Anais do Simpósio Latino Americano de Ciências de Alimentos
Actas del 14 SLACA - Simposio Latinoamericano de Ciencia de los Alimentos

Solar energy is considered clean, as it does not release any waste into the atmosphere. Its use to replace electrical energy in the process of drying fruits in agro-industrial enterprises brings economic and environmental benefits. In terms of social inclusion, the use of solar energy allows greater participation of small producers in the industrial processing of fruits, which can also reduce post-harvest waste. This research aimed to design and build a solar dryer and evaluate its usability dehydrating araticum pulps (Annona crassiflora Mart.), while also evaluating the potential of the city of Barreiras, in western Bahia, Brazil, as a favorable region for sun drying. The equipment was built mainly with styrofoam box and aluminum foil, with a capacity of approximately 30 L, aiming to optimize the action of sunlight and protect the products from insects and bad weather. Araticum pulps were subjected to the drying process in the equipment, which was placed under sunlight from 10 am to 4 pm in Barreiras. Every 30 minutes, temperature and relative humidity of the chamber and the product weight were determined. The estimated cost of the dryer was BRL 99.41, 89 % or more less than cost of commercial dryers. During the drying process, the chamber was in average temperature of 58.62 °C and relative humidity of 37.35 %. 360 minutes of drying were enough to make the wet basis moisture content of the pulp change from 81.18 ± 2.44 % to 2.32 ± 0.28 %, which was the moisture equilibrium of the fruit. It was noted, therefore, taking araticum as an example of a product from the region, that the constructed dryer, associated with the climatic conditions of the municipality of Barreiras, represented an environmentally friendly equipment with potential to be used by small producers for drying agro-industrial products.