An electrically operated kola nut pods breaking machine

Kola nut pod breaking is a very tedious task manually; therefore its mechanization is essential for effective processing.  The objectives of this study are to design and fabricate a kola nut pod breaking machine and performance evaluation of kola nut pods breaking machine.  Some physical and mechanical properties required for machine design were determined using standard methods.  The machine was powered by an electric motor, with the hammer attached to the shaft using a drum with a rope tension of 171.68N, cross–sectional area of 5.027 x 10-5m2 and 3414.90 kN/m2 tensile stress.  The speed of the machine used by the pulley was 308.57 r/min to operate. The machine was evaluated by using one to four pods at a time, and was replicated four times.The average moisture content was 68.87% wet basis. The average length, breadth, width and thickness were 108.54±7.79, 60.60±13.31, 46.97±10.23 and 10.37±1.54 mm for large whole kola nut pods respectively.  The average mass, volume and density of whole kola nut pods were 0.154±0.071 kg, 1.475±6.071x10-4m3, and 471.374±98.756 kg/m3, respectively.The force required to break kola nut pods along its lateral axis was 2691.27±1030.74 N and 421.66±363.97 N for longitudinal axis. The energy needed to break a pod along its lateral axis was 19.78±10.27 J; and 7.617±2.798 J for longitudinal axis.  The lateral force and energy were more in both cases; hence it will be better to break the pod along its longitudinal axis.A pod breaking machine with optimum machine capacity of 501.081 kg/h, maximum machine efficiency of 80.94 % and total cost of N40, 200 k was developed.

Production of biodiesel from groundnut (Arachis hypogea, L.) oil

Biodiesel is an environmental-friendly substitute for fossil fuel.  Research on the production of biodiesel from vegetable oils has concentrated on Jatropha, soybean, palm kernel, sunflower and rapeseed oils with scarce information on groundnut oils.  This study focussed on the production of biodiesel from groundnut oil.  Oil was mechanically extracted from groundnut seeds that were bought from Sabo market in Ogbomoso, Nigeria.  The extracted oil was trans-esterized with ethanol using potassium hydroxide as catalyst in a two-step trans-esterification process to yield ethyl esters and glycerol.  The fuel properties of groundnut oil and its ethyl ester were determined according to American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) standard methods and compared with that of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).  The results showed that groundnut seeds gave oil yield of 45.3%, while trans-esterification yielded 86.8% groundnut oil ethyl ester on a volume basis.  At 40ºC, higher viscosity of 39.2 mm2/s was obtained for raw groundnut oil than 7.60 mm2/s obtained for groundnut oil ethyl ester.  At 15ºC, specific gravity of raw groundnut oil and its ethyl ester were 0.9 (1.047 times that of AGO) and 0.85 (1.012 times that of AGO) respectively and are within limit specified by international standards.  The biofuels contained lower amounts of sulphur (9.73% for groundnut oil ethyl ester and 12.8% for raw groundnut oil) than the reference AGO which was 61.8%.  Higher pour (4ºC and 3ºC) points, cloud (7ºC and 8ºC) points and flash (200ºC and >280ºC) points were obtained for groundnut oil ethyl ester and the raw groundnut oil respectively compared to -16ºC, -12ºC and 74ºC respectively obtained for AGO.  The fatty acid profile of the groundnut oil reveals 75.03% unsaturated fatty acids in the oil composition.  Groundnut oil ethyl ester was found to have better fuel quality than raw groundnut oil and it has potentials to fuel a diesel engine.   Keywords: groundnut oil, automotive gas oil, transesterification, ethyl esters, biodiesel, fuel, diesel engine, Nigeri

Development of a Dual-Energy Steam Boiler for Small-Scale Sterilization of Palm Fruit

ABSTRACT A dual-energy source steam boiler suitable for sterilization of palm fruit by small scale processors was developed. The machine was evaluated on electricity or biomass such as charcoal and firewood. Palm fruits were sterilized at 100 o C at various sterilization periods of 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105 and 120 minutes and at 60, 75 and 90 o C for 75, 90, 105 and 120 minutes respectively. The rate of digestion through liquid recovery was determined. Some physicochemical properties of the oil extracted using steamed palm fruit and fruit boiled in water were determined. Sterilization period at 100 o C was 60 min with charcoal, 75 min with firewood and electricity respectively. The average liquid recovery for the sterilization periods at 100 o C were 13.7, 16.9, 28.4, 29.5, 28.7, 29.7 and 30.0%, and the maximum after 120 mins sterilization at 60, 75 and 90 o C were 18.4, 20.8 and 28.1% respectively. The moisture content, the peroxide value and the free fatty acid contents were 0.1%, 8.0 O2/kg, 3.2%; and 2.3%, 10.0 O2/kg, 3.6% for the steamed and watercooked fruits respectively. An improvement in the quality of oil produced from steamed fruits compared to fruits boiled in water was observed. The machine had a 98.9% boiling efficiency. The heating efficiency of cooking with biomass was 56.0% more than cooking with a pot of the same diameter. However, the cost of operating the machine with electricity was ₦4,320 ($28.8) for 8h/day/25days/month working time as against ₦9,600 ($60) and ₦15,250 ($101.6) respectively for firewood and charcoal for the same period. The cost of production of the boiler was ₦51,930 ($346.2)

Performance evaluation of a rice cleaning and grading machine

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), that are locally produced and processed in Nigeria is characterized with high percentage of broken grains and impurities which impairs its quality and attracts low market value. To overcome this predicament, an appropriate technology machine was designed A three sieve cleaner-grader machine developed by the authors was tested for performance with a vibration speed of 240 r.p.m. Three rice varieties was used for testing the milling qualities such as milled rice yield, head rice yield and brokens at the moisture content of 12.2% ±1.4 An air blast of 4.8ms 1 was utilized to separate light materials while apertures diameter of 3, 5.5 and 7mm were selected for bottom, intermediate and top sieves to effect grading of whole kernels. Milled rice fed into the machine was tested at tilt angles of 2o, 4o and 6o and at blower inclinations of 0o and 5o. The brokens within 18.18 to 22.62% was reduced to 6.13 and 9.06%.with the utilization of the grading machine. Machine capacity ranges from 1000 – 1,200 kg/hr. The incorporation of the grading machine after milling has upgraded locally processed rice quality from grade III to grade I

Factors Determining Continuous Tractor Use in Benin Republic

Agricultural machinery use is less assessed in Benin Republic. This study investigated the factors determining the continuous tractor use in Benin. A multi stage random sampling procedure was used to select tractor users in the country. A total of 203 households using agricultural machinery were surveyed using interviews and a structured questionnaire. Their information concerned socioeconomic characteristics and production activities. The logit model is used through a stepwise selection and the odds-ratio was then calculated. The results indicate tractor use is an own business of 75.91% and 71.35% are land owners. All of them recognize the positive effects of tractor use on farm productivity. The logit regression showed that the continuous use of tractor is significantly influenced by the number of hour for one (01) hectare tilled, the total area tilled per year as well as the tractor age. Moreover the tractor mark available also influenced tractor use. The most common failures were hydraulic lifting pump (16.36%), fuel filter (14.55%), clutch disc failure (9.92%), broken of plow (8.76%) and injection pump (7.60 %). This is important to prevent the future of agricultural equipment use and take action to deal with any tractor breakdown for sustainable agricultural extension in Benin

Factors Determining Continuous Tractor Use in Benin Republic

Agricultural machinery use is less assessed in Benin Republic. This study investigated the factors determining the continuous tractor use in Benin. A multi stage random sampling procedure was used to select tractor users in the country. A total of 203 households using agricultural machinery were surveyed using interviews and a structured questionnaire. Their information concerned socioeconomic characteristics and production activities. The logit model is used through a stepwise selection and the odds-ratio was then calculated. The results indicate tractor use is an own business of 75.91% and 71.35% are land owners. All of them recognize the positive effects of tractor use on farm productivity. The logit regression showed that the continuous use of tractor is significantly influenced by the number of hour for one (01) hectare tilled, the total area tilled per year as well as the tractor age. Moreover the tractor mark available also influenced tractor use. The most common failures were hydraulic lifting pump (16.36%), fuel filter (14.55%), clutch disc failure (9.92%), broken of plow (8.76%) and injection pump (7.60 %). This is important to prevent the future of agricultural equipment use and take action to deal with any tractor breakdown for sustainable agricultural extension in Benin

Development of a Sunflower Oil Expeller

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 9 (2007): Development of a Sunflower Oil Expeller. Manuscript EE 06 015. Vol. IX. September, 2007

Effect of some physical properties of cocoa beans and post-harvest delay on its compressive and impact rupture load

No Abstract Available Discovery and Innovation Vol.15(3&4) 2003: 137-14

Modelling energy use pattern for maize (Zea mays L.) production in Nigeria

The current mechanized system of crop production requires a considerable amount of energy. Finding the important factors that lead to improved crop yields is a necessary step towards reducing huge energy inputs and, subsequently, reducing environmental concerns and increasing agricultural sustainability. This research work explores the impact of energy resources and forms of energy on maize production in Nigeria was modeled using the Cobb-Douglas production function and validated by the Durbin-Watson procedure. The effect of input energy on maize yields was determined using partial regression coefficients and the Marginal Physical Product process. Data on agricultural inputs such as human labour, machinery, seed, fuel and agro-chemicals were obtained in 50 established farms, through interviews and using questionnaires. Data were transformed to energy suitable form using appropriate standard energy equations. Research results showed that maize production consumed 9803.78 ​MJ/ha of energy, 45.36% of which was fertilizer followed by fuel (35.90%), machinery (10.72%), herbicide (3.88%) seed (3.61%) and human labour (0.53%) respectively. The contributions of direct and indirect energy were 36.44% and 63.56%, while renewable and non-renewable energy were 4.42% and 95.58%, respectively. The energy ratio, specific energy and productivity value were 2.46, 0.2851 ​MJ/kg and 3.51 ​MJ/kg, respectively. The econometrics of the energy resources and out revealed that fertilizer, machinery and human labour energy resources with elasticity 12.98, 9.70 and 8.08, respectively, were the most significant energy resources that had a significant impact on output. The impact of fertilizer, seed fuel, and machinery was significant (p ​< ​0.05). The R2 and Durbin-Watson values of the developed models indicate that the models were able to predict energy output at different inputs

Pre-treatment of water hyacinth to accelerate its biodigestivity into biogas

No Abstract. Journal of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology Vol. 1(1) 2001: 43-4