Q80: In solar driers, what is the process that primarily drives... - Solar Energy Engineering - Renewable Energy Engineering- ICAR JRF/SRF 2024 | Agrigyan

• Moisture Removal Mechanism in Solar Dryers:
• Physical Mechanism: In active and passive solar agricultural dryers, heated air flows over the moist agricultural produce, transferring sensible heat to the food surface.
• Evaporation: The absorbed thermal energy provides the latent heat of vaporization ($L_v \approx 2.4\text{ MJ/kg}$), transforming bound and free liquid moisture into water vapor, which diffuses across the boundary layer and is carried away by convective airflow (Evaporation).
• Other Terms:
• Condensation: Phase change from vapor to liquid.
• Sublimation: Phase change from solid directly to vapor (used in freeze-drying).
• Conclusion: Evaporation (Option 2).

Correct option: (2) Evaporation