Polindra Creates Coffee Bean Dryer Using Solar Cell System Through Community Service Program
INDRAMAYU-JAYA NEWS.COM – Indramayu State Polytechnic (Polindra), through its Community Service Program and Community-Based Empowerment Scheme, has created a coffee bean dryer using a solar cell system. This is funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology with a 2025 budget.
The project was carried out by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Indramayu State Polytechnic (Polindra).
The team is led by Yusup Nur Rohmat, S.T., M.T.; Muhammad Luthfi, S.Si., M.Sc.; Adi Kusmayadi, S.ST., M.Sc., Ph.D., and assisted by students Nanang Setiawan and Ferdian Dwi Susanto.
Team Leader Yusup Nur Rohmat, S.T., M.T., explained to the media on Friday, September 17, 2025, “With this service, we at the Indramayu State Polytechnic have created a coffee bean dryer using a solar cell system. This was handed over to Mr. Tatang Kalung, the owner of a coffee business (Filo’s Kopi) in the Majalengka area.
The handover of the equipment and training on the technology’s use took place on September 15, 2025, instead of September 4, 2025, due to several processing issues.
The machine/equipment manufacturing process is carried out by Final Project students, starting with the design, material selection, manufacturing/fabrication, and testing. This process is carried out before being handed over to the partner.
This ensures that the equipment is ready for use and ready for production upon handover to the partner.
There are numerous alternative renewable energy sources in Indonesia, including solar thermal systems, which capture heat and utilize it for electricity. The device’s design, calculated for thermal efficiency, reached 67.36%, with a 500-watt heater producing 3,600 kJ of heat energy, of which 2,425.1 kJ was absorbed by the coffee beans.
Yusup added that the fabrication process involved marking, cutting, rolling, bending, welding, assembly, wiring, and finishing, using hollow iron, galvanized steel, and stainless steel mesh as the primary materials.
Coffee bean moisture content was tested at varying drying times of 20, 40, and 60 minutes. However, significant results were achieved after 3 hours and 30 minutes, when the moisture content dropped from 26% to 12%, according to SNI standards, with the mass decreasing from 1,320 grams to 695 grams. For comparison, manual drying using sunlight requires approximately 3–4 weeks to achieve similar moisture content.
“The research results show that a solar panel-based coffee drying machine can significantly speed up the drying process, is more consistent, environmentally friendly, weather-independent, and has the potential to increase the productivity of coffee farmers in Indonesia,” he said.*
Bakhrudin
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