Fabrication and testing of hybrid solar-biomass dryer for drying fish

The fishery has been one of the leading sectors in Aceh Province. In 2016 the production of Aceh province catch fishery reaches 185 thousand tons. To increase the added value of the abundant fish products is by doing the post-harvest processing. This study includes the manufacture and testing of a solar energy drying unit equipped with biomass-fueled air heating. The dryer consists of a drying chamber of length 260 cm and width of 80 cm, with glass as a cover. A crossflow type heat exchanger for an air heater that utilizes biomass fuel also mounted to the dryer. There were 25 kg of fish used as raw material and dried utilizing specific devices using several methods. In the beginning, drying was conducted using solar energy, from 09:00 to 16:00, and continued with hot-air produced from biomass combustion from 16:00 to 06:00 and maintained at 40–50 °C. The test revealed that after reaching 22–23 h of the drying process, the overall weight of the fish did not change much, and the final weight is 12.5 kg. The cost required for fabrication of a hybrid dryer is Rp. 25.250.000, - ($ 1870) with a production capacity of 100 kg of fish. Keywords: Solar energy dryer, Biomass, Fish, Techno-economy