In this study, a hybrid drying system incorporating a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) solar collector and an electric auxiliary heater was developed to make advances in sustainable tomato drying. The proposed dryer was designed to operate in a combined mode with solar energy as the prime source of energy, and the auxiliary unit was only used in the cases with the absence of solar radiation or limitation in generated solar power. Experimental tests were carried out to investigate the drying performance at different levels of sample thickness, airflow rate, and drying temperature. Using image processing and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques, the quality of the dried products was also evaluated in terms of the changes in color, shrinkage, and vitamin C content. Results indicated that the average drying time was about 231 min, while the shortest time was obtained as 83 min, suggesting an improved performance compared to similar works. It was found that drying temperature is the key factor influencing the rate of color changes, and shrinkage is only affected by the thickness of tomato slices. The experimental data further showed that the destruction of vitamin C was mostly influenced by the drying air temperature and sample thickness. The maximum energy and exergy efficiencies of the solar collector were determined as 25 and 6% at the maximum and minimum airflow rates, respectively.

在这项研究中，开发了一种混合干燥系统，该系统结合了复合抛物面聚光器（CPC）太阳能收集器和电辅助加热器，从而在可持续番茄干燥方面取得了进步。拟议中的干燥机设计为以太阳能作为主要能源，以组合模式运行，而辅助单元仅在没有太阳辐射或太阳能发电受限的情况下使用。进行实验测试以研究在不同水平的样品厚度，气流速率和干燥温度下的干燥性能。使用图像处理和高效液相色谱（HPLC）技术，还根据颜色，收缩率和维生素C含量的变化评估了干燥产品的质量。结果表明，平均干燥时间约为231分钟，而最短时间为83分钟，表明与类似作品相比，性能得到了改善。研究发现，干燥温度是影响颜色变化速率的关键因素，而收缩率仅受番茄切片厚度的影响。实验数据进一步表明，维生素C的破坏主要受干燥空气温度和样品厚度的影响。在最大和最小气流速率下，太阳能收集器的最大能量效率和火用效率分别确定为25和6％。收缩率仅受番茄切片厚度的影响。实验数据进一步表明，维生素C的破坏主要受干燥空气温度和样品厚度的影响。在最大和最小气流速率下，太阳能收集器的最大能量效率和火用效率分别确定为25和6％。收缩率仅受番茄切片厚度的影响。实验数据进一步表明，维生素C的破坏主要受干燥空气温度和样品厚度的影响。在最大和最小气流速率下，太阳能收集器的最大能量效率和火用效率分别确定为25和6％。