Rancang Bangun Alat Pengering Biji Kakao Skala Kecil Tipe Rak Tenaga Listrik

Abstract

The quality of cocoa beans is greatly influenced by the postharvest handling, one of the crucial stages in postharvest handling is the drying process. However, farmers in Indonesia still use the traditional drying methods, which involve drying cocoa beans under the sunlight. Along with the advancement of technology nowadays, the cocoa beans can be dried mechanically by utilized the eletrical power to optimized the drying process of cocoa beans. This research aimed to design and fabricate a cocoa bean dryer using electricity as a heat source with capacity of 4 kg in 8 hours. This research used design and testing method, then several parameters such as water content and drying effectivity, temperature and RH distribution, drying rate and economical analysis were measured. Results showed that the fabricated cocoa bean dryer have dimension of 100 x 50 x 80 cm with 4 trays which each have 1 kg capacity. This dryer could reduce the water content of cocoa beans from 60% to 8% with drying temperature of 60oC, which in accordance to the targetted time and capacity. However, the temperature and RH distribution in each tray was fluctuated in the temperature range of 54oC to 64oC, and in the RH range of 18% to 66%. Moreover, the drying rate resulted in this process was in accordance with the drying process principal and economically, this dryer is feasible indicated by the BEP value of 50.63 kg/year, NPV>0 of 89,535,346.74 IDR/year with interest rate of 6%, and the IRR value of 18.44%. The utilization of this dryer could optimized the drying process and maintain the cocoa beans quality.