The Development of a Spray Dryer for Crickets with an Automatic Temperature Control System Using PID

Abstract

This research article presents an automatic temperature control system using a PID controller. The objectives of the study were to design and construct a small- scale spray dryer and to performance test of the drying process control system. The research equipment included PID temperature control materials and devices, a heat source with four 2,000- watt heating coils, and a PT100 thermocouple to measure the temperature inside the drying chamber. In the experimental procedure, a set point ( SP) was established to test the performance of the PID controller, with the temperature set at four levels: 50°C, 70°C, 100°C, and 120°C. The research results are divided into three areas, 1) temperature control: When setting the SP ( Set Point) for each temperature range, the initial temperature inside the drying chamber was found to be similar, ranging from 30°C to 35°C. Regarding the performance of the controller, an overshoot (exceeding the set temperature) was observed, and the time to reach the SP varied between 6. 20 to 16. 10 minutes. 2) Electrical Performance: The tests measuring voltage and current during the heating process revealed that the developed dryer consumed between 1. 8 to 17. 5 amps, depending on the SP setting, with higher SP levels resulting in increased electrical consumption. And 3) Spray Drying of Crickets: For the spray drying experiment on crickets, three temperature levels were set: 80°C, 100°C, and 120°C. The initial weight of the crickets before drying was 1,000 grams. After the spray drying process, the moisture content at each temperature level was as follows: SP80= 51. 25%w. b, 33. 88% d. b, SP100=21.23%w.b, 17.51%d.b, SP120=6.61%w.b, 6.20%d.b.