Design and analysis of different types of solar collector for solar air dryer: A review

The extensive and unpredictable rise in energy demand with economic development has increased the pollution level and limited the availability of conventional nonrenewable energy sources. Sustainable energy sources like solar energy are utilised for heating purposes, which is free and environmentally friendly. Solar air collectors with various advancements have been developed which utilise solar energy for heating air, which is reported in this review paper. This review discusses the mechanism and advancements in the solar air collector used for air heating, which is an imperative integrant of the solar dryer. This paper mainly aims at the solar air collector of rectangular box type and flat plate designs with some modifications. The methods and modifications used for the analysis and performance enhancement are reported in this review. Results are also summarised on the basis of theoretical and experimental performance studies. Performance is compared based on the efficiency of the collector. Different types of collectors are categorised and illustrated. This review paper provides insight into the findings and benefits of improvement in solar air collectors to animate additional thermoeconomic development towards the furtherance of progressive development.