Agrivoltaic systems, which consist of the combination of energy production by means of photovoltaic systems and agricultural production in the same area, have emerged as a promising solution to the constraints related to the reduction in cultivated areas due to solar panels used in agricultural production systems. They also enable optimization of land use and reduction in conflicts over land access, in order to meet the increasing demand for agricultural products and energy resulting from rapid population growth. However, the selected installation configurations, such as elevation, spacing, tilt, and choice of panel technology used, can have a negative impact on agricultural and/or energy production. Thus, this paper addresses the need for a review that provides a clear explanation of agrivoltaics, including the factors that impact agricultural and energy production in agrivoltaic systems, types of panel configurations and technologies to optimize these systems, and a synthesis of modelling studies which have already been conducted in this area. Several studies have been carried out in this field to find the appropriate mounting height and spacing of the solar panels that optimize crop yields, as this later can be reduced by the shade created with the solar panels on the plants. It was reported that yields have been reduced by 62% to 3% for more than 80% of the tested crops. To this end, an optimization model can be developed to determine the optimal elevation, spacing, and tilt angle of the solar panels. This model would take into account factors that influence crop growth and yield, as well as factors that affect the performance of the photovoltaic system, with the goal of maximizing both crop yield and energy production.
This work consisted in the simulation of the operation of a prototype of a large capacity indirect solar dryer intended to dry 501.4 kg of fresh cassava pieces per drying cycle. It is designed to lower the water content of cassava pieces from 62% to 17% on a wet basis under optimal drying conditions, in order to improve the quality of products from the dried cassava pieces and to meet the standards of the international market. The modeling of the physical phenomena at the level of the dryer was done to follow the evolution of the various parameters influencing the drying. These phenomena were translated by a system of equations in order to simulate the operation of the dryer. Solving all of these equations allowed us to determine the temperature evolution of the different elements of the solar dryer and then to determine the drying kinetics of the cassava pieces. The use of this dryer will not only take advantage of the available solar energy but also guarantee the nutritional value of products derived from cassava pieces.
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