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In order to prevent the intrusion of insects and foreign contaminants, the dehydrator is commonly placed on legs or elevated in some way. <ref>Karla, S. K., and K. C. Bhardwaj. "Use of simple solar dehydrator for drying fruit and vegetable products." Journal of Food Science and Technology (1981).
In order to prevent the intrusion of insects and foreign contaminants, the dehydrator is commonly placed on legs or elevated in some way. This prevents animals from approaching the dried goods from the ground, and keeps dirt off as well. <ref>Karla, S. K., and K. C. Bhardwaj. "Use of simple solar dehydrator for drying fruit and vegetable products." Journal of Food Science and Technology (1981).
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http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?f=2013/US/US2013019795410012440.xml;US201301979541</ref>



Revision as of 02:17, 10 February 2014

Template:305inprogress


Background

Bayside Park Farm (formerly known as the Arcata Educational Farm) has been in operation since 1993, and was Arcata's first CSA (community supported agriculture) farm. In order to allow for the preservation of the farm's excess crops, a solar dehydrator was implemented in 2009 by a previous ENGR305 class. Dehydrating food is an especially important process for farms because it allows them to maintain their livelihood (food) for the long term. However, after problems with adequately drying produce, the dehydrator fell into disuse and was ultimately removed from the property. We were asked to build an effective, educational follow-up to the initial dehydrator.

Problem Statement

The objective of this project is twofold:

  • To produce a durable and effective solar dehydrator to aid in the preservation of Bayside Park Farm's excess produce.
  • To design the solar dehydrator simply and accessibly enough to foster adoption and replication of the solar dehydration process.

In summary, it is our ultimate goal to provide the Bayside Park Farm with a solar powered food dehydrator that will meet their produce needs, is easy to maintain, and will last much longer than the one before it.

Project Criteria

This criteria list, while not final, represents what we feel are the most important considerations concerning the scope and objective of this project. The scale is weighted from "1" being of the least significance to "10" being of the most significance.

Criteria Constraints Weight
(1-10)
Functionality Device working as intended
10
Maintainability Has to be maintenance friendly to the user, little knowledge required for maintenance and repairs
9
Safety Device must pose no outstanding operational dangers to user
9
Usability Ease of regular operation is key, intuitive handling
8
Budget Must not exceed budget
10
Reproducibility Design can be easily reproduced by others
7
Aesthetics Must look like a natural extension of the farm
7

Literature Review

This is a review of the available literature pertinent to the proposed solar dehydrator at Bayside Park Farm.

Dehydration basics

The dehydration of food is the oldest method of preservation, dating back as far as 12,000 B.C., with proponents and users including the Roman empire, ancient Middle Eastern and Asian cultures, and the Europeans of the Middle Ages. [1] Solar dehydration was likely the first (and least resource intensive) method of food drying, and is very simple to do in a sunny, warm environment.[2] Food is placed in a container designed to trap heat, and the air is then heated to a temperature high enough to prevent microbial growth, but not high enough to actively cook the food (roughly 130 degrees Fahrenheit for produce and 150F for meat). [3] One of the most important aspects of a dehydrator is the airflow: the air should be able to flow in one side, heat up and absorb water from the food, and escape from the other side.[4]

Dehydration concerns

One of the biggest issues with solar dehydration, particularly in Humboldt County, is its reliance on the ambient climate. Arcata falls and winters are typically characterized by cool temperatures with intermittent sun.[5] Alongside the cool, cloudy days, an average relative daytime humidity of roughly 60% (with nighttime humidities commonly reaching 90%) will pose a challenge to achieving satisfactory food dehydration. [5]

Components of solar dehydrators

Three main types of solar dehydrators exist: natural-convection dryers (which do not require electricity or mechanical energy for operation), forced-convection dryers (which commonly use an electric fan to maintain a constant airflow), and solar-assisted dryers (which uses an auxiliary heating source as its primary dryer).[6] There are a multitude of designs, shapes, and plans for solar dehydrators. However, all of them share a few similar components: a heat chamber, a method of keeping it off the ground, and a removable tray that contains the food.[7]

Heat Chamber

The heat chamber is most often a solid-sided box with a clear polycarbonate top; this acts as a greenhouse and traps incoming solar heat in order to facilitate the drying process. It is almost always backed by a dark material in order to promote heat absorption. The heat chamber can either be used as a simple heat collector (which acts as a way to foster convective air currents in a system) or as the drying chamber itself. [8][9]

Elevation

In order to prevent the intrusion of insects and foreign contaminants, the dehydrator is commonly placed on legs or elevated in some way. This prevents animals from approaching the dried goods from the ground, and keeps dirt off as well. [10]

Removable Tray

The trays must be permeable in order to allow for either good airflow or to allow any excess moisture to easily escape from the materials being dried. Some sources advocate the use of readymade plastic trays [11], others suggest custom-building the trays in order to allow for optimal circulation and permeability. [8][12]

References

Template:Reflist

  1. "Historical Origins of Food Preservation." National Center for Home Food Preservation. http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/food_pres_hist.html (accessed February 7, 2014).
  2. Torrey, M. Dehydration of Fruits and Vegetables. Park Ridge, N.J.: Noyes Data Corp, 1974.
  3. "Dehydration." Pickyourown.org. http://www.pickyourown.org/dryingfoods.htm (accessed February 9, 2014).
  4. "DIY Solar Dehydrator." TheHomesteadingBoards.com. http://thehomesteadingboards.com/2012/03/diy-solar-dehydrator/ (accessed February 9, 2014).
  5. 5.0 5.1 "WeatherSpark Beta." Average Weather For Arcata, California, USA. https://weatherspark.com/averages/29570/Arcata-California-United-States (accessed February 9, 2014).
  6. Hui, Y.H., Clary, C., Farid, M.M., et. al. Food Drying Science and Technology. Lancaster, Penn.: [DEStech Publishing], 2008
  7. Fodor, E. The Solar Food Dryer: How to Make and Use Your Own Low-Cost, High-Performance, Sun-Powered Food Dehydrator. Gabriola Island, Canada: [New Society Publishers], 2005.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "How To Build a Solar Food Dehydrator." Off The Grid News. http://www.offthegridnews.com/2012/04/16/how-to-build-a-solar-food-dehydrator/ (accessed February 9, 2014).
  9. Russon, Jonathan K., Michael L. Dunn, and Frost M. Steele. "Optimization of a Convective Air Flow Solar Food Dryer." International Journal of Food Engineering 5, no. 1 (2009). http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/IR/id/67 (accessed February 9, 2014).
  10. Karla, S. K., and K. C. Bhardwaj. "Use of simple solar dehydrator for drying fruit and vegetable products." Journal of Food Science and Technology (1981). http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?f=2013/US/US2013019795410012440.xml;US201301979541
  11. http://www.appropedia.org/AEF_food_dehydrator
  12. Wheeler, E. Home Food Dehydration: The Hows, What and Why. Seattle, Wash.: [Wheeler Enterprises], 1974.
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