Design and Construction of a Batch Cassava Peeling Machine

Thesis Overview

<p> 1. Introduction&nbsp;</p><p>Cassava, Manihotesculantacrantz, a dicotyledonous perennial plant belonging to the botananical family Euphorbiaceae is of importance in many developing tropical economies such as the tropical parts of Africa, West India, Brazil, Malagasy, Indonesia, Philippines, Malay, Thailand and China[1]. In tropical Africa, cassava and other tubers like yam form the most staple food crops which are the main source of carbohydrate in the diets of this region[2]. Its high yield in poor soil and the ability to stay in the soil for long periods after maturity make cassava an important foodsecurity crop in low-income countries.Olukunle[3] reported that as a result of development in technologies, cassava production was needed in several areas in order to boost its utilization in oil and gas sector, for enhanced food security, means of foreign exchange and tool for rapid industrialization. However, the drudgery in post-harvest processing can be minimised or eliminated through adequate mechanised processing. Although, the cassava crop has relatively few problems in production, its problem seems to multiply at the post-harvest stage. Storage of fresh tuber, mechanization of harvesting andmechanised processing are sticking areas. The processing of cassava tubersfor industrial or human use involves different operations of which peeling is a major one. The efficiency of peeling affects the quality of the resultant product especially as regards unwanted contents. In some cases, especially when the cassava is being used for animal feed, peeling may be unnecessary[2]. <br></p><p> Cassava peeling has been practiced as far back as when cassava came into existence, but the instrument for peeling has evolved from stone and wooden flight into simple household knifes. This makes the peeling of a large quantity of cassava a drudgery[2]. According to Adetan et al.[4], the cassava peel has two layers; the outer layer called periderm and the inner layer called cortex. The problems encountered in peeling cassava root tuber arise from the fact that cassava roots exhibit appreciable differences in weight, size and shape. There are also differences in the properties of the cassava peel which varies in thickness, texture and strength of adhesion to the root flesh. Thus, it is difficult to design a cassava peeling machine that is capable of efficiently peeling all roots due to the wide differences in properties of roots from various sources. This present effort is the beginning of a process to design a machine capable of peeling different sizes of cut-to-size cassava tubers. This research effort therefore seeks an uncomplicated design to make it cheap to produce and easy to use (ergometry) for post harvest workers just like the grinding machines are easy to operate for end users. Thus, this effort was focused on designing and construction of a machine that can peel a particular size of cut-to-size cassava tubers. The next effort would add–on the adjustable module for peeling various sizes. <br></p>