The technical performance and economic analysis of a developed hybrid solar-electric dryer (HSED) were investigated in this research work with respect to energy, exergy, and environmental sustainability. Experimental investigations were performed with and without load during the rainy season, in which the sunshine periods were affected by intertropical discontinuity, prompted by cold-prevalent wind interference from the Atlantic Ocean and regional water catchment. Thermal characteristics and drying efficiency of the hybrid dryer, as well as the effect of different drying temperatures (50, 60, and 70°C), air velocities (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 ms⁻¹), and sample thicknesses (10, 15, and 20 mm) on the overall and specific energy usage for 1,500 g batch size of fresh sliced tomato samples, were investigated. The percent energy contributions of the solar and electric heat units at varying air velocities were also determined. Results obtained indicate that the mean solar collector efficiencies during sunshine hours ranged between 24.6 and 70.3%. The total and specific energy consumption of tomato slices (Lycopersicon esculentum) varied between 5.61–120.31 kJh and 5.18–167.59 kJhg⁻¹, respectively. Analysis of variance results show that drying air temperature, sample thickness, and velocity of air were significant at P > 0.05. The percent energy contribution by solar and electric heat units varied between 44.57–56.24% and 43.76–55.43%, respectively. Drying time and drying efficiency ranged between 130 ± 7 and 330 ± 5 min and 4.33–36.38%, respectively. The average energy efficiency of the hybrid system increased from 15.67 to 38.17%, whereas the mean exergy efficiency varied between 32.2 and 87.9%. The sustainability indicators such as ratio of waste exergy, sustainability index, and improvement potential of the HSED ranged from 0.083 to 0.158, 1.93–6.77, and 0.099–0.289 kJs⁻¹, respectively. Optimum drying conditions for improved final quality were given. The economic analysis established that the HSED could save up to $1,490.33 per annum with a low payback period (0.72 years), thus making the dryer cost effective and economically viable. Prospects for improvement and future works were highlighted.

在这项研究工作中，就能源，火用和环境可持续性进行了研究，研究了发达的混合太阳能干燥器（HSED）的技术性能和经济分析。在雨季有载和无载的情况下进行了实验研究，在此期间，由于大西洋和区域集水区的冷风普遍干扰，阳光时期受到热带间断的影响。混合干燥机的热特性和干燥效率，以及不同干燥温度（50、60和70°C），风速（0.5、1.0和1.5 ms ^{-1的影响）}），并研究了1500 g批次新鲜切成薄片的番茄样品的总能量和比能量消耗的样品厚度（10、15和20 mm）。还确定了在不同风速下太阳能和电热单元的能量贡献百分比。获得的结果表明，日照时间的平均太阳能收集器效率在24.6％和70.3％之间。番茄切片（Lycopersicon esculentum）的总能耗和比能耗分别在5.61–120.31 kJh和5.18–167.59 kJhg ^-1之间变化。方差分析表明，干燥空气温度，样品厚度和空气速度在P> 0.05。太阳能和电热单元的能量贡献百分比分别在44.57–56.24％和43.76–55.43％之间变化。干燥时间和干燥效率分别在130±7和330±5分钟和4.33–36.38％之间。混合动力系统的平均能效从15.67％增至38.17％，而平均能效效率在32.2％和87.9％之间变化。可持续性指标，例如废物本能比，可持续性指数和HSED的改进潜力，范围为0.083至0.158、1.93-6.77和0.099-0.289 kJs ^-1， 分别。给出了用于改善最终质量的最佳干燥条件。经济分析表明，HSED每年可节省高达1,490.33美元，投资回收期很短（0.72年），因此使烘干机具有成本效益且经济可行。强调了改进的前景和未来的工作。