Remote monitoring of operational parameters for the cane honey production process

Abstract

A local data acquisition, processing and storage system were implemented by means of an open source micro-controlled development card. To continuously measure the variables of the cane honey production process, it was performed using five temperature sensors, pH sensor and a level sensor. Each sensor was associated with a component set with its respective upper and lower reference values, during the processing of a batch of product. The main objective was to determine the effectiveness of using sensors and wireless communication technology to monitor operational parameters, in real time. In general, the recorded temperature, pH and level data obtained from sensors corresponded closely to the changes that occurred in the process, and the wireless communication nodes developed successfully measured and monitored the temperature, pH and level readings in real time. The study also found that the temperature, pH and level readings obtained by the sensors began to standardize more closely within the upper and lower limits. Furthermore, operational parameters could be reasonably predicted by applying a statistical model to measure temperature, pH and level. The present study also found that the operational parameters analyzed showed variability with its consequent effect on the quality of the final product. The findings of this study should serve as the first step towards any future research and development that may take place in the field of agro-industrial process design