Cover
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): ETES

Published: December 31, 2025

Pages: 45-73

Review Article

A Comprehensive Review of Advanced Solar Drying Technologies: Concentrators, Optical Enhancements, and Thermal Energy Storage Systems

Mudhar A. Al-Obaidi* 1 Deyaa M. N. Mahmood 1 Farhan Lafta Rashid 2
1Technical Instructor Training Institute, Middle Technical University, Baghdad 10074, Iraq
2Petroleum Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Kerbala, Karbala 56001, Iraq
History
  • Received: November 28, 2025
  • Revised: December 23, 2025
  • Accepted: December 25, 2025
  • Available Online: December 31, 2025
DOI

https://doi.org/10.65505/ETES-25-0018

Abstract

The conventional open sun drying is not efficient, it is slow and contaminated and there is a necessity to develop highly advanced technologies in solar drying. The review looks critically at solar dryers that are improved with concentrator, optical, thermal energy storage (TES) or phase-change materials (PCM). The incorporation of parabolic trough or compound parabolic concentrators leads to a high temperature of over 100-115 oC and a thermal efficiency of up to 88 %. Reflective walls are also made to enhance optical capturing by up to 37.6 %, and shorten drying time by 15-20 %. TES/PCM systems increase the operation of TES systems beyond the sunset, nano-enhanced PCMs reduce drying time by 40% and enhance thermal efficiency by more than 48%. These systems demonstrate short payback periods (0.43-5.14 years) with regard to economics. They minimise the emission of CO2 by 2-44 tons/ lifetime of systems. These combined technologies have addressed intermittency and low efficiency and enabled solar drying to be a reliable and cost-effective and sustainable solution, as the UN Sustainable Development Goals of clean energy and climate action suggest.

Keywords

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