Characterisation of Ginger Drying Practices In Humid Tropical Regions and Proposal for Suitable Equipment

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to propose suitable equipment for drying in humid tropical regions. Following the design and distribution of two online survey forms via Google Forms one for producers and the other for consumers a total of 547 completed forms were collected. The main findings showed that, in terms of growing areas, all ten regions of Cameroon are suitable for growing this plant, with the Littoral Region leading the way (15.70%), followed by the Central Region (14.40%), the West Region (13.10%), the North-West Region (11.50%) and the Adamaoua Region (10.20%). It also emerged that three main varieties are cultivated: white ginger (58.15%), black ginger (28.43%) and turmeric (11.82%). With regard to preservation methods, indirect solar drying was found to be the most widely used technique (67.40%) and the most recommended (96.50%), ahead of traditional drying. Furthermore, we have designed a PV/T solar dryer for fruit and vegetables. The design was carried out using the functional analysis method, which enabled us to identify the problem and define the functions to be fulfilled. The technological solutions were derived from the functional analysis of requirements and resulted in a hybrid PV/T solar dryer. The proposed dryer consists of two units: a drying chamber with a volume of 0.35 m³, in which air circulation is provided by two (02) continuous fans operating at 1.2 m/s, and a PV/T collector comprising a 150 Wp solar PV panel, coupled with climate data from Ngaoundéré.