Caracterización Avanzada de Tanques de Fermentación de Café mediante una Red Multidistribuida de Sensores RFID

La fermentación de las bayas de café se considera una et apa crítica en el procesado del café debido a su impacto en la calidad final del producto. La temperatura es una de las principales variables de control que puede ser utilizada para predecir el final del proceso, teniendo en cuenta que varios autores indican que el control de esta etapa es fundamental para evitar la mala calidad de la be bida final. En la práctica, la fermentación es el paso \ud menos controlado del proceso, haciendo que los beneficiaderos operen lejos de sus condiciones óptimas en términos de costes de operación (es decir, elevados consumos de energía y agua) y de calidad del producto final. El objetivo de este trabajo es caracterizar los gradientes de temperatura que se dan en los tanques de fermentación mediante una red multi-distribuida de sensores autónomos, inalámbricos y de bajo coste (registradores de temperatura del tipo RFID, identificadores de radiofrecuencia semipasivos modelo TurboTag®).Para ello se utilizan dos metodologías: la interpolación espacial en coordenadas polares y los diagramas de espacio de fase. Se supervisaron dos fermentaciones reales de café, en El Cauca (Colombia), mediante sensores sumergidos directamente en la masa en fermentación. Los fermentadores eran tanques de plástico cubiertos, uno de ellos colocado en el interior de un almacén, permaneciendo el otro a la intemperie. El rango de variación máximo de temperatura en los tanques fue de 4,5ºC. La interpolación espacial mostró, incluso en el fermentador bajo las condiciones menos desfavorables en el interior del almacén, un gradiente radial de temperatura instantáneo de 0,1 °C/cm desde el centro hasta el perímetro del tanque y un gradiente vertical de temperatura de 0,25 °C/cm para sensores con coordenadas polares iguales. La combinación de ambas metodologías permitió la identificación consistente de los puntos calientes y fríos de ambas fermentaciones

Advanced Characterisation of a Coffee Fermenting Tank by Multi-distributed Wireless Sensors: Spatial Interpolation and Phase Space Graphs

The fermentation stage is considered to be one of the critical steps in coffee processing due to its impact on the final quality of the product. The objective of this work is to characterise the temperature gradients in a fermentation tank by multi-distributed, low-cost and autonomous wireless sensors (23 semi-passive TurboTag® radio-frequency identifier (RFID) temperature loggers). Spatial interpolation in polar coordinates and an innovative methodology based on phase space diagrams are used. A real coffee fermentation process was supervised in the Cauca region (Colombia) with sensors submerged directly in the fermenting mass, leading to a 4.6 °C temperature range within the fermentation process. Spatial interpolation shows a maximum instant radial temperature gradient of 0.1 °C/cm from the centre to the perimeter of the tank and a vertical temperature gradient of 0.25 °C/cm for sensors with equal polar coordinates. The combination of spatial interpolation and phase space graphs consistently enables the identification of five local behaviours during fermentation (hot and cold spots)

Bibliometric Analysis on Recent Advances and Development of Microcontroller Application in The Postharvest System

Postharvest is a vital stage in agricultural production which is prone to causing losses due to improper implementation. Using a microcontroller that allows automation and increased precision in the postharvest process will likely reduce costs and potential losses. This research conducted a bibliometric study on applying microcontrollers in postharvest systems in Scopus-indexed publications from 2003 to 2022. The aim was to reveal microcontroller developments, evaluate current research topics, and discuss future challenges facing microcontroller applications in postharvest systems. First, this paper presents a bibliometric review of the role of microcontrollers in postharvest. Second, co-citation, coupling, and cluster analysis methods were used to analyze collaboration networks, and VOSviewer was used to visualize these networks. Third, Biblioshiny was used to analyze thematic trends of microcontroller applications. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges of using microcontrollers and provides suggestions for overcoming them. The results show that institutions from China and Italy lead research production in this field, with globally popular studies focusing primarily on fruit, digital storage, moisture determination, and cost. In addition, the thematic evolution of keywords indicating response time, cost, and design reliability issues have become basic and emerging topics in microcontroller application research for postharvest systems in recent years.Postharvest is a vital stage in agricultural production which is prone to causing losses due to improper implementation. Using a microcontroller that allows automation and increased precision in the postharvest process will likely reduce costs and potential losses. This research conducted a bibliometric study on applying microcontrollers in postharvest systems in Scopus-indexed publications from 2003 to 2022. The aim was to reveal microcontroller developments, evaluate current research topics, and discuss future challenges facing microcontroller applications in postharvest systems. First, this paper presents a bibliometric review of the role of microcontrollers in postharvest. Second, co-citation, coupling, and cluster analysis methods were used to analyze collaboration networks, and VOSviewer was used to visualize these networks. Third, Biblioshiny was used to analyze thematic trends of microcontroller applications. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges of using microcontrollers and provides suggestions for overcoming them. The results show that institutions from China and Italy lead research production in this field, with globally popular studies focusing primarily on fruit, digital storage, moisture determination, and cost. In addition, the thematic evolution of keywords indicating response time, cost, and design reliability issues have become basic and emerging topics in microcontroller application research for postharvest systems in recent years

A Novel Low-Cost Sensor Prototype for Monitoring Temperature during Wine Fermentation in Tanks

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