IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

PAPER • OPEN ACCESS You may also like

- Electro-Optic Properties of Dried Pliek U
Design of pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar Powder: Local Ingredients From Aceh
R Agustina and A A Munawar
energy - Antibacterial cream formulation of
ethanolic Pliek U extracts and ethanolic
residue hexane Pliek U extracts against
To cite this article: R Agustina et al 2023 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 1183 012047 Staphylococcus aureus
R. Rahmad, N Earlia, C Nabila et al.

- Study on Physical characteristics of Pliek

U: comparisons among fermentation
stages
View the article online for updates and enhancements. Mustaqimah, R Agustina, R Fadhil et al.

This content was downloaded from IP address 103.89.248.10 on 29/09/2023 at 05:43

The 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Bio-industry (ICAGRI-2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1183 (2023) 012047 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1183/1/012047

Design of pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar energy

R Agustina1,2, R Hayati3, H Hasanuddin3, R Fadhil2,4*

1
Doctoral Program of Agricultural Science, Post Graduate Program, Universitas Syiah
Kuala, Indonesia
2
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
3
Department of Agrotechnology, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
4
Aceh Climate Change Initiative (ACCI/PR-PIA), Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

*Email: rahmat.fadhil@unsyiah.ac.id

Abstract. One of the food diversification strategies of coconut commodity is to process it into
Pliek U. Pliek U is a typical food of the Province of Aceh, Indonesia, which in its processing
stage requires a drying process. So far, Pliek U drying process is often conducted conventionally
through direct drying (sun drying), so that Pliek U produced is susceptible to dust and other dirt
contamination. This research aimed to design a Pliek U dryer using Dafa type solar energy. The
Dafa type solar energy dryer used a turbine ventilator with a vertical axis wind turbine equipped
with two solar collectors. This turbine had a simple shape and construction and was arranged like
the letter S. While the two parts of the solar collector were used to collect energy from the sun
directly. In the experiment, the blank test was carried out in the time range, namely from
10.20 am to 04.50 pm in sunny weather, with an interval of 30 minutes for each temperature data
recording. The empty test results of the Dafa type solar energy dryer showed that the average
shelf temperature was 44.21 0C, the collector temperature was 45.64 0C, and the ambient
temperature was 31.14 0C. This initial test revealed that the performance ability of the tool was
very effective in maintaining temperature during the drying process, so that further tests using
materials for drying Pliek U may be carried out.

1. Introduction
In Aceh Province, Indonesia, coconut is widely used as the main raw material for various food products.
One of the food diversification strategies of coconut commodity is to process it into Pliek U [1], [2].
Food diversification is also one of the main pillars in realizing food security. The main stage of the
process of making Pliek U is the drying process.
Pliek U drying process is carried out to reduce the water content in fermented coconut meat. The
quality of agricultural and food products can be improved by reducing their water content, namely
through the drying process [3]. So far, the Acehnese have carried out the conventional Pliek U drying
process through direct drying on open land. This causes Pliek U to be susceptible to dust contamination
and other impurities [4]. Therefore, it is necessary to manufacture an environmentally friendly, low-
cost, and effective dryer for drying Pliek U, such as a solar energy dryer.
Solar drying is one of the most efficient, cost-effective, renewable, and sustainable technologies that
must be conserved in agricultural production in Asian and sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries [5]. The
development of solar energy dryers plays an essential role in drying agricultural products, especially in
Aceh, which has a high potential for solar energy. In this study, the dryer was developed by adopting a

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution
of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
The 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Bio-industry (ICAGRI-2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1183 (2023) 012047 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1183/1/012047

drying chamber working system of the Double-Sides Solar Collector Dryer [6] and the Green-House
Effect (GHE) Vent Dryer [7].
The Double-Sides Solar Collector Dryer used a chimney to remove moisture from the drying
chamber, and the dryer had solar collectors on both sides of the dryer. Meanwhile, the Green-House
Effect (GHE) Vent Dryer type dryer only had one side of the solar collector, which used a ventilator to
remove moisture from the drying chamber. Through this research, the dryer was designed to use two
sides of a solar collector and a ventilator to remove water vapor from the drying chamber, which was
equipped with a temperature sensor, so that the temperature in the drying chamber remained stable.
This research aimed to design a Pliek U dryer using Dafa type solar energy. This article's discussion
is limited to structural and functional tests and temperature testing of dryers without materials (no load
test).

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Materials
The materials used in the design of this dryer were hollow iron with the size of 30x30 mm, acrylic of 5
mm, stainless plate of 1.2 mm, turbine ventilator of 20 inches, elbow tool of 30x30 mm, paint, grinding
wheel, and wood. The tools used were grinders, drills, pliers, keys, meters, and the Autocad 2017 design
application.

2.2. Methods
This research began with identifying the problem, which was then used in formulating the design
concept of a solar dryer for Pliek U. When the formulation of the design concept had been obtained, the
design analysis used for making working drawings was also carried out. After that, machine
manufacturing was carried out. The next stage that must be carried out was the performance test of the
tool, in the form of structural and functional testing of the tool to find out all the parts of the machine
components that were functioning properly.

2.3. Functional approach

The functional approach was a review of the Dafa type Pliek U solar energy dryer to determine the
functions of this dryer. The following is a description of some of the functional parts of the dryer used
in the study. The functional criteria for the Dafa type solar energy dryer components can be seen in
Table 1.

2.4. Structural approach

The structural approach included determining the type of material and the dimensions of the construction
of each part of the Dafa-type Pliek U solar energy dryer. The criteria for the dimensions of the dryer
components can be seen in Table 2.

2.5. Technical approach

This tool utilizes the greenhouse effect system with sunlight as the heat source. The heat of the sun that
enters through the roof of the dryer is trapped in the greenhouse which causes the temperature in the
drying chamber to rise. This tool is equipped with solar collectors on the left and right, which are useful
for collecting the heat exhaled into the drying chamber. This tool is also equipped with a windmill-type
ventilator (exhaust fan) as a sucker for water vapor in the drying room and can maximize the process of
air circulation in the drying room. The working principle of this tool is that the windmill (exhaust fan)
contained in the ventilator will rotate clockwise due to being moved by wind gusts from various
directions so that the air in the drying chamber will circulate properly.

2
The 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Bio-industry (ICAGRI-2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1183 (2023) 012047 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1183/1/012047

2.6. Temperature measurement without material (no load test)

Temperature data were taken by placing a thermometer with a scale of 50 0C at several measurement
points, namely 4 thermometers in the drying room, 2 thermometers in the solar collector, and 1
thermometer in the environment. Empty test data retrieval was carried out in the time range from 10.20
am to 04.50 pm, in sunny weather, within 30 minutes for each temperature data recording.

Table 1. Functional criteria components of the pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar energy.
No Component Function
1 Arduino Uno Micro-single-board controller that serves to facilitate the use of
electronics in various fields.
2 Ds18b20 Sensor plays a role in detecting room temperature. This sensor can
detect temperatures from -55 °C to 125 °C, with accuracy (+/-
0.5°C ) and 9 – 12-bit resolution.
3 RTC (Real Time Clock) This module functions as a digital timer as well as an addition to
DS 3231 Module the temperature measurement feature, which is packaged into 1
module.
4 Card Reader Media used for copying data from memory card to computer
5 Jumper Cable Plays a role in connecting or disconnecting an electrical circuit.

6 Memory Card Data storage media

7 Micro SD Card Module Module that plays a role in accessing the micro SD for reading
and writing data.
8 DC Adapter Functions in changing the incoming AC voltage to DC
9 LCD Plays a role in displaying the shape of letters and numbers on the
monitor screen.
10 PCB Projectboard Serves as a liaison for various electronic components.
12 Acrylic Box Sensor Acts as a buffer for the sensor component circuit.
13 Main Frame The place where all the engine components are attached
14 Turbine Ventilator Acts as an area for air circulation in the drying chamber and the
air outside the dryer
15 Drying Pan Serves as a container to put the material to be dried
16 Ventilating Fan Plays a role in removing hot air in the drying chamber.
17 Acrylic Serves as a roof and wall to protect the drying material from being
contaminated with the outside environment
18 Relay Functions as an automatic switch to turn on and off the ventilator
fan

3
The 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Bio-industry (ICAGRI-2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1183 (2023) 012047 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1183/1/012047

Table 2. Structural criteria for components of the pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar energy.
No Component Component Dimension
1 Arduino Uno 14 Pin digital, Operating Voltage of 5V, Input Voltage of 7-12V,
DC current per pin I/O = 40 mA, 1 unit.
2 Ds18b20 Temperature min -55 °C, max 125 °C, 1 unit.
3 RTC (Real Time Clock) 1 unit.
DS 3231 Module
4 Memory Card Storage capacity of 16 GB
5 Micro SD Card Module 1 unit
6 DC Adapter 12 Volt 1 Ampere, 1 unit.
7 LCD Display 20 rows horizontally 4 columns down, 1 unit.
8 Main Frame Holo iron 30 x 30 mm, a thickness of 2.2 mm, 8 rods
9 Turbine Ventilator Stainless steel, diameter 20 inch, 1 unit
10 PCB Projectboard Type: SYB-130 Size: 188 x 46 x 8.5 mm, 1 set.
11 Ventilating Fan 220 volt, 4 inchi, 4 unit
12 Relay 4 channels, 1 unit
13 Acrylic Thickness of 5 mm, 1200 x 2400 mm, 3 sheets
14 Drying Pan stainless steel, length of 600 mm, width of 550 mm, height of 80
mm
15 Stirring Rod stainless steel’s width of 30 mm, and length of 250 mm
16 Acrylic Box Sensor Length of 320 mm, width of 180 mm

3. Results and Discussion

Solar energy dryer is one of the most effective ways to utilize renewable energy. The Dafa-type Pliek U
solar energy dryer is a device that can convert solar energy into thermal energy or heat, so it can be used
to dry food without using fossil fuels. Solar energy dryer reduces dependence on electricity and fuel oil,
so this tool reduces environmental pollution [8]. The Dafa type Pliek U solar energy dryer consists of 3
main parts: a solar collector, a drying chamber, and a turbine ventilator.

3.1. Structural and functional testing

The design analysis stage is the most important stage because this stage requires the specifications of
each specified component. Referring to the results of the enhanced design concept, the function, and
structure of each component of the mechanism will be analyzed in order to obtain the appropriate design
results. Functionally and structurally, the Dafa type Pliek U solar energy dryer is designed with the
following criteria:

3.1.1. Main frame. The frame of this dryer is designed using 3x3 cm hollow iron, rectangular in shape
with a length of 148 cm, a width of 60, and a height of 90 cm. Each consists of a drying rack, solar
collector holder, turbineventilator. The main frame of the dryer serves as a place for attaching all the
components to the Dafa- type Pliek U solar energy dryer. The connection technique uses electric
welding.

3.1.2. Solar collector. The solar collector has a length of 148 cm, and the width of the heat collection
chamber is 12 cm, while the absorber plate is flat and is placed parallel to the direction of the rising and
setting sun. The absorber is made of plywood coated with black zinc. The roof and walls are made of 5
mm thick acrylic. The solar collector functions as a heat collection medium so that the tool can be used
directly, aiming for the drying process to run optimally and reduce drying time.

4
The 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Bio-industry (ICAGRI-2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1183 (2023) 012047 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1183/1/012047

3.1.3. Drying pan. This dryer consists of 4 drying pans, which were made of 1.2 mm stainless plate,
which has a length of60 cm, a width of 55 cm, and a height of 8 cm, which is rectangular. This drying
pan has a filter component, which acts as a separator between Pliek U and oil.

3.1.4. Turbine ventilator. Turbine Ventilators are widely applied to agricultural buildings, especially in
food drying equipment and houses, that help the air circulation in the drying room. Many benefits are
obtained from the use ofturbine ventilators. One of them is energy saving because this turbine can work
with the help of wind without using electrical energy. The turbine ventilator is shaped like a dome with
circular fins. The turbine ventilator used is 20 inches.

3.2. Temperature test

The performance test of this Dafa-type Pliek U solar energy dryer was carried out without the use of
materials or a blank test without Pliek U. Temperature measurements were carried out in the
environment, solar collector, and drying chamber. Measurements were carried out for 30 minutes, the
interval of 10.20 am to 04.50 pm, in sunny weather. The temperature distribution in the drying chamber
fluctuated due to solar irradiation, ambient temperature, and the presence of a ventilator which caused
air to escape through the drying chamber. The temperature distribution in the Dafa-type Pliek U solar
energy dryer can be seen in Table 3 and Figure 2.

Figure 1. The design and dimensions of the pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar energy.

Figure 2. Pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar energy.

5
The 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Bio-industry (ICAGRI-2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1183 (2023) 012047 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1183/1/012047

Table 3. Temperature testing of the pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar energy.
Collector Temperature Tray Dryer Temperature Environment
Time (Minute)
(°C) (°C) Temperature (°C)
0 48.50 41.00 34.00
30 50.50 46.00 33.00
60 49.50 49.25 33.00
90 61.00 60.00 34.00
120 63.00 62.75 36.00
150 61.00 61.00 34.00
180 54.50 54.25 32.00
210 34.50 33.00 26.00
240 32.00 31.75 25.00
270 40.00 38.00 28.00
300 39.00 37.75 29.00
330 35.50 34.75 31.00
360 33.50 32.75 29.00
390 36.50 36.75 32.00
Average 45.64 44.21 31.14

Figure 3. Temperature distribution of pliek-u dryer using Dafa-type solar energy.

Figure 3 shows the drying chamber's minimum, maximum, and average temperatures with values of
31.75 0C, 62.75 0C, and 44.21 0C, respectively. Meanwhile, the minimum, maximum, and average
ambient temperatures during the empty test were 25 0C, 36 0C, and 31.14 0C, respectively. This shows
that the drying chamber temperature was higher than the ambient temperature, with a temperature
difference of 13.07 0C. The temperature fluctuation pattern in the drying chamber followed the solar
collector's temperature fluctuation pattern. The temperature test results in the Dafa-type Pliek U solar
energy dryer were still above the average maximum temperature of the Aceh region of 34.7 °C [9]. The
increase in temperature in the drying chamber is also caused by the presence of a solar collector with a
transparent cover as an absorber of sunlight so that heat is trapped in the drying chamber [7]. This tool
is also equipped with a windmill-type ventilator (exhaust fan) to take water vapor in the drying room,
which can maximize the process of air circulation in the drying room. The working principle of this tool
is the rotation of the windmill (exhaust fan) on the ventilator, which is clockwise due to wind gusts from
various directions so that the air in the drying chamber will circulate properly [7].

6
The 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Bio-industry (ICAGRI-2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1183 (2023) 012047 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1183/1/012047

4. Conclusions
The Dafa-type Pliek U solar energy dryer consists of 3 main parts: solar collector, drying chamber, and
turbine ventilator. The drying chamber temperature was higher than the ambient temperature, with a
temperature difference of 13.07 0C. This initial test showed that the performance capability of the tool
was very effective in maintaining temperature during the drying process so that it allows further testing
of Pliek U drying.

Acknowledgment
The authors would like to express their highest gratitude and appreciation to the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia, Lembaga Peneltian & Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat
(LPPM) Universitas Syiah Kuala for supporting the PUU Research Grant (Hibah PUU) 2022 with
contract Program Research Year 2022 Number: 143/UN11/SPK/PNBP/2022.

References
[1] Agustina R, Mustaqimah, Fadhil R and Devianti 2020 Sensory evaluation of Pliek-U quality
using fuzzy-topsis method Acta Technologica Agriculturae 23 161–167
[2] Agustina R and Munawar A A 2019 Electro-Optic Properties of Dried Pliek U Powder: Local
Ingredients from Aceh IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science vol 365
[3] Subbian V, Murugavel K K, Raja R S and Shanawaz A M 2021 Experimental investigation and
the performance evaluation of a mixed mode solar dryer for coconut Mater Today Proc 45 3662-
3665
[4] Fadhil R, Agustina R, Mustaqimah, Pradyta S 2022 Sensory Analysis of Pliek U Using the
Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method International Journal of Design & Nature and
Ecodynamics 17 601-606
[5] Udomkun P, Romuli S, Schock S, Mahayothee B, Sartas M, Wossen T, Njukwe E, Vanlauwe B
and Müller J 2020 Review of solar dryers for agricultural products in Asia and Africa: An
innovation landscape approach J Environ Manage 268 110730
[6] Pruengam P, Pathaveerat S and Pukdeewong P 2021 Fabrication and testing of double-sided solar
collector dryer for drying banana Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 101335
[7] Yasar M, Agustina R and Nurba D 2021 Uji kinerja Alat Pengering Ikan Tipe Green-House
Effect (GHE) Vent Dryer 13
[8] Thamrin I, Kharisandi Jurusan Teknik Mesin Universitas Sriwijaya JlRaya Palembang-
Prabumulih A K, Inderalaya K and Ilir O 2011 Prosiding Seminar Nasional AVoER ke-3
Palembang
[9] Nasution I S, Agustina R and Fauza M A 2022 Deep bed drying performance on paddy using
hybrid infrared-solar dryer IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 951 12101