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Energy, exergy, and environmental performance of a solar dryer for orange slices across tray levels and thicknesses
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  • Published: 31 January 2026

Energy, exergy, and environmental performance of a solar dryer for orange slices across tray levels and thicknesses

  • Abdallah Elshawadfy Elwakeel1,
  • Awad Ali Tayoush Oraiath2,
  • Wajdi Aissa Mohammed Abdurraziq3,
  • András Székács4,
  • Omar Saeed5,
  • Mohamed Hamdy Eid6,7,
  • Mohammad S. AL-Harbi8,
  • Atef Fathy Ahmed8 &
  • …
  • Aml Abubakr Tantawy9 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Engineering
  • Environmental sciences
  • Materials science

Abstract

This research introduces the development of an automated forced and natural solar dryer (AFNSD) equipped with a photovoltaic-powered IoT technology, temperature-responsive control system that seamlessly alternates between natural and forced convection to improve efficiency and minimize energy consumption. In contrast to traditional fixed systems, it avoids both over-drying and product spoilage. The affordable, solar-driven design makes it ideal for off-grid communities. By combining drying kinetics analysis with economic and environmental evaluations, the system aligns with and promotes sustainability objectives. The thermodynamic performance and sustainability indicators were also evaluated. The developed AFNSD was used for drying orange slices at different tray positions (lower, middle, and upper), and three slice thicknesses (4, 6, and 8 mm). the obtained results showed that thinner orange slices (4 mm) placed on the lower trays reached the equilibrium moisture content more quickly, with an average drying time of about 13 h. In contrast, thicker slices (8 mm) positioned on the upper trays required the longest drying time, averaging around 25 h to reach the equilibrium moisture content. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the maximum energy efficiency of the solar collector (SC) (\(\:{\eta\:}_{en,\:\:SC})\:\)was about 70.98%. And the maximum exergy efficiency of the SC (\(\:{\eta\:}_{ex,\:\:SC})\:\)and the drying chamber (DCh) (\(\:{\eta\:}_{ex,\:\:DCh}\)) were about 21.93% and 43.64%, respectively. additionally, the sustainable indicators of both SC and DCh of the developed AFNSD, showed that the improved potential (IP) was in the range of 2.03 to 12.61 W in the SC and from 0.03 to 1.85 W in the DCh. The average waste energy ratio (WER) was 0.9 for the SC and 0.7 for the DCh. And the sustainability index (SI) ranged from 1.02 to 1.28 in the SC and from 1.2 to 1.77 in the DCh.

Data availability

All data are presented within the article.

Abbreviations

\(MC\) :

Moisture content.

W :

Sample weight

\({\dot {m}_a}\) :

Mass flow rate

\({\dot {E}_a}\) :

Energy flow rate

\({h_a}\) :

Enthalpy

\({v_a}\) :

Air velocity

\({z_a}\) :

Height

g :

Gravity acceleration

\(\dot {W}\) :

Work done

\(\dot {Q}\) :

Heat transfer

\({\dot {Q}_u}\) :

Useful energy

\({\dot {Q}_{in}}\) :

Input energy

\({\dot {Q}_{ls}}\) :

Energy loss

\({I_s}\) :

Solar radiation intensity

\({A_{SAC}}\) :

Surface area of the solar collector

\({C_{pa}}\) :

Specific heat of air

\({T_c}\) :

Air temperature

\({\eta _{en}}\) :

Energy efficiency

\({m_w}\) :

Quantity of removed water from date sample

L :

Latent heat of vaporization of water

\({t_d}\) :

Drying time

\({\eta _{ex}}\) :

Exergy efficiency

u :

Internal energy

s :

Entropy

\(\alpha\) :

Absorptivity of glass

\(\mathop {Ex}\limits^{.}\) :

Exergy

\(\tau\) :

Transmissivity of glass

\({\mu _{ch}}\) :

Chemical energy

\({T_0}\) :

Atmospheric temperature

i :

Inlet

o :

Outlet

\({\text{SAC}}\) :

Solar air collector

Dryer:

The solar dryer

DR:

Drying room

AFNSD:

Automated forced and natural solar dryer

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

SC:

Solar Collector

DCh:

Drying chamber

ETSC:

Evacuated tube solar collector

SRI:

Solar radiation intensity

IP:

Improvement potential

WER:

Waste exergy ratio

SI:

Sustainability Index

SD:

Solar dryer

MC:

Moisture content

PV:

Photovoltaic

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Taif University for funding this work. This research was funded by the Hungarian National Research, Development, and Innovation Office, grant number TKP2021-NVA-22. This work was also supported by the Flagship Research Groups Programme of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Funding

Open access funding provided by Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This research was funded by the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Taif University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Aswan University, Aswân, 81528, Egypt

    Abdallah Elshawadfy Elwakeel

  2. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Omar Al Mukhtar University, P.O. Box 991, Al Bayda, Libya

    Awad Ali Tayoush Oraiath

  3. Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Omar Al Mukhtar University, P.O. Box 991, Al Bayda, Libya

    Wajdi Aissa Mohammed Abdurraziq

  4. Agro-Environmental Research Centre, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly u. 1, Gödöllő, 2100, Hungary

    András Székács

  5. Doctoral School of Environmental Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Páter Károly u. 1, Gödöllő, 2100, Hungary

    Omar Saeed

  6. Institute of Environmental Management, Faculty of Earth Science, University of Miskolc, Miskolc-Egyetemváros, 3515, Hungary

    Mohamed Hamdy Eid

  7. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 65211, Egypt

    Mohamed Hamdy Eid

  8. Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammad S. AL-Harbi & Atef Fathy Ahmed

  9. Food Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 65211, Egypt

    Aml Abubakr Tantawy

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Contributions

Conceptualization, A.E.E., methodology, A.E.E., software, A.E.E., validation, A.E.E., formal analysis, A.A.T.O., A.A.T., and A.E.E., investigation, A.E.E., M.S.A., and A.F.A., resources, A.E.E., M.S.A., A.A.T.O., A.A.T., and A.F.A., data curation, A.E.E., M.S.A., W.A.M.A., and A.F.A., Writing - original draft, A.E.E., writing—review and editing, A.E.E., A.S., O.S., W.A.M.A., and M.H.E., visualization, A.E.E., supervision, A.E.E., project administration, A.E.E., funding acquisition, A.S., O.S., and M.S.A., All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Abdallah Elshawadfy Elwakeel or Omar Saeed.

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Elwakeel, A.E., Oraiath, A.A.T., Abdurraziq, W.A.M. et al. Energy, exergy, and environmental performance of a solar dryer for orange slices across tray levels and thicknesses. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-23535-5

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  • Received: 12 July 2025

  • Accepted: 07 October 2025

  • Published: 31 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-23535-5

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Keywords

  • Sustainable agriculture systems
  • Drying technology
  • Solar energy
  • Renewable energy
  • Citrus drying
  • Thermodynamic analysis
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