JUA Applied sciences has developed PV-powered crop dehydration merchandise that don’t require electrical energy, oil and fuel gas.
JUA Applied sciences, an agriculture expertise start-up that manufactures solar-powered crop dehydrators, has obtained a two-year, $600,000 Section II Small Enterprise Innovation Analysis (SBIR) grant from the US Division of Agriculture to develop its expertise.
The aim of the Section II mission, titled Sensible Multipurpose Photo voltaic Dehydration Machine for Worth Addition to Specialty Crops, is proof of idea to product-design enhancements and design for the corporate’s manufacturing of a multipurpose photo voltaic dryer, referred to as Dehymeleon. .
“That is an energy-intensive course of with excessive working prices as a result of meals dehydrators are often powered by fuel, electrical energy or gas oil,” stated Dr. Klein E. Ileleji, chief government officer and co-founder of JUA Applied sciences, and in addition a professor of agricultural and organic engineering at Purdue College. “Excessive working prices restrict the flexibility of small and midsize growers and processors within the US to supply dehydrated meals. Small growers and processors are very important to the native meals and agriculture trade in city areas, which is at the moment a $1 billion and rising trade within the US”
Picture: Purdue Agricultural Communication photograph/Tom Campbell
In creating tropical international locations, the place the post-harvest lack of horticultural merchandise could be as excessive as 50%, dehydrating meals utilizing photo voltaic vitality not solely helps assist the safety of vitamin however will even give growers the chance to extend their earnings from value-added processing.
Ileleji stated dehydration of vegetables and fruit, herbs and spices, and medicinal crops nonetheless takes place utilizing previous, open solar drying strategies on mats or trays that spoil the vitamins and scale back meals high quality.
“Whereas there are various photo voltaic dryer designs obtainable within the literature and on-line, none of them have been commercialized or utilized in giant portions,” stated Ileleji.
JUA Applied sciences’ proposed high-efficiency multipurpose photo voltaic dehydrator suits the priorities of the USDA and Nationwide Institute of Meals and Agriculture in 4 methods:
- Improved strategies of processing specialty crops to enhance high quality and dietary worth.
- Permits small and medium-sized growers so as to add worth to their crops and enhance farm earnings.
- Vitality conservation and diminished working prices.
- Vitality environment friendly expertise promotes using renewable vitality and helps environmental sustainability
Picture: JUA Applied sciences Worldwide
The USDA SBIR grant will cowl 4 analysis and improvement goals. Ileleji stated the goals shall be addressed by JUA Applied sciences and contract manufacturing and product engineering design companies:
- Modeling and simulation to optimize photo voltaic dehydrator efficiency.
- Figuring out the habits and efficiency of a desiccant and heat-recovery system beneath totally different drying hundreds.
- Subject efficiency dedication and validation modeling effort for fruits, greens, spices and herbs in Indiana and California.
- Beta prototyping the product for manufacturing.
In January 2021, Ileleji included Dehytech East Africa Restricted as a subsidiary of JUA Applied sciences. Dehytech is accountable for the import, distribution, advertising and marketing, gross sales and coordination of coaching and technical providers for JUA Applied sciences’ photo voltaic meals dryers, Dehytray and different merchandise serving the East African area. .
In 2019, JUA Applied sciences obtained an preliminary $100,000 SBIR Section I grant from the USDA and a $50,000 funding from Elevate Ventures.
This 12 months the US Small Enterprise Administration acknowledged Ileleji as Indiana and the Nice Lakes Regional Exporter of the 12 months, for the deployment of its transportable photo voltaic dehydrator, Dehytray.
“Each Dehytray and Dehymeleon applied sciences come from the US Company for Worldwide Improvement (USAID)-supported effort referred to as Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Meals Processing and Submit-Harvest Dealing with,” stated Ileleji. “This can be a multi-institutional effort led by Purdue College to cut back postharvest losses, promote financial progress, enhance vitamin and enhance meals safety in Feed the Future goal international locations.
West Lafayette, Indiana-based JUA Applied sciences was fashioned in 2016 by Dr. Ileleji and spouse Dr. Reiko Ileleji as an affiliate of Purdue Foundry. The corporate’s PV-enabled dehydrating applied sciences are designed for households, small and medium-sized agricultural and rising processes.
Its first product, Dehytray, is bought in 28 states in addition to greater than 10 international locations, and retails for about $139.50 on the corporate’s web site and numerous retailers equivalent to Walmart. In 2017, the corporate’s prototype expertise was one of many Prime 10 improvements to obtain awards on the first All-African Submit-Harvest Congress and Exhibit, held in Nairobi, Kenya.
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