Invention:
This invention is an innovative greenhouse designed to dry food waste at scale. This radical design maximizes the temperature gradient within the tower to minimize drying time. The solar dryer uses solar radiation, requiring minimal energy input. The dried food waste can be stored and used as needed to fertilize fields, feed livestock, or it can be sold as a commodity, turning a waste stream into a revenue stream.
Background:
In the United States alone, a staggering 62.1 billion pounds of fruit, vegetable, and grain waste end up in the landfill each year. This amounts to an economic loss of $75.5 billion. The biggest constraint on salvaging this food waste is time: food waste needs to be processed before it rots. More modern use of greenhouses to increase drying rate typically have a single layer of drying plant material at bench or ground height. This is adequate for small batches of agricultural produce, but not sufficient to handle large-scale drying. Industrial scale food drying technology using drum-dryers or spray-dryers are fast but require huge energy inputs and are cost prohibitive.
This design for a solar dryer will allow large-scale drying of agricultural waste or manure that can be stored for later use as livestock feed or fertilizer. Evaporated water can be reclaimed and used for irrigation or other needs. The dryer will enable large scale repurposing of food waste, generate income from waste, reduce landfill usage, and reclaim water with a minimal input of energy.
Applications:
- Large scale food waste drying
- Environmental reduction and repurposing
Advantages:
- Cost-effective
- Environmentally friendly
- Does not depend on fossil fuels
- Reclaim water
- Reduce landfill usage
