Characteristics of Dried Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L.) Color Using Response Surface Methodology

The research aimed to study the effects of storage time of cacao fruit before fermentation, aeration rate and temperature of fermenter during fermentation on the color value of dry cocoa  beans, including the value of L *, a *, b *, chroma, hue, and RGB, and their relationship using response surface methodology.. The results showed that storage time of cacao fruits before fermentation, aeration rate and temperature of the fermenter had an influence on the color values of L *, a *, b *, chroma, hue, and RGB of dried cocoa beans produced. The highest brightness prediction value of chroma color was ± 26 obtained in the treatment of the storage time of 9-day, aeration rate of 0.4 liters/minute, and fermenter temperature of 50 ℃. Meanwhile, the highest hue prediction value was 51.8 obtained in the treatment of storage time of 9 days, aeration rate of 0.3 liters / minute, and fermenter temperature of 50 ℃. Furthermore, the RGB color of dried cocoa beans showed that the color range of R (red) and G (green) of cocoa beans after fermentation was higher when compared to cocoa beans without fermentation, while the value of color B (blue) had a different tendency showing  that dried fermented cocoa beans had a lower blue range compared to unfermented cocoa beans

Temperature and Air Velocity Simulation on Sago Starch Pneumatic Conveying Recirculated Dryer Using Ansys Fluent

Pneumatic Conveying Recirculated Dryer (PCRD) is one of many driers used for drying wet sago starch. The most important components of this PCRD machine are the vertical pipe and the u-bend. The vertical pipe and the u-bend are the primary drying spaces. They must have a good temperature distribution and air velocity dryer. To observe the process of temperature distribution and the air velocity dryer in the vertical pipe and u-bend, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is required. The research was aimed to analyze the temperature distribution and the air velocity dryer flow in the recirculated pipe of PCRD machine by using CFD analysis. The analysis was based on the variance of the temperature, the air velocity, and the height of the vertical pipe in PCRD machine. The analysis was conducted using Ansys Workbench Fluid Flow ver. 15. This software was used to simulate the temperature and the air flow velocity in the vertical pipe and the u-bend. However, the flow characteristics and patterns of the wet sago starch were not included in the discussion. The turbulence model used in the simulation was the Reynold Stress Models (RSM). The result of the simulation showed that the temperature along the vertical pipe and the u-bend was distributed evenly. The error value between the result of the simulation and the observation was low (0.10–2.04%). The average test value with paired t-test showed that the simulation and observation result was not significantly different. This results indicated that the simulation fit well with the observation value or the real condition in the PCRD machine. The distribution of the temperature and the air velocity dryer in the vertical pipe and the u-bend were able to reduce the moisture content on sago starch from 31% (wb) to 9% (wb). Therefore, the vertical pipe and the u-bend design was appropriate to use in PCRD machine for drying wet sago starch

Kinetika Perubahan Kualitas Fisik Buah Mangga Selama Pengeringan Beku dengan Perlakuan Pendinginan Awal dan Ketebalan Irisan

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the important fruits for tropical residents. The biggest losses of mangoes occur during the postharvest period due to the lack of proper postharvest handling and lack of processing efforts. Frozen drying is a method that is considered the best at present for preserving horticultural products. This freeze drying method can maintain the structure, taste, color, and aroma of fruit. In this method, the product was cooled to freeze for 6 hours. The solid phase water was then removed from the material through a sublimation process in vacuum condition. This study aimed to find out the freeze drying results through various pre-treatments and thicknesses by means of determining the proper combination treatment. The mango used had a sweetness level of 18° Brix with a size of 14 cm x 8 cm and an average weight of 400 g. This research was conducted using a three-factor completely randomized design of 2 x 3 x 5. The first factor was the cooling treatment (non-freezing and liquid nitrogen). The second factor was the thickness of the material (0.5 cm, 1 cm and 1.5 cm). The third factor was time (0 hours, 9 hours, 18 hours, 27 hours and 36 hours). The observed parameters comprised of: water content, texture, and lightness. The non-freezing treatment with 1.5 cm thickness showed a low water content of 7.58%, and the kinetics results used the Newtonian model. It also showed the highest vitamin C decrease, that was 84.12% and the kinetics results used the first-order model. The highest lightness decrease of liquid nitrogen treatment with 1 cm thickness was 74.08%

Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Teknologi Penanganan dan Kelayakan Investasi Pascapanen Kakao (Theobroma cacao L.) (Studi Kasus Di Kabupaten Pidie Jaya, Propinsi Aceh)

Cocoa beans produced by smallholders have low quality because of gaps in information on post-harvest tecnology. Information is needed to provide decision-support making for choosing one alternative implementation of the handling technology cocoa most appropriate and in accordance with the conditions of its territory which can improve the quality of dried cocoa beans. The purpose of this study was developed an  decision-support system software as a tool for decision making cocoa post-harvest handling, obtain the best alternative based on technical analysis and economic analysis, evaluate the feasibility of investment, and know the value of the sensitivity of each alternative. This study was carried out from July to December 2010 in Bandar Baru sub district, Pidie Jaya district of Aceh province. Survey and interview were used to collecting data. Collected data used to create a database for a decision-support system model of cocoa post-harvest handling technology, which was processed using  the Java programming language. Based on the analysis post harvest technology of cocoa to farmers and investors indicated a mechanical alternative is the best alternative because it produces the greatest benefits. Mechanical alternative  gives farmers a profit of Rp.1,419,279,165 per year and gives investors a profit of Rp. 1,023,246,397 per year and feasibility analysis shows NPV Rp 923,577,155 and the value of R/C ratio of 3 is also available in mechanical alternative. The results of sensitivity analysis on each alternative show that the most influential variables on the profitability of farmers and investors is wage labor, the price of fresh cacao fruit, and the price of dry beans.ABSTRAKBiji kakao yang dihasilkan perkebunan rakyat memiliki mutu yang rendah karena adanya kesenjangan dalam informasi mengenai teknologi penanganan pascapanen. Informasi dibutuhkan untuk memberi dukungan bagi pengambil keputusan dalam  memilih salah satu alternatif yang tepat dan sesuai dengan kondisi wilayahnya sehingga bisa meningkatkan kualitas biji kering kakao. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah membangun sebuah software sistem pendukung keputusan sebagai alat bantu pengambilan keputusan teknologi penanganan pascapanen kakao, memperoleh alternatif terbaik berdasarkan analisis teknis dan analisis ekonomi, mengevaluasi tingkat kelayakan investasi, dan mengetahui nilai sensitivitas dari setiap alternatif. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Juli 2010 sampai dengan bulan Desember 2010 di Kecamatan Bandar Baru, Kabupaten Pidie Jaya, Propinsi Aceh. Metode yang digunakan adalah survey lapangan dan wawancara. Hasil pengambilan data di lapangan dianalisis untuk tujuan penyusunan database model sistem pendukung keputusan teknologi penanganan pascapanen kakao, dan diolah menggunakan bahasa program Java. Berdasarkan hasil analisis teknologi penanganan pascapanen kakao untuk petani dan investor menunjukkan bahwa alternatif mekanis merupakan alternatif terbaik karena menghasilkan keuntungan terbesar. Untuk petani alternatif mekanis  memberikan keuntungan sebesar Rp 1.419.279.165,00 per tahun sedangkan untuk investor keuntungan sebesar Rp 1.023.246.397,00 per tahun  dan analisis kelayakan menunjukkan nilai NPV sebesar Rp 923.577.155,00 dan  nilai R/C ratio sebesar 3,00 juga didapatkan pada alternatif mekanis. Dari hasil analisis sensitivitas pada setiap alternatif, variabel yang paling berpengaruh terhadap keuntungan petani dan  investor adalah upah tenaga kerja, harga buah kakao segar, dan harga biji kering

Effect of Antioxidant and Pro-oxidant on the Stability of Microencapsulated Squalene by Spray Drying

Natural hydrocarbon compounds are extremely in high demand across various applications. For instance, squalene (SQ) is widely used in cosmetic and food supplement industries, due to beneficial health components. The aim of this study was to investigate the potentials of antioxidant addition on the physical properties, as well as SQ stability in spray-dried powder at various oil droplet diameters (0.3 – 4 µm). Rosemary oil extract served as antioxidant, while iron (II) sulfate accelerated the oxidation. Subsequently, SQ stability was evaluated at four separate temperatures, termed 25, 50, 70, and 105°C, after one month storage. Also, the morphological structures of the samples were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed the oil droplet diameter influenced the physical properties of SQ, as lesser drip sizes were known to enhance material strength. Furthermore, antioxidant inclusion proved to be effective in inhibiting oxidation, particularly in powders with extensive oil droplet diameter. Therefore, high regression coefficients (R2 > 0.97) and reduced chi-square confirmed Weibull model acceptance in predicting the retention of SQ content

Application of Postharvest management of Corn to Support Integrated Farming System

Corn is a superior crop and its production centers are in the Grobogan and Pati Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia. This plant is partly cultivated in farm fields and forest land owned by Purwodadi Forest Control Area (in Indonesia known as 'Kawasan Penguasaan Hutan – KPH) as an intercrop during re-planting of tropical hardwood, namely teak. Corn has become one of the significant side hustles for most of the residents in KPH with high incomes. Unfortunately, this high corn production was not accompanied by adequate postharvest technology. Some vital problems occurred, especially during raining season, like fungi, undesired germination, and many more. Therefore, the weight loss of corn production is still very high. This activity aimed to assist farmers by changing how farmers look at the quality assurance of the produced corn products and improving farmers' postharvest corn practices. This activity's method was introducing corn harvesting machines, namely corn sheller machines, and improving the farmers’ knowledge about the quality control of corn. The activities were carried out to allocate five (5) units of corn sheller units to five Forest Village Community Institutions (in Indonesia known as 'Lembaga Masyarakat Desa Hutan,' LMDH) who were the targeted partners. The activities of sharing the knowledge regarding good postharvest for corn were going well and the participants gave excellent responses and actively participated

Temperature and Air Velocity Simulation on Sago Starch Pneumatic Conveying Recirculated Dryer Using Ansys Fluent

Pneumatic Conveying Recirculated Dryer (PCRD) is one of many driers used for drying wet sago starch. The most important components of this PCRD machine are the vertical pipe and the u-bend. The vertical pipe and the u-bend are the primary drying spaces. They must have a good temperature distribution and air velocity dryer. To observe the process of temperature distribution and the air velocity dryer in the vertical pipe and u-bend, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is required. The research was aimed to analyze the temperature distribution and the air velocity dryer flow in the recirculated pipe of PCRD machine by using CFD analysis. The analysis was based on the variance of the temperature, the air velocity, and the height of the vertical pipe in PCRD machine. The analysis was conducted using Ansys Workbench Fluid Flow ver. 15. This software was used to simulate the temperature and the air flow velocity in the vertical pipe and the u-bend. However, the flow characteristics and patterns of the wet sago starch were not included in the discussion. The turbulence model used in the simulation was the Reynold Stress Models (RSM). The result of the simulation showed that the temperature along the vertical pipe and the u-bend was distributed evenly. The error value between the result of the simulation and the observation was low (0.10–2.04%). The average test value with paired t-test showed that the simulation and observation result was not significantly different. This results indicated that the simulation fit well with the observation value or the real condition in the PCRD machine. The distribution of the temperature and the air velocity dryer in the vertical pipe and the u-bend were able to reduce the moisture content on sago starch from 31% (wb) to 9% (wb). Therefore, the vertical pipe and the u-bend design was appropriate to use in PCRD machine for drying wet sago starch

MODEL JARINGAN SYARAF TIRUAN UNTUK MEMPREDIKSI KADAR AIR BAHAN PADA PNEUMATIC CONVEYING RECIRCULATED DRYER

Recirculation drying process ofmaterial on pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD) are very complexand not linear, so it is very difficult to predict the final required moisture content.The purpose of this study was to develop a model of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to predict the final moisture content of the material on the PCRD machine. In this study, PCRD machine has been designed with variability in recirculation, and ANN Graphical User Interface (GUI) application using Neural Network in computer software. AAN  models have been designed using the structure of a network with 11 input neurons, hidden multilayers neurons, and one output neuron with backpropagation learning algorithm. Training and testing of models using 54 and 27 data set observations respectively. The validity test results of the model obtained the value of r2 trainning was 0.99 or 99%, and r2 of the testingwas 0.96 or 96%. This indicated that the models are very valid to predict the final moisture content of the materialon the PCRD machine. The results also revealed RMSE, MAE, MRE value of ANN optimization model was 0.118% wb, 0.056% wb, and 0.644% respectively. While the value of RMSE, MAE, MRE ofthe process of the model testing was 0.226% wb, 0.129 % wb, and 1.496% respectively.Keywords: prediction, moisture content, models, pneumatic recirculated conveying dryer, artificial neural networ

Fermentasi Isothermal Biji Kakao (Theobroma cacao. L) dengan Sistem Aerasi Terkendali

Cocoa bean fermentation is one of the important factors that must be done to produce high-quality chocolate. The success of the process is usually determined by changes in air temperature that occur during fermentation and the change in color of cocoa beans from purple to brown after going through a process of fermentation and drying. This study aims to determine the changes in the temperature of isothermal fermentation, as well as the quality of cocoa beans produced. Aeration rate and air temperature during fermentation are controlled to ensure optimal heat changes during the fermentation process. The parameters varied during the test were: the length of ripening of the cocoa fruit before fermentation, as well as the rate of aeration and the air temperature of the fermenter during fermentation. The results showed that during the fermentation process, there was an increase in the temperature of the cocoa beans from 25 °C to 63 °C. The results of the split test showed that the percentage of fermented cocoa beans was 67 - 87%, the percentage of partially fermented cocoa beans was 10 - 24% and unfermented cocoa beans 1 - 8%, and the average yield of dried cocoa beans was 38,5%. The fermented cocoa beans that have been carried out have met the quality standards of Indonesian cocoa beans (SNI 2323: 2008 / Amd 1: 2010)

Model Matematis Pengeringan Pati Sagu pada Pneumatic Conveying Recirculated Dryer

Flour drying can be done by using pneumatic conveying dryer (PCD) or flash dryer, but generally required a vertical pipe that is high enough. High vertical pipe can be replaced with a recirculation process to produce a required final moisture content of the material. This study had designed pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD), and seek mathematical model of the relationship between the variables of drying process with final moisture content of the material. The purpose of this study is to develop a mathematical model of the relationship between the final moisture content of the material with variables drying process and recirculation continuously in the pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD) using dimensional analysis. Buckingham Phi Theorem methods of dimensional analysis is used to find the relationship variables that affect the final moisture content of the material on the PCRD machine. The mathematical model generated in this study are  The coefficient of determination (R2) of the mathematical model is 0.95, or 95 %, this indicates that the model is valid is used to predict the moisture content of the materials in designing PCRD machines. While the sensitivity of the test results showed that the dimensionless product of the most influential are , , and . The model is applicable for drying wet sago starch or other starch material are identical to the physical properties of wet sago starch.ABSTRAKPengeringan bahan-bahan tepung dapat dilakukan dengan pneumatic conveying dryer (PCD) atau flash dryer, namun umumnya memerlukan pipa vertikal yang cukup tinggi. Pipa vertikal yang tinggi dapat diganti dengan proses resirkulasi untuk menghasilkan kadar air akhir bahan yang disyaratkan. Pada penelitian ini telah dirancang pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD), serta dicari model hubungan matematis antara variabel-variabel proses pengeringan dengan kadar air akhir bahan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengembangkan model matematis hubungan antara kadar air akhir bahan dengan variabel-variabel proses pengeringan resirkulasi secara kontinyu pada pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD) menggunakan analisis dimensi. Metode Buckingham Phi Theorem dalam analisis dimensi digunakan untuk mencari hubungan variabel-variabel yang berpengaruh terhadap kadar air akhir bahan pada mesin PCRD. Nilai koefisien determinasi (R2) dari model matematis tersebut adalah 0,95 atau 95%, hal ini menunjukkan bahwa model tersebut valid digunakan untuk memprediksi kadar air bahan dalam merancang mesin PCRD. Sedangkan hasil uji sensitivitas menunjukkan bahwa dimensionless product yang paling berpengaruh adalah , , dan . Model tersebut berlaku untuk pengeringan pati sagu basah atau bahan-bahan tepung lainnya yang sifat fisiknya identik dengan pati sagu basah.Flour drying could be conducted by using pneumatic conveying dryer (PCD) or flash dryer, but generally it is required a high vertical pipe. The high of vertical pipe may be replaced with a recirculation process to produce a required final moisture content of the material. This study had designed pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD) to dryi of wet sago starch. Later, the design was used to determine a mathematical model of the relationship between the variables of drying process with final moisture content of the material. The purpose of this study was to develop a mathematical model of the relationship between the final moisture content of wet sago starch  with variables drying process and recirculation continuously in the pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD) using dimensional analysis. Buckingham Phi Theorem methods of dimensional analysis was used to find the relationship variables that affect the final moisture content of wet sago starch on the PCRD machine. The mathematical model generated in this study is      The coefficient of determination (R2) of the mathematical model was 0.948, or 94.8 %, indicated that the model was valid to predict the final moisture content of wet sago starch in designing PCRD machines. While the sensitivity of the test results showed that the dimensionless product of the most influential are , , and . The model was applicable for drying wet sago starch or other starch material which is similat to the physical properties of wet sago starch. ABSTRAKPengeringan bahan-bahan tepung dapat dilakukan dengan pneumatic conveying dryer (PCD) atau flash dryer, namun umumnya memerlukan pipa vertikal yang cukup tinggi. Pipa vertikal yang tinggi dapat diganti dengan proses resirkulasi untuk menghasilkan kadar air akhir bahan yang disyaratkan. Pada penelitian ini telah dirancang pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD) untuk mengeringkan pati sagu basah, serta dicari model hubungan matematis antara variabel-variabel proses pengeringan dengan kadar air akhir. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengembangkan model matematis hubungan antara kadar air akhir pati sagu basah dengan variabel-variabel proses pengeringan resirkulasi secara kontinyu pada pneumatic conveying recirculated dryer (PCRD) menggunakan analisis dimensi. Metode Buckingham Phi Theorem dalam analisis dimensi digunakan untuk mencari hubungan variabel-variabel yang berpengaruh terhadap kadar air akhir pati sagu basah pada mesin PCRD. Model matematis yang dihasilkan pada penelitian ini adalah      Nilai koefisien determinasi (R2) dari model matematis tersebut adalah 0,948 atau 94,8 %, menunjukkan bahwa model tersebut valid digunakan untuk memprediksi kadar air akhir pati sagu basah dalam merancang mesin PCRD. Sedangkan hasil uji sensitivitas menunjukkan bahwa dimensionless product yang paling berpengaruh adalah , , dan . Model tersebut berlaku untuk pengeringan pati sagu basah atau bahan-bahan tepung lainnya yang sifat fisiknya identik dengan pati sagu basah