Solar Dryer with Electronic PID Controller for Dry Potato Production

The objective of the research was to determine the amount of moist extractable matter from the precooked potato dough with the cut in the shape of sticks and the acceleration of the subtraction of moisture from the matter to be dried inside the solar dryer, controlling the flow of dry air entering the collector through six fans. The temperature and relative humidity in the dryer vary with the flow of air that enters the interior of the dryer and by the heat of the brass generated by the exposure of the extraction chamber to radiation from the Sun from 9:00 am. to 5:00 pm. The temperature and relative humidity values detected by the DHT 22 sensor were processed by the Arduino based microcontroller that has embedded the PID control program, whose outputs acted on the fans and heaters, fed with conventional energy, with respect to the setpoints of temperature 36.5 °C and relative humidity 33%. 26 temperature and relative humidity samples were taken during the day, inside the solar dryer chamber with electronic PID controller. As a result, an average controlled temperature of 36.36 °C and relative humidity of 33.115% were obtained in the dryer chamber, allowing the extraction of 73.16% of the weight of the wet matter from the precooked potato. Achieving, dry potato weighing 26.84% of the initial mass, in a drying time of 8 hours.