Comparative evaluation of the performance of motorized and pole and Knife oil palm fruit bunch harvester

In this study the performance of a motorized palm fruit bunch harvester (MBH) was evaluated in comparison with the bamboo-pole-and-knife harvester (BPK). The MBH was first tested on Nigerian plantations for the palm trees it could reach. The average time taken to harvest a bunch and the time taken per hectare of plantation were determined. The best orientation and the cutting angle for the harvester were also determined. The exact height which the harvester could reach was also determined on the plantations. The harvester was later used in comparison with (BPK) method on palms of moderate height and the average time of harvest per bunch, field capacity, as well as cost of operation was determined for the two methods. Time study (TS) of the two methods was also carried out.The result showed that MBH could harvest between the height of 2.5 m and 4.5 m of palm conveniently. The average time of harvest per tree and speed of harvest for MBH and BPK were 98.86 s and 66 bunches/h; and 166.93 s and 40 bunches/h, respectively. This shows that time of harvest for motorized harvester is over 60% lower, and the speed of harvest is over 50% higher than bamboo pole and knife. The time of harvest per hectare for both MBH and BPK are approximately 4 h/ha and 7 h/ha, respectively. The rate of fuel consumption was estimated to be 1.03 L/h. Moreover, the cost of operation for MBH and BPK was estimated to be ₦ 10,223.46 and ₦ 16,950 per hectare, respectively. The cost of operation using the BPK is over 60 per cent more than that of the MBH. Statistical analysis of the effect of time of harvest on methods indicated that the effect was significant (p < 0.05). The study concluded that motorized oil palm bunch cutter can effectively and efficiently handle palms of moderate height in Nigerian oil palm plantations and performed better than the bamboo pole and knife. The result showed that MBH could harvest between the height of 2.5 m and 4.5 m of palm conveniently. The average time of harvest per tree and speed of harvest for MBH and BPK were 98.86 sec. and 66 bunches/h; and 166.93 sec. and 40 bunches/h, respectively. This shows that time of harvest for motorized harvester is over 60% lower, and the speed of harvest is over 50% higher than bamboo pole and knife. The time of harvest per hectare for both MBH and BPK are approximately 4 h/ha and 7h/ha, respectively. The rate of fuel consumption was estimated to be 1.03 L/h. Moreover, the cost of operation for MBH and BPK was estimated to be ₦ 10,223.46 and ₦ 16,950 per hectare, respectively. The cost of operation using the BPK is over 60 per cent more than that of the MBH. Statistical analysis of the effect of time of harvest on methods indicated that the effect was significant (p < 0.05). The study concluded that motorized oil palm bunch cutter can effectively and efficiently handle palms of moderate height in Nigerian oil palm plantations and performed better than the bamboo pole and knife

Development of a support mechanism for the use of motorized oil palm fruit bunch cutter

In this study a support mechanism (SP) for a palm fruit bunch harvester was designed, fabricated and tested on a plantation. This was with a view to adapting the cutter for harvesting tall oil palm trees in Nigeria. The design concept for the support mechanism was conceived as a mast pyramid which simulates an adjustable ladder pivoted on wheels comprising three segments, namely: the wheels which facilitate easy movement within the plantation; the lower segment, which comprises the stands and the upper segment which comprises the chamber (equipped with a platform) in which the operator (the climber) stands. The support mechanism was tested in comparison with the existing rope-and-knife (RK) method. The harvesting parameters used are time to climb up the palm (TU); time to cut (TC); time to come down from the palm (TD); number of bunches harvested (NB) and total time of harvest (T). A regression analysis was carried out on the data collected using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) package. The result shows that using the support mechanism for the motorized bunch cutter was easier than rope and knife (RK). The average time of harvest T, TU, TD, and TC per tree, for the SP and RK are 190 s and 391 s; 21 s and 152 s; 21 s and 103 s; and 147 s and 134 s, respectively. The total time of harvest for RK is over 100% more than the time of harvest for SP. The time of harvest per hectare for SP and RK are approximately 9 h/ha and 20 h/ha, respectively. The comparison of SP and RK shows that there is a significant difference in TU, TD, NB, T, but there was no difference in TC, (p < 0.05). The study concluded that the support mechanism shows promise in enhancing the use of the motorized bunch cutter for tall palms and hence should be adopted

Alternative mixing strategy for biodiesel production: mixed flow impeller characterization

A mixed 110\\ impeller has heen used as an alternative mixing strategy for hiodiesel production. in order to comhine salient hydrodynamic features and overcome stagnation during mixing. This unique comhined radial and axial flow is presented is to show the advantage of this impeller. The numerical simulation of this impeller was carried out using the Reynolds stress model (RS\I) and results compared well with experimental PlY data forthe velocity lield at bottom of the vessel for mean. radial and axial velocity than for the surface. Although the RS\I was used at a higher computational cost. associated power number and energy of the impeller was also ohserved to he helter predicted

Preliminary investigation of biodiesel reactor optimization using combine CFD-Taguchi method

Biodiesel is currently produced from food and non food oil sources. The process is significantly constrained by reaction kinetics and mass transfer. In the present article, preliminary investigation of the effect of reactor configuration on yield is carried out using waste cooking oil (WCO) at different reaction parameter. The Taguchi design, with temperature, impeller speed and bottom distance as process variables at 3 levels, is used to plan, analyze and optimize the process. Optimum yield was predicted for 60'C, 600 rpm and 25 mm temperature. Statistical analysis reveals the impeller distance as most significant of the variables to affect yield and a 20 computational fluid dynamics (CFO) simulation of the mixing correlated an impeller bottom clearance of 25mm to the highest yield

Unconventional method for monitoring of waste cooking oil transesterification

A technique to monitor transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) is presented. The technique was developed based on analogue signal from WCO, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and commercial palm oil (CPO). A low-pass filter design for the photodiode was used to obtain the characteristic analog signal generated by these oil samples and the signal was correlated to absorbance spectra of the oils using data from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) equipment. A match was made between the analogue signals of the oil samples and calibrated against the FTIR spectra at 95% confidence level. Depletion of WCO during transesterification in a batch reactor correlated with the time observed for peak yield during biodiesel production. The results of the technique are discussed as a possible way to monitor transesterification process in a batch reactor

3-D CFD transient simulation of transesterification in stirred tank reactor

A transient CFD simulation was successfully carried out for waste cooking oil (WCO)transesterification in a stirred tank reactor (STR). In this work, a multi-species reaction model was simplified to simulate the reactive flow in an STR using in a multiple reference frame (MRF)approach. Average velocity fields in the STR, by a mixed flow impeller were taken using a 2-D PIV technique to calculate the turbulence and dissipation energy statistically for the numerical model. The thermo-physical properties of the reacting species were incorporated as user defined function (UDF) to implement the reaction in ANSYS FluentTM. Reaction/ flow coupling was achieved using the eddy dissipation model. The biodiesel yield predictions were fairly comparable with the experimental data. Time steps of the model are important aspects that primarily affect the solutions of the simulation

Biodiesel production: a mini review

The challenges faced in production of biodiesel from edible and non-edible oils via the transesterification process are discussed. Identified process parameters such as level of FFA, moisture content, Fatty acid composition varies for both edible and non-edible oil affects product quality, as a result, the process continues to be modified using competitive alternative methods. Resources and process limitations are reviewed in this paper and in view of current state of the art processes, technical successes and limitations of biodiesel production from plant and animal fats and oils are compared based on reaction conditions and product formation/purification methods. Furthermore,the paper recommends a combination of production systems to overcome the inherent technical limitations in biodiesel production