Desarrollo de una secadora de cacao tipo tanque mediante la implementación de un sistema de recirculación de aire con control de temperatura y monitoreo de humedad

Abstract

The main objective of this prototype is the development of a cocoa dryer machine in order to create an alternative to natural methods and to reduce the amount of time that those methods usually take and also to permit this procedure even if the climatic conditions are not convenient. This prototype is meant to be introduced in the food industry so the materials used for the structure that has contact with the cocoa beans are food grade. It has a copper coil whose main purpose is the unniform distribution of hot air inside the tank. Finally, a PID control was implemented on the TCN4S temperature controller device to ensure that grain quality does not decrease due to overheating. A humidity sensor was also implemented, which allows the percentage of humidity inside the tank to be monitored through Node-red in order to stop the process when the batch reaches the desired level.