Design, Development and Evaluation of Seaweed Drying Technology for Village Level Operation

A solar-type seaweed dryer was designed and developed to answer the needs of Filipino seaweed farmers for efficient and reliable drying technology. Through extensive baseline community surveys and field tests, the study was able to design a dryer prototype that is capable of drying high-grade quality seaweeds in a short amount of time. Moreover, geographical factors, natural hazard vulnerability, and farmers’ preference gave way for the development of two types of dryer: permanent and floating type. Both dryers were found to have positive effects in regards to drying time, product quality, streamlined operation, and overall economic benefits. Traditional drying practices takes around three (3) days to dry the seaweeds on good sunny days, but due to the varying weather conditions, the drying process can reach up to 7 days. The prolonged drying time, exposure to sudden downpours and contaminants greatly affects the quality of the seaweeds which in turn, compromises the market value of the dried seaweeds. The use of the drying technology remedied these problems inherent to traditional drying practices. To take full advantage on the use of the developed seaweed dryer, optimization experiments were conducted to determine the ideal settings of the dryer during daytime and nighttime conditions by varying the siding openings and operation of the exhaust fans. The optimization study resulted in a continuous and efficient drying operation under different weather conditions. Furthermore, field performance tests paved the way for the construction of a sturdier compact dryer design. Moreover, the incorporation of a solar-powered ventilation system and lighting system allowed continuous and efficient drying operation even during night time. Lastly, simple economic analysis also supported the profitability of drying technology in the long run.