This award supports a joint research project between Dr. M. Sami Fadali, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada and Dr. Faten H. Fahmy, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. They plan a comprehensive study of herb dryers in the Sinai Peninsula, including dryer types, layouts of solar collectors and PV panels. They will also define the mode of operation and determine the suitable control strategy for switching between different energy resources to fulfill drying requirements. They will also consider various options, conduct a mathematical model study, and design an optimum drying system for the local conditions for different herbs and plants. The Sinai Peninsula is home to a wide variety of valuable medicinal herbs in remote agricultural production areas. There is a strong need for the preservation of these valuable herbs during harvest, storage, and transport. This must be accomplished using relatively simple and economical technologies. Dryers offer the best solution to this problem, especially because solar energy potential is very high in the Sinai Peninsula.
Scope: The broader impact of this project is the tremendous economical impact on the Sinai. It will reduce post-harvest losses and transportation costs, expand the agricultural areas for herbs, and create new jobs. This may lead to the establishment of new communities in the Sinai with obvious benefits to the economy and population distribution of Egypt. It will also provide valuable medicinal herbs for markets in the United States and elsewhere. The Sinai presents a special eco/system, and it likely certains herbs and plants not found elsewhere. The surveying of these resources, and the design of an optimum drying system, using the local energy sources - sun and perhaps biomass - will help with the economy of the region. It will result in the reduction of waste caused by the primitive drying systems, and will improve the quantity and quality of the products. There will be a number of new varieties discovered. The project could open the way to tackle similar and potentially useful agro/industrial processing and automation control.
