSS) unit was done with a simple concatenated stepped solar still (SCSSS) unit for the extraction of clean water, considering thermo-enviro-economic aspects. Each stepped solar still in these experimental units had 0.25 m2 heat absorbing area...

Solar drying, an eco-friendly and sustainable approach harnesses solar radiations to remove moisture from a drying commodity, thereby preventing its spoilage and extending shelf life. Turmeric (Curcuma longa), a popular herb is being used for centuries in Ayurveda as a traditional medicine. Since, fresh turmeric contains 80-90 % moisture content, t...

The present study accentuate the noteworthiness of ongoing research in evolving sustainable sugarcane juice evaporation technologies to help the non‐centrifugal sugar (NCS) industry. Concentrated sugarcane juice (CSJ) is the raw material for the production of variety of value added products. A stepped solar still (SSS) could be one of the inexpensi...

Solar dryers present a clean and affordable solution to food wastage which is one of the biggest concerns of the world. The highest contribution of domestic sector to the global food waste and lack of researches on small-scale solar dryers have created a need to develop sustainable and low cost domestic solar dryers. The present research aims to de...

An innovative and compact mixed-mode vertical solar dryer (MVSD) with a circular solar collector is developed and tested for ginger slices drying under partial and fully loaded conditions. Ginger slices samples of 4, 5 and 6 mm thick were used for natural convective drying in MVSD under partially loaded condition. The thickness of the ginger slices...

Purpose- Food loss and wastage is an issue of global concern and the household sector is one of the biggest contributors to this. Solar drying has been explored by many eminent researchers as a solution to this problem but there have been concerns about the lack in designs, higher cost, lower performance, and consumer acceptability. The present res...

Turning biomass waste into briquettes using densification techniques is one of the most promising steps toward mitigating biomass waste pollution and fuel issues in developing countries. Despite the continuous growth of scientific output over the past few decades, only a limited amount of information is available in the literature on biomass brique...

Solar dryers have been tested with various simple and complex design modifications for better efficiencies. This article attempts to investigate the effect of a very simple design modification on the no‐load performance of a natural convection domestic solar dryer (NCDSD). A direct‐type domestic solar dryer has been developed with an air cavity sur...

Drying is one of the most widely used methods of food preservation but has higher energy requirements. The global energy crisis has created a need for alternatives to electric drying technologies. This paper presents an overview of various available technologies developed and tested for the drying of ashwagandha (Withania som-nifera) and liquorice...

This study investigates the individual and cumulative effects of phase change material (PCM) and evacuated tube collector (ETC) on the performance of a stepped solar still (SSS). Experiments have been performed on SSS, SSS loaded with PCM (SSS‐PCM), SSS coupled with ETC (SSS‐ETC), and SSS loaded with PCM and coupled with ETC (SSS‐PCM‐ETC). An innov...

In the current research work, performance enhancement of stepped solar still (SSS) having an external reflector (ER) and glass cover cooling (GCC) arrangements is presented. The individual and combined effects of ER and GCC on the performance of SSS have been evaluated and compared with simple SSS. The GCC reduces the glazing temperature significan...

Heating of sugarcane juice gives concentrated sugarcane juice (CSJ) which becomes raw material for the production of a variety of value added products. Conventional ways of CSJ production are environment polluting and indulge in huge amount of energy losses. In this study, an attempt is made to obtain final CSJ (98°B) by induction heating (IH) whic...

This article is a comparison of the date fruits drying performance of two most simple and common type of solar dryers. A simple even span type forced convection greenhouse dryer (FCGHD) and a forced convection cabinet solar dryer (FCCSD) were developed and tested under the climate of Hisar, India. The average values of convective heat transfer coef...

Thermodynamic analysis of vapor absorption heat trasnformer

In the present study, performance evaluation of an absorption heat transformer (AHT) is done on the basis of amount of hot fluid produced in the absorber using first law of thermodynamics. The heat input to evaporator and generator is a waste heat. A mathematical model is developed in Engineering Equation Solver. Water-lithium bromide is used as a...

In the present study, an evacuated tube collector based solar water heater (ETC-SWH) has been developed and tested in the summer season under the climate of Hisar (29°08'25.1"N 75°44'22.0"E), India. The thermal performance of the developed ETC-SWH has been calculated at six different ETC tilt angles (15°, 20°, 25°, 30°, 35° and 40°) in May 2022. Fi...

This article presents the performance of a low-cost, simple and sustainable natural convection greenhouse dryer (NCGHD) for vermicelli drying. Vermicelli samples of diameter (ø) 1.25, 2 and 3 mm have been dried until no moisture evaporation was observed. The values of convective and evaporative heat transfer coefficients for ø3 mm vermicelli sample...

Solar dryers have always been criticized for their lower performances. There are numerous ways to define the performance of a solar drying system such as thermal performance, drying kinetics, environmental aspects, economic evaluations, and quality of the dried product. Different modeling techniques have also been developed to design and analyze so...

The shortage of scientific betterment in jaggery manufacturing processes results in a high fuel consumption and low heat utilization efficiency of conventional jaggery production plants. In the present investigation, a semi‐automatically operated modified jaggery plant (SOMJP) has been designed, fabricated, tested, and analyzed. The modifications i...

The present invention discloses a composition and process for producing eco-friendly construction material using cow dung. The process incorporates a collection of fresh cow dung, which is used to prepare composite by mixing it with kaolinite clay and lime hydrate in a specified ratio. The prepared mixture is poured into moulds of the desired shape...

In the present study, thermal performance of greenhouse solar dryer (GHSD) was analyzed at full load of peppermint leaves for dehydration. The experiments were conducted in both GHSD and sun drying processes to compare drying characteristics, thermal properties, and quality assessment of peppermint leaves. The maximum drying cabin temperature at...

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the most widely used spice cum medicinal herbs. The high initial moisture content of the freshly harvested ginger (85–90% wet basis) makes it difficult to store for a long time. Being a plant originated product there are always chances of fungal and microbial growth which are the most responsible factors in...

Present article is an overview of available solar drying technologies developed for small rural agricultural farms emphasizing domestic applications. A huge amount (about 61%) of perishable items gets wasted annually at the household level due to lack of awareness, negligence, improper handling, and inadequate storage facilities. Domestic solar dry...

In this experimental study, the effect of mass of paraffin wax as ESM is studied during solar evaporation of sugarcane juice in a sustainable energy recovery system (SERS) having series of stepped solar stills. In this research work, three systems are taken under experiments viz. SERS-ESM15, SERS-ESM30 and SERS-ESM60, respectively laden with 675 g,...

This experimental study investigates the capability of a concatenated stepped solar still system (CS4) for RO-waste-water purification by assessing its thermo-enviro-economic aspects. In order to confirm the supremacy of CS4, a simple stepped solar still system (S5) of equivalent basin area (0.75 m²) is fabricated and tested. The experiments are co...

The influence of mass of paraffin wax as energy storage material (ESM) on solar distillation in a concatenated stepped solar still system (CS⁴) is investigated by considering its productivity, thermal, economic and environmental aspects. Experiments are carried out on CS⁴ loaded with 675 g, 1350 g, and 2700 g of paraffin wax as ESM, filled in 15, 3...

The lack of automation in jaggery making plants causes high‐fuel (bagasse) requirement and low‐thermal efficiency, which results in high‐running cost and limited profit to the stakeholders. Though, number of researches have been conducted for improving heat utilization in the plant, but still fuel consumption and running cost are very high. In pres...

Present work compares the performances of simple and modified greenhouse dryers for groundnut drying. A latent heat storage unit (LHSU) filled with beeswax (PCM) was used to modify a natural convection greenhouse dryer. Groundnut samples were dried in a modified greenhouse dryer (MGHD) and simple greenhouse dryer (SGHD) in June 2019 at GJUST, Hisar...

Present work explores the effect of latent heat storage on the performance of a passive‐type mixed‐mode greenhouse dryer for groundnuts drying. Experiments were conducted for mixed‐mode greenhouse groundnuts drying (MMGGD), modified mixed‐mode greenhouse groundnuts drying (MMMGGD) and open sun groundnuts drying (OSGD) under the climate of Hisar (In...

It is very difficult to fabricate and test every modification in the design and construction of a solar dryer experimentally. Experiments are generally time-consuming, costly, and the risk of failure is also associated with them. Computer software are being used as a possible solution to all these problems and are becoming more popular nowadays. Th...

Sun‐drying has proven to be the most sustainable technique for preserving food and agricultural products. However, conventional sun‐drying has limited drying capacity and can lead to significant losses in product quality. Greenhouse and indirect solar drying are advanced drying methods with improved product quality. In this article, the natural con...

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is being used by humans since ancient times due to its amazing medicinal properties. But being a plant product and having the presence of moisture content there is always a chance of its degradation. Open sun drying has been used traditionally to overcome this problem but due to uncontrolled operating conditions, this techn...

Sun-drying has proven to be the most sustainable technique for preserving food and agricultural products. However, conventional sun-drying has limited drying capacity and can lead to significant losses in product quality. Greenhouse and indirect solar drying are advanced drying methods with improved product quality. In this article, the natural con...

The efficient utilization of energy and its management for its minimum destruction is very essential to make an optimized power developing systems. A co-generative sugar plant has the ability to generate electricity along with the production of refined sugar. A co-generative sugar plant is a self-powered plant in which boiler, turbine and the sugar...

Jaggery is the concentrated product of sugarcane juice and usually known as "Gur" in India. It is obtained by the removal of water from the sugarcane juice by its continuous heating in an open pan.The production process of jaggeryinvolves, harvesting of sugarcane, crushing of sugarcane, boiling and concentration, and finally cooling and molding. Th...

In this review paper different design modifications of solar air collector have been discussed. Modifications include increase in number of fluid passes, corrugating and roughening the absorber plate, adaption in top cover plate, employing photo-voltaic/thermal (PV/T) panels and use of phase change materials. A conventional double-pass solar air co...

Solar distillation process can fulfill the need of drinkable water in an eco-friendly way. Solar still is the device that is being used in the process of solar distillation. The productivity of the still is affected by many controllable and uncontrollable parameters like temperature of water at inlet, depth of water in basin, surface area of basin,...

Today energy saving and protection of environment are the prime obligation of the society. Solar distillation and induction heating processes are popular due to their environment friendly nature. Solar still utilizes the solar energy for the purification of water by its evaporation and induction heating works on the principle of induced current gen...

Jaggery, an unrefined sweetener is prepared by continuous heating of fresh sugarcane juice in different types and capacities of old indigenous and modified plants. The old indigenous plants manufactured by the rural people without any technological advancements have very high fuel consumption (about 3 kg/kg to 4 kg/kg of jaggery produced) and low h...

In this study, an attempt is made to obtain concentrated sugarcane juice and distilled water using solar radiations that would save energy as well as environment. In this study work, the experimental performance of a sugarcane juice solar evaporation system (SJSES) is investigated for the evaporation of water from sugarcane juice. To check the infl...

Experimentation on conventional and stepped type solar still coupled with evacuated tube collector (ETC) solar water heater was performed in the climatic condition of Hisar. The conventional solar still was tested at a water depth of 6 cm and the stepped solar still at 50, 75 and 100 ml/min flow rate respectively. The temperature of water and inner...

In the present paper, groundnut samples were dried under natural convection greenhouse drying (NCGHD), forced convection greenhouse drying (FCGHD), and indoor forced convection hot air drying (IFCHAD) modes in the climatic conditions of Rohtak, India (28◦54′ N 76◦34′ E). Samples of groundnut were dried up-to-the-safe storage moisture level of 8–...

Jaggery is the unrefined form of concentrated sugarcane juice obtained by its continuous heating in traditional plants (TPs). The lack of technological advancements in these plants causes high bagasse consumption and low thermal efficiency. In present research work, a modified plant (MP) having two pans is fabricated to overcome these drawbacks. Th...

Jaggery is manufactured by continuous heating of sugarcane juice in an open pan of traditional plants. The lack of technological advancements in these plants leads to high bagasse consumption and low thermal efficiency. In the present study, a modified two‐pan jaggery manufacturing plant has been fabricated, tested, and evaluated. This plant has a...

The jaggery manufacturing process is a continuous heat and mass transfer process in which fresh sugarcane juice is converted into a concentrated product (jaggery). The complete process has numbers of activities starting from the harvesting of sugarcane to the moulding of final product in different shapes and sized according to its final use. In tra...

In this research paper, vermicelli samples of 3 mm, 2 mm, and 1.25 mm diameters have been dried inside an even span greenhouse (1.2 × 0.8 m² effective floor area) under forced convection mode in the climatic conditions of Rohtak, India (28°54′ N 76°34′E). The vermicelli samples were dried until safe moisture content was achieved. The present setup...

Present communication is an attempt to explore the best PV technology suitable for PVT solar drying system through environmental and economic feasibility. Experimental setup for one of the PV technology (c‐Si) has been taken for experimental validation with theoretical model. Further, the environmental feasibility and environ economic evaluation fo...

The aim of the present experimental work is to develop a new approach to utilize the underneath space of stepped basin solar distillation unit for drying agro-commodities. Two major solar applications are integrated to utilize the undesired energy losses. A stepped basin solar distillation-cum-drying unit (SBSD-DU) integrated with a parabolic refle...

The groundnuts were dried inside an even span roof type free convection greenhouse dryer with a useful floor area of 1.2×0.8 m 2 in the environmental conditions of Rohtak, India (28 o 54′-N 76 o 34′E). Wire mesh sieves of sizes 0.15×0.25 m 2 , 0.25×0.4 m 2 , and 0.35×0.6 m 2 were used to accommodate thin layer samples of groundnuts. The groundnuts...

The groundnuts were dried inside an even span roof type free convection greenhouse dryer with a useful floor area of 1.2×0.8 m 2 in the environmental conditions of Rohtak, India (28 o 54′-N 76 o 34′E). Wire mesh sieves of sizes 0.15×0.25 m 2 , 0.25×0.4 m 2 , and 0.35×0.6 m 2 were used to accommodate thin layer samples of groundnuts. The groundnuts...

Greenhouse technology is a practical option for the production and drying of agricultural products in controlled environment. For the successful design of a greenhouse, the selection of a suitable shape and orientation is of great importance. Of various shapes of greenhouses, the even-span roof and the Quonset shape greenhouses are the most commonl...

The Photovoltaic cells (PV cells) work by converting the incident solar insolation to electrical energy. However, unavailability of highly efficient materials and technological limitations has restricted the conversion efficiency of PV cells ranging from 12% to 20%. This implies that the remaining incident energy is either reflected back or absorbe...

This study on the novel design of a solar distillation-cum-drying unit describes the utilization of solar energy for its two major applications in a single unit. Experimentation has been performed on an inclined wick-type solar distillation-cum-drying unit (IWSD-DU) with reflector. The thermal performance of the developed unit has been analyzed at...

Use of solar energy for drying the food items is a very common way used throughout the world. Different types of solar dryers has been developed by a number of researchers for drying different agricultural produces. Greenhouse solar dryers are very helpful in drying various commodities in large volumes in a controlled manner and in very economical...

A new design of solar distillation-cum drying system has been developed to solve the fresh water shortage and drying of various food and agricultural commodities in an eco-friendly way. The developed unit has been tested under no load conditions at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology Hisar (India). A drying unit is attached to the...

Jaggery is a traditional concentrated product of sugarcane juice which is easily and cheaply available to the Indian rural population. Several value added jaggery based products are also very popular in large section of population throughout the country. Jaggery is a good source of minerals and nutritiants and also has various medicinal values. Wit...

The single layer drying of groundnut samples was investigated in a greenhouse under natural and forced convection modes. The groundnuts were dried to final moisture level to 8-10% (w.b.). Four mathematical models were compared to describe the groundnut drying process. The performance of single layer drying models was studied by comparing the statis...

ABSTRACT The performance of the designed tilted wick solar water distillation-cum-drying unit has been tested at water flow rates of 50 and 65 ml/min in the distillation unit. Effect of water flow rates on the heat transfer coefficients of distillation and drying unit for drying ginger has been evaluated. The energy and exergy efficiency of the dis...

Phase change materials (PCM's) are widelyused in different solar applications to store the solar radiations during sunny hours and releases the stored heat after sunset. Different phase change materials (Paraffin wax, ParaffinC18, Paraffin 52-58, Bees wax, Paraffin oil, Lauric acid, Stearic acid, Bitumen, Capric-palmitic, Calcium chloride hexa hydr...

The single layer drying of groundnut samples was investigated in a greenhouse under natural and forced convection modes. The groundnuts were dried to final moisture level to 8-10% (w.b.). Four mathematical models were compared to describe the groundnut drying process. The performance of single layer drying models was studied by comparing the statis...

In this study, the convective and evaporative heat transfer coeffi cients of groundnut were evaluated in a forced convection greenhouse drying (FCGHD) mode. The groundnuts were dried in the roof-type even span greenhouse with a fl oor area of 1.20 × 0.8 m2 in a forced mode in the climatic conditions of Rohtak, India (28o54'0"N 76o34'0"E). Three dif...

The thin layer drying behaviour of groundnut was investigated under open sun drying (OSD) and indoor forced convection drying (IFCD) modes. The groundnut samples were dried from initial moisture content of 38% (w.b.) to the safe storage moisture content of 8%-10% (w.b.). Four mathematical models were compared for describing the groundnut drying pro...

Experimentation on conventional and stepped type solar still coupled with evacuated tube collector (ETC) solar water heater was performed in the climatic condition of Hisar. The conventional solar still was tested at a water depth of 6 cm and the stepped solar still at 50, 75 and 100 ml/min flow rate respectively. The temperature of water and in...

In this paper, weir solar still integrated with evacuated tube solar collector (ETC) was designed, fabricated and tested. Experiments on conventional solar still were conducted at a water depth of 6 cm and for weir solar still at water flow rates of 35, 50, 75 and 100 ml/min respectively. Internal and external heat transfer coefficients for both...

The demand of fresh water has been increased in modern world due to increased population and industrialisation. As per environment concerns, researchers are focussing towards renewable energy based desalination methods. Solar distillation is a promising method for the water desalination. Much research has been already done on different designs of s...

Solar still is very simple device to convert available brackish or saline water into drinakable water by use of solar energy. But due to its lower distillate output, it is not used widely for industrial and domestic potable water application. In present research paepr, annual performance analysis of Single basin passive solar still with vacuum tube...

In this research paper, the convective heat transfer coefficient for the groundnut drying by hot air given by an electrical dryer has been presented. The groundnut samples were dried up to the safe storage moisture content of 8 – 10% (wb). Wire mesh sieve of 15 × 25 cm2 size was used to accommodate the single layer of groundnuts. The half hourly ex...

In this research paper, the convective heat transfer coefficient for the groundnut drying by hot air given by an electrical dryer has been presented. The groundnut samples were dried up to the safe storage moisture content of 8 – 10% (wb). Wire mesh sieve of 15 × 25 cm2 size was used to accommodate the single layer of groundnuts. The half hourly ex...

In this communication, it is attempted to utilize the heat losses from the basin of a distillation unit for drying ginger in a drying chamber attached underneath the distillation unit. Experimentation has been made on single slope single basin solar distillation-cum-drying unit with parabolic reflector. Thermal performance of distillation and dryin...

In this communication, an attempt has been made to investigate the drying kinetics of ginger rhizomes under natural and forced convection indirect solar drying modes. Various experiments were conducted during the months of March and April 2014 in the climate conditions of Hisar (29 o 5'5''N, 75 o 45'55''E), India. The data thus obtained for natural...

In this paper, convective and evaporative heat transfer coefficients of the Indian groundnut were computed under indoor forced convection drying (IFCD) mode. The groundnuts were dried as a single thin layer with the help of a laboratory dryer till the optimum safe moisture storage level of 8 – 10%. The experimental data were used to determine the v...

Energy crisis and water born diseases caused by impure water are two major concerns of the present era. Various techniques have been used to make saline/brackish water potable. Filtration, precipitation, sterilization, chemical treatment, etc. are some processes that remove macro impurities from impure water. Distillation is thermal energy‐based pr...