| dc.description.abstract | Harvesting is the final activity of the production process in the field and the determining factor for the next process. Patchouli harvesting in Indonesia is still done manually. Manual harvesting require more labor with low working capacity.
Increased work capacity and cost efficiency can be improved by integrating two activities at once, namely harvesting and chopping using an integrated machine. By integrating two tool activities into one activity, it is hoped that it will reduce work time and costs. Through this innovative way, in addition to increasing performance, it is also more efficient in the use of resources (labor and fuel), which in turn will provide much greater benefits for farmers.
The general aim of this research was to produce a prototype of a patchouli harvesting machine that is combined between cutters and choppers using a mini tiller power source. The specific objectives were to obtain the optimum chopping size to produce the best patchouli oil yield and quality, to obtain the right drying type to produce the best patchouli oil yield and quality, to obtain data on the technical characteristics of the patchouli plant, to obtain performance data of the patchouli chopping machine, to obtain data on the power requirements of the harvesting machine of patchouli with power availability from the mini tiller.
The scope of research activities includes activities to answer and solve problems that have been identified and formulated. There are 4 stages carried out in this research. These stages consist of: 1) characterization of the yield and quality of patchouli oil based on the size of the chop and the type of drying; 2) measurement of the technical properties of patchouli; 3) design and evaluation of the chopping unit; 4) patchouli harvesting machine design.
Characterization of the yield and quality of patchouli oil was carried out by experimental methods. The results of the quality analysis are adjusted to SNI. The results obtained indicate that: First, there is an effect of the type of drying treatment and the size of the pieces on the yield of patchouli oil. The highest yield of 2.45% was obtained from the drying treatment after chopping at a size of 7 cm (R1P1). This is because the size of the material is smaller, the more cells are broken so that the wider the contact area between the material and the solvent and also with drying, the cell walls will open and the more easily penetrated by hot steam, causing more oil when distilled. Second, whether or not there is an effect of the type of drying treatment and the size of the chopping on the quality of patchouli oil produced. Parameters that have no effect are seen in color, specific gravity, solubility in alcohol, and refractive index. This is because the content of hydrocarbon compounds and oxygenated compounds is still extracted and the amount remains dominant so that the quality parameter values tend to be the same because these compounds have a great influence on the quality value. Parameters that have an effect on acid number, ester number and patchouli alcohol, especially for optical rotation, are only affected by the type of drying. Third, from the overall treatment of patchouli oil samples, only one treatment had the best quality, namely chopper size 7 cm continued drying with a patchouli alcohol value of 31%, specific gravity, rotation optical, refractive index, acid number, ester number and solubility in alcohol are: 0.973 g/g; -44,75o; 1,508o; 23,9 ml/g; 8,48 ml/g; 1:1.
Measurement of the technical properties of patchouli which includes physical and mechanical properties using experimental methods, is carried out by direct measurements in the field and also in the laboratory. Parameters of physical properties obtained were plant height of 112.7 cm; main stem diameter of 9.88 cm; clump circumference of 1.67 m; mass/clump 1.48 kg; and density bulk of 0.11 kg/l. Mechanical characteristic tests include: maximum cutting resistance of 51.10 N; tensile strength of 110.51 MPa; 6.19 N laying force; repose angle of 38.52o; and friction coefficient of 0.71. Knowledge of the physical and mechanical characteristics of patchouli plants can be used to design components of harvesting machine units such as cutting tool, conveyor and chopping unit.
The design and evaluation of the performance of the chopper unit is carried out using general design methods, namely functionally and structurally. The design of the chopping unit has produced prototypes of two chopping machines with different variations of cutting blades, namely the type of double blade and circular blade. The design of the chopper machine is used to chop patchouli stems which are directly harvested without going through the previous drying process This was done based on the results of the first study, which showed that dried patchouli after chopping had the highest yield value and the best quality of patchouli oil. Functional test results show that the chopper is working well. The results of the performance test have been carried out by obtaining the results of patchouli stems that are cut 67 % for the circular type and 95% for the double blade type with the length of the cut between 7-10 cm at a rotational speed of 745 rpm. Belt-pulley transmission system is used from motor shaft to chopper shaft. The results showed that the use of a double blade chopper blade is more suitable for patchouli harvesting machines because with the feeding position however, the material will be chopped. The score obtained is also the highest at 3.375 in the scaled weighting test. The chopping process produces the largest actual capacity of 255.74 kg/hour, 98.1 % electric motor efficiency, 528.55 watts of power requirement, and 7.44 kJ/kg of energy consumption at the highest rotational speed of 745 rpm.
Chopper knife type of double blade is used in the design of patchouli harvesting machines. The method used the engineering design method with design analysis which includes power demand analysis, transmission system design and shaft design. In this research, an integrated patchouli harvester machine has been designed between harvesters and choppers, functionally it has been tested to work well. The construction of patchouli harvesting machines is divided into 3 sub-systems, namely cutters, transporters (chain conveyors), and choppers. The mechanism starts from a cutter sub system using a circular knife with a diameter of 9 inches, cut the plant 20 cm from the ground and then transported by a chain conveyor to the chopper sub system for chopping and expelled through the outer hole. | id |
