Analysis of aBiomass-fueled Fish Dryer with a Microcontroller Based Blower System

Iskandar (Universitas Samudra)
Banta Cut (Universitas Samudra)
Bambang Nurcipto (Universitas Samudra)
Rahmad Bahri (Universitas Samudra)

JURUTERA (Jurnal Umum Teknik Terapan)
Vol 13 No 01 (2026)

This study analyzes the performance of a biomass-fueled fish dryer equipped with a blower and an automatic control system based on an Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller. The system consists of a combustion chamber, a drum-shaped drying chamber, a blower, a type-K temperature sensor, and a MAX6675 module controlled via a solid-state relay (SSR). Tests were conducted under no-load and load conditions using milkfish. The results showed average drying temperatures of 78.76 °C and 64.1 °C, with drying rates of 74.2 g/h and 70.6 g/h, respectively. The final moisture contents were 19.1% and 19.4%. The temperature control system operated stably without overshoot and effectively regulated the blower. Heat transfer efficiency reached 64.48% and increased to 70.26%, while the overall thermal efficiency was 3.12% due to the open system design without insulation. Coconut shell biomass proved to be an economical and more sustainable energy source.