Design Improvement And Performance Evaluation Of An Integrated Palm Fruit Processing Machine

ABSTRACT

An existing integrated machine for processing sterilized oil palm fruits into palm oil and nuts was improved in this study, to improve the performance. This machine, designed based on the improved palm oil and nut extraction process and fabricated using locally sourced materials eliminated drudgery in the loading and discharging of the intermediate materials, among the digestion, nut-pulp separation and pressing operations in the new process. The major components of this machine include an electric motor, feed hopper, horizontal digesting unit, cake breaking unit, nut pulp separating unit, screw press, screw reduction gear box and discharging outlets for palm nut, palm oil and pressed fibre. Also, a steam injection system and hot water sprinkler where proper digestion of the sterilized palm fruits and extraction of palm oil. Performance test analysis revealed average throughput and palm oil extraction efficiency of this machine as 211 kg/hr and 98.82% respectively, which is about 18.89% improvement in terms of oil extraction efficiency compared to the existing machine. Thus, the improved integrated machine constitutes a veritable option for quality palm oil and nuts production boost in small and medium scale palm fruit processing. The total cost of producing this machine is two hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty naira. (N200,150.00K).