Development of a Portable LED-Based Photometer for Quality Assessment of Red Palm Oil in SMEs

This study presents the development of a portable DOBI meter prototype designed for the rapid, low-cost evaluation of crude red palm oil (RPO) quality. The device employs two narrow-spectrum LEDs (UV at 269 nm and visible at 446 nm) as light sources, paired with a broadband photodiode (PD) detector to measure light absorption in a quartz cuvette containing 95% hexane-diluted oil samples. Dedicated LED driver circuits, a PD receiver module, and microcontroller-based data acquisition and display systems were integrated into a compact enclosure. Calibration procedures involved the measurement of LED emission spectra and PD responses, followed by standard curve generation using known RPO concentrations. The results from the DOBI meter were validated against a commercial spectrophotometer (Merck Prove 600), demonstrating high accuracy with less than 5% deviation. Further analysis of RPO extracted from microwave-treated mesocarps showed consistent DOBI values and carotenoid concentrations across both instruments. The developed device offers a reliable, accessible alternative for assessing palm oil quality, particularly in field or small-scale industrial settings.