International Journal of Analytical, Experimental and Finite Element Analysis
Volume 12 · Issue 4 · December 2025 · pp. 72–86
Review Article · Peer Reviewed
Received: October 20, 2025 · Accepted: December 12, 2025 · Published: December 31, 2025
DOI: 10.26706/ijaefea.4.12.20251205
Open Access · CC BY 4.0

Progress in PCM-Assisted Indirect Solar Dryers: Design, Performance Enhancement, and Future Perspectives

Himanshu D. Wagh*, Mangesh V. Gudadhe

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vidarbha Youth Welfare Society’s Prof. Ram Meghe Institute of Technology & Research, Amravati, India

*Corresponding author: himanshuw58@gmail.com

Download PDF Cite this article Certificate Volume 12 Issue 4

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) are increasingly integrated into indirect solar dryers to buffer the intermittency of solar radiation, extending useful drying operation into the evening and low-insolation hours by storing latent heat during peak sunshine and releasing it later at a near-constant temperature. This review synthesises the peer-reviewed literature on PCM-assisted indirect solar drying, covering PCM classification and thermophysical selection criteria, indirect-dryer design fundamentals, PCM integration configurations (macro-encapsulated cans, tubes, fin-enhanced and multi-grade storage banks), and quantitative performance evidence from thirteen independently verified experimental and numerical studies published between 2014 and 2025. Across these studies, reported collector- or drying-efficiency gains attributable to PCM integration range from a modest 6–8% up to 77%, and reported drying-time reductions relative to each study's own stated baseline range from 5.3% (PCM alone, in a PCM-plus-infrared hybrid system) to 50% (combined sensible-and-latent storage); the two configurations most consistently associated with the largest gains are heat-transfer-enhanced PCM (finned or tubed) and combined sensible-plus-latent storage rather than bulk PCM alone. Techno-economic assessments identified in the literature report simple payback periods as short as 0.74–1.29 years for a PCM-integrated active indirect dryer, though dedicated economic modelling for smallholder or rural-farmer adoption contexts is essentially absent from the reviewed literature. Persistent technical challenges include the low thermal conductivity of most organic PCMs, subcooling and phase segregation in salt hydrates over repeated cycling, PCM leakage and container corrosion, and the site- and crop-specific task of matching PCM melting point to locally achievable collector-outlet temperatures. Of the 61 references synthesised in this review, 46% were published between 2023 and 2026, reflecting a rapidly accelerating research interest that has not yet been matched by standardised testing protocols, multi-year field validation, or life-cycle/rural-economics studies. The review closes by situating these findings against an energy-storage-based indirect solar dryer for orange peel drying under development in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India, and identifies a fatty-acid or paraffin PCM in the 50–60°C range, combined with a low-cost finned or expanded-graphite conductivity enhancement, as the most literature-consistent starting point for that application, while flagging the absence of dedicated Indian smallholder PCM-dryer economics as an open research question this project could help address.

Keywords

phase change material latent heat thermal energy storage indirect solar dryer solar drying thermal energy storage drying kinetics techno-economic analysis review

References

  1. A. Sharma, V. V. Tyagi, C. R. Chen, and D. Buddhi, “Review on thermal energy storage with phase change materials and applications,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 318–345, 2009. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2007.10.005.
  2. B. Zalba, J. M. Marín, L. F. Cabeza, and H. Mehling, “Review on thermal energy storage with phase change: materials, heat transfer analysis and applications,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 251–283, 2003. doi: 10.1016/S1359-4311(02)00192-8.
  3. M. M. Farid, A. M. Khudhair, S. A. K. Razack, and S. Al-Hallaj, “A review on phase change energy storage: materials and applications,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 45, no. 9–10, pp. 1597–1615, 2004. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2003.09.015.
  4. A. Abhat, “Low temperature latent heat thermal energy storage: heat storage materials,” Solar Energy, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 313–332, 1983. doi: 10.1016/0038-092X(83)90186-X.
  5. A. Sharma, S. D. Sharma, and D. Buddhi, “Accelerated thermal cycle test of acetamide, stearic acid and paraffin wax for solar thermal latent heat storage applications,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 43, no. 14, pp. 1923–1930, 2002. doi: 10.1016/S0196-8904(01)00131-5.
  6. Z. A. Qureshi, H. M. Ali, and S. Khushnood, “Recent advances on thermal conductivity enhancement of phase change materials for energy storage system: A review,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 127, pp. 838–856, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.08.049.
  7. A. Jamekhorshid, S. M. Sadrameli, and M. Farid, “A review of microencapsulation methods of phase change materials (PCMs) as a thermal energy storage (TES) medium,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 31, pp. 531–542, 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.033.
  8. M. K. Rathod and J. Banerjee, “Thermal stability of phase change materials used in latent heat energy storage systems: A review,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 18, pp. 246–258, 2013. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.10.022.
  9. S. A. Mohamed, F. A. Al-Sulaiman, N. I. Ibrahim, Md. H. Zahir, A. Al-Ahmed, R. Saidur, B. S. Yılbaş, and A. Z. Sahin, “A review on current status and challenges of inorganic phase change materials for thermal energy storage systems,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 70, pp. 1072–1089, 2017. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.12.012.
  10. A. Sarı and A. Karaipekli, “Thermal conductivity and latent heat thermal energy storage characteristics of paraffin/expanded graphite composite as phase change material,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 27, no. 8–9, pp. 1271–1277, 2007. doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2006.11.004.
  11. M. Aramesh and B. Shabani, “Metal foam-phase change material composites for thermal energy storage: A review of performance parameters,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 155, p. 111919, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111919.
  12. S. Höhlein, A. König-Haagen, and D. Brüggemann, “Macro-Encapsulation of Inorganic Phase-Change Materials (PCM) in Metal Capsules,” Materials, vol. 11, no. 9, p. 1752, 2018. doi: 10.3390/ma11091752.
  13. S. VijayaVenkataRaman, S. Iniyan, and R. Goic, “A review of solar drying technologies,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 2652–2670, 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.01.007.
  14. A. Fudholi, K. Sopian, M. H. Ruslan, M. A. Alghoul, and M. Y. Sulaiman, “Review of solar dryers for agricultural and marine products,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1–30, 2010. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2009.07.032.
  15. A. B. Lingayat, V. P. Chandramohan, V. R. K. Raju, and V. Meda, “A review on indirect type solar dryers for agricultural crops – Dryer setup, its performance, energy storage and important highlights,” Applied Energy, vol. 258, p. 114005, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114005.
  16. H. S. EL-Mesery, A. I. EL-Seesy, Z. Hu, and Y. Li, “Recent developments in solar drying technology of food and agricultural products: A review,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 157, p. 112070, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.112070.
  17. L. M. Bal, S. Satya, and S. N. Naik, “Solar dryer with thermal energy storage systems for drying agricultural food products: A review,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 2298–2314, 2010. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2010.04.014.
  18. R. Patil and R. Gawande, “A review on solar tunnel greenhouse drying system,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 56, pp. 196–214, 2016. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.11.057.
  19. A. A. El-Sebaii and S. M. Shalaby, “Solar drying of agricultural products: A review,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 37–43, 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.134.
  20. A. Saxena, Varun, and A. A. El-Sebaii, “A thermodynamic review of solar air heaters,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 43, pp. 863–890, 2015. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.059.
  21. A. Ahmadi, B. Das, M. Aliehyaei, F. Esmaeilion, et al., “Energy, exergy, and techno-economic performance analyses of solar dryers for agro products: A comprehensive review,” Solar Energy, vol. 228, pp. 349–373, 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2021.09.060.
  22. S. Malakar, V. K. Arora, P. K. Nema, and V. Yadav, “Recent trends and applications of evacuated tube solar collector in food processing and air heating: a review,” Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 31, no. 12, pp. 18119–18142, 2023. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-25078-y.
  23. V. V. Tyagi, N. L. Panwar, N. A. Rahim, and R. Kothari, “Review on solar air heating system with and without thermal energy storage system,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 2289–2303, 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2011.12.005.
  24. D. Jain and P. Tewari, “Performance of indirect through pass natural convective solar crop dryer with phase change thermal energy storage,” Renewable Energy, vol. 80, pp. 244–250, 2015. doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.02.012.
  25. S. M. Shalaby, M. A. Bek, and A. A. El-Sebaii, “Solar dryers with PCM as energy storage medium: A review,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 33, pp. 110–116, 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.01.073.
  26. S. K. Vedantam, S. K. Jain, N. L. Panwar, and Rama Sree, “An overview on Phase Change Material incorporated in convective solar dryers,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 131, p. 117486, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.est.2025.117486.
  27. A. A. A. Abueluor, M. T. Amin, M. A. Abuelnour, and O. Younis, “A comprehensive review of solar dryers incorporated with phase change materials for enhanced drying efficiency,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 72, p. 108425, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.est.2023.108425.
  28. G. S. Rathore, S. Rathor, N. Arif, A. Karn, and V. P. Singh, “Recent Progress in Solar Dryers using Phase Changing Material: A Review,” International Journal of Energy Resources Applications, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 57–77, 2023. doi: 10.56896/ijera.2023.2.1.005.
  29. V. S. Kavya and A. S. Ramana, “Recent Trends in PCM-Integrated Solar Dryers,” Engineering Proceedings, vol. 61, no. 1, p. 6, 2024. doi: 10.3390/engproc2024061006.
  30. K. Senthil Kumar, R. Vasanthi, M. Sh. Jaafar, A. Munimathan, M. K. Shanmugam, M. Alwetaishi, A. Afzal, P. Rajendran, and I. E. Lee, “Experimental and exergy evaluation of a PCM integrated active indirect solar dryer for Turkey berries with economic and environmental assessment,” Scientific Reports, vol. 15, p. 21661, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-02549-z.
  31. R. Venkatesh, P. Sharma, Ch. C. Subbarao, V. Mohanavel, K. Veerababu, A. Jadhav, M. Ravichandran, M. E. M. Soudagar, M. A. Alotaibi, and R. Sivanraju, “Enhancement solar dryer performance and collector efficiency of paraffin PCM/copper fin featured solar dryer,” Scientific Reports, vol. 15, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-01555-5.
  32. G. R. Govindan, M. Sattanathan, M. Muthiah, S. P. Ranjitharamasamy, and M. M. Athikesavan, “Performance analysis of a novel thermal energy storage integrated solar dryer for drying of coconuts,” Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 29, 2022. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-18052-7.
  33. A. H. Majeed, J. J. Faraj, and F. M. Hussien, “Enhancing Solar Drying Efficiency Through Indirect Solar Dryers Integrated with Phase Change Materials,” International Journal of Heat and Technology, vol. 42, no. 1, 2024. doi: 10.18280/ijht.420113.
  34. S. Hari Krishnan, S. Dhanushkodi, and K. Sudhakar, “Integrated Thermal Energy Storage for Enhanced Performance in Indirect Solar Drying Systems,” International Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 11, no. 5, 2025.
  35. A. J. Hamad, F. M. Hussien, and J. J. Faraj, “Multiple Phase Change Materials for Performance Enhancement of a Solar Dryer with Double Pass Collector,” Energy Engineering, vol. 118, no. 5, 2021. doi: 10.32604/EE.2021.016867.
  36. V. R. Mugi, M. C. Gilago, and V. P. Chandramohan, “Performance studies on indirect forced convection solar dryer without and with thermal energy storage during drying muskmelon slices,” Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 2023. doi: 10.1007/s10973-023-12120-5.
  37. M. Moradi, R. Raeesi, D. Zare, and M. Keramat-Jahromi, “Optimizing solar drying efficiency: Effects of PCM, and IR on energy and exergy performance,” PLOS ONE, vol. 20, 2025. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325042.
  38. C. N. Deepak and A. K. Behura, “Thermal and environmental analysis of Cucumis sativus drying in a mixed mode solar dryer with combined sensible and latent heat energy storage,” Scientific Reports, vol. 15, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-91971-4.
  39. D. D. Behera, R. C. Mohanty, and A. M. Mohanty, “Experimental investigation of a hybrid solar dryer for vegetable drying with and without phase change material,” Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, vol. 46, 2024. doi: 10.1007/s40430-024-04876-0.
  40. D. Chaatouf, B. Raillani, M. Salhi, S. Amraqui, and A. Mezrhab, “Experimental and numerical study of a natural convection indirect solar dryer with PCM tubes: Dynamic, thermal and nutritional quality analysis,” Solar Energy, vol. 264, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.111975.
  41. S. Madhankumar, K. Viswanathan, and W. Wu, “Energy, exergy and environmental impact analysis on the novel indirect solar dryer with fins inserted phase change material,” Renewable Energy, vol. 176, pp. 280–294, 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.05.085.
  42. G. G. Radhakrishnan, M. Sattanathan, R. K. G. Radhakrishnan, and A. K. Jeevan, “Phase-change material-based solar dryer: An experimental investigation for drying mango pulp,” Solar Energy, vol. 274, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2024.112716.
  43. S. M. Shalaby and M. A. Bek, “Experimental investigation of a novel indirect solar dryer implementing PCM as energy storage medium,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 83, pp. 1–8, 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2014.03.043.
  44. J. Ennissioui, E. M. Benghoulam, and T. El Rhafiki, “Experimental study of a natural convection indirect solar dryer,” Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 11, p. e21299, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21299.
  45. M. Alktranee, Q. Al-Yasiri, K. S. Mohammed, M. Arıcı, M. Szabó, and P. Bencs, “Energy, exergy, and economic analysis of indirect solar dryer integrated phase change material cans,” Energy Conversion and Management: X, vol. 26, p. 100986, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.ecmx.2025.100986.
  46. S. Rajesh, S. Madhankumar, P. M. Arunkumar, T. Vignesh, and S. D. Sekar, “Drying kinetics, energy, exergy, and economic aspects of indirect solar dryer with phase change material,” Solar Energy, vol. 305, p. 114287, 2026. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2025.114287.
  47. B. Brahma, A. K. Shukla, and D. C. Baruah, “Energy, exergy, economic and environmental analysis of phase change material based solar dryer (PCMSD),” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 88, p. 111490, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.est.2024.111490.
  48. C. Z. El-Bayeh, A. Badawi, W. Alqaisi, K. Alzareer, and M. Zellagui, “Techno-economic analysis of a solar drying plant using scheffler dish technology and eutectic PCM mixtures for thermal energy storage system,” Energy, vol. 360, no. 3, p. 100025, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.energ.2025.100025.
  49. D. Nakum, K. Sharma, N. L. Panwar, and S. Gande, “Sustainability Assessment of Solar Drying Systems: Comparative Life-Cycle Analysis,” Clean Energy, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 183–196, 2024. doi: 10.1093/ce/zkae049.
  50. C. R. Raj, S. Suresh, V. K. Singh, R. R. Bhavsar, M. Chandrasekar, and V. Archita, “Life cycle assessment of nanoalloy enhanced layered perovskite solid-solid phase change material till 10000 thermal cycles for energy storage applications,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 35, p. 102220, 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.est.2020.102220.
  51. M. Ostrý, S. Bantová, and K. Struhala, “Compatibility of Phase Change Materials and Metals: Experimental Evaluation Based on the Corrosion Rate,” Molecules, vol. 25, no. 12, p. 2823, 2020. doi: 10.3390/molecules25122823.
  52. S. M. Javadpour, M. H. Abbaspour-Fard, A. Rohani, and M. R. Rouzegar, “Multi-objective optimization of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) system with nano-enhanced phase change material using SVM modeling,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 283, p. 128864, 2026. doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.128864.
  53. A. A. Gitan and H. H. Al-Kayiem, “Assessment of hybrid solar-thermal multi-chamber dryer integrated with desiccant dehumidifier for uniform drying,” Solar Energy, vol. 262, p. 111880, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.111880.
  54. G. Khaledifard, M. Taki, R. M. Dastjerdi, and B. A. Behbahani, “Integrating drying kinetics, quality attributes and machine learning for red pepper drying in a greenhouse solar dryer,” Scientific Reports, vol. 16, no. 1, p. 1899, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-31576-z.
  55. S. Poonia, A. K. Singh, and D. Jain, “Performance evaluation of phase change material (PCM) based hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar dryer for drying arid fruits,” Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 52, part 3, pp. 1302–1308, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.matpr.2021.11.058.
  56. R. Sehrawat et al., “Experimentation and optimization of phase change material integrated passive bifacial photovoltaic thermal greenhouse dryer,” Solar Energy, vol. 257, pp. 45–57, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.04.024.
  57. I. S. Nasution and M. I. Hafiz, “Internet of things based smart system in the modified greenhouse solar dryer for agricultural products,” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 1290, no. 1, p. 012021, 2024. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/1290/1/012021.
  58. S. Esfandeh and M. H. Kamyab, “Thermal Characterization Techniques for Phase Change Materials,” in Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Management and Storage. CRC Press, 2024, pp. 90–109. doi: 10.1201/9781003331957-5.
  59. A. A. El-Sebaii and S. M. Shalaby, “Experimental investigation of an indirect-mode forced convection solar dryer for drying thymus and mint,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 74, pp. 109–116, 2013. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2013.05.006.
  60. A. A. El-Sebaii and S. M. Shalaby, “Experimental Investigation of Drying Thymus Cut Leaves in Indirect Solar Dryer With Phase Change Material,” Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, vol. 139, no. 6, p. 061011, 2017. doi: 10.1115/1.4037816.
  61. P. Mittal, N. Tarannum, M. Singh, and A. H. Siddiqui, “Linking Encapsulation, Thermal Transport and System Performance in Thermal Energy Storage Using Phase Change Materials,” Energy Storage, vol. 8, no. 5, 2026. doi: 10.1002/est2.70456.