Thesis Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering University of Rizal System-Morong 2023

Generally, this study aimed to develop a solar-biomass integrated coffee seed dryer. Specifically, this study sought to design and fabricate a solar-biomass integrated coffee seed dryer. It evaluated dried coffee seeds of the developed solar-biomass integrated coffee seed dryer in terms of appearance, cup profile, drying time, ground profile, moisture content, and smokiness. To determine the quality of dried coffee seeds, a cupping process was done in order to test the dried coffee seeds in terms of the aforementioned parameters. It also evaluated the effectiveness of the developed solar-biomass integrated coffee seed dryer in terms of functional suitability, maintainability, performance efficiency, portability, reliability, safety, and usability. The developed solar-biomass integrated coffee seed dryer was tested for 3 days with 2 cycles for each drying methods and evaluated by 31 individual respondents at Brgy. San Andres, Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal. In guiding the research in attaining the intended objectives, descriptive, and developmental research methods were considered. The developed dryer consists of solar, and biomass drying methods and was evaluated through a researcher-modified questionnaire. The dried coffee seeds produced by two different drying methods were cupped by a Q grader cupper and assessed by a coffee enthusiast. Based on the result of evaluation and cupping process, the dried coffee seeds showed a good and clean appearance based on the visual evaluation of the farmers. The dried coffee seeds do not possess any hints of mold from the parchments as it is dried in a closed environment without the presence of contaminants that can affect the appearance of the seeds. In cup profiling where the ground coffee was tested, the taste of the ground coffee from the solar-powered drying process has a hint of sweet molasses, caramel, citrus, and dark chocolate. On the other hand, the ground coffee from the dried seeds of the biomass process lost the flavor of sweet molasses. On the drying time, both solar and biomass processes dried the coffee seeds within 10 hours with a temperature of 45o C for solar-powered process and 45o C – 50o C for biomass process. For ground profiling where the ground coffee seeds were tested through its aroma, both processes have a hint of dark chocolate, caramel, and sweet molasses aroma. For moisture content, the dried coffee seeds of both processes have passed both traditional and modern way of determining whether the dried coffee seeds are dried enough. The traditional way is through physical observation while the modern way is with the use of moisture meter. During the cupping process, moisture meter recorded 12.0 percent and 11.7 percent moisture content from solar-powered and biomass drying process dried coffee seeds respectively. Lastly, only the biomass drying process produced a very minimal hint of smokiness but according to Q grader it does not affect the overall coffee flavor. Based on the results of the evaluation, the developed dryer was Highly Acceptable by the respondents in terms of functional suitability, maintainability, performance efficiency, portability, reliability, safety, and usability. The study concluded that the developed solar-biomass integrated coffee seed dryer can be used to produce quality dried coffee seeds within ten (10) hours of drying process for both solar-powered drying process and biomass drying process. The researchers recommend for a further study to attain a more convenient and effective way to control the temperature in terms of biomass drying process. Another recommendation is for the future researchers to design and develop a drying machine wherein other renewable sources of energy such as wind can be used as an alternative source of energy for the drying process considering the location of the coffee farm depending on what is available.