Design, Development and Testing of a Neem Seed Steam Roaster

A neem seed roaster which makes use of steam as source of heat energy was designed and fabricated to be used in heating neem seeds prior to expelling oil from them. It helps to check the disadvantage of using seed scorchers which produces burnt or unevenly heated seeds which results in black oil formation. The equipment consists of an insulated heating unit, roaster, seed inlet unit, seed discharge outlet, power transmission unit and the frame work. A gear motor of 0.25kW was selected to supply power to the shaft whose end was welded to the stirrer. The roasting unit consists of three compartments: roasting chamber, steam chamber and insulator chamber. The insulated heating unit has two pipes: water inlet pipe and steam delivery pipe. Also, two electric heating elements of 2.75kW each were installed in the heating unit to help boil the water for steam to form; this steam will then be transported by the steam delivery pipe to the steam chamber which in turn heats up the outer surface of the roasting chamber and thus the seeds inside are roasted through the heat being supplied. The machine was fabricated with about 90% local materials. Test results of the seed roaster using neem seeds indicate successful heating/roasting, the seeds were not scorched or burnt, rather they were looking dry but fresh, this indicates that the design of the machine suits its purpose for heating neem seeds prior to oil expelling . The machine being a simple one will be easy to maintain by the local artisans. Keywords: Heating, steam, neem seed, roaster, desig

Rinser Machine and the Dynamics-based Failure Analysis for Spur Gear Fault Detection: A Forensic Review

Gear fault detection and its severity is essential for analyzing the availability, maintainability and reliability of rinser machines. The occurrence of multiple failures of gears and their analysis is becoming more challenging, thereby causing the increased unavailability rinser machines. This study reviewed the rinser machine and its various advantages and disadvantages, including the problems associated with the machine. More so, various types of failures associated with the spur gears were studied, and it was established that the detection and the diagnosis of gear faults would inform a maintenance planner on scheduled maintenance. Thus, the absence of failure detection will cause uncontrolled machine breakdown and, consequently, result in unsafe operation as well as a loss of productivity. The study concludes and recommends grey cast iron as alternative material that could reduce chemical failure and failure resulting from fatigu

Influence of Extraction Temperature and Moisture content on the Yield and Physicochemical Properties of Hog plum (Spondias mombin) Kernel Oil

This study investigated the extraction and characterisation of hog plum seed kernel. Oil was extracted using solvent method; normal hexane was used as solvent for the extraction process. The study was carried out at moisture contents of 8.03, 10.57 and 12%, and at extraction temperatures of 40, 50 and 60̊ C. The physicochemical properties of the oil investigated were density, saponification value, acid value and free fatty acid. The statistical analysis done showed that moisture content and extraction temperature significantly affected the oil yield; the maximum oil yield in this study was found to be 13.42% at moisture content of 12% and extraction temperature of 60oC.  The physicochemical properties of the investigated oils were within the requirements of edible oil quality: saponification value was 192.2mg KOH/g, acid value was 2.80mg KOH/g, free fatty acid was 1.40%w/w, and density was 0.825g/cm3.These result revealed that the seed has potential use as an industrial raw material and food source

Effects Of Storage Conditions And Storage Period On Nutritional And Other Qualities Of Stored Yam ( Dioscorea Spp) Tubers

Yam is one of the preferred staple foods in West Africa. The annual vegetative cycle of yam necessitates a long period of storage to make it available all year round. The major problems in yam tuber storage are sprouting, respiration and transpiration, which cause weight and quality losses. In this work, the effects of storage conditions and storage period on the nutritional and other qualities of stored yam tubers were investigated. Storage conditions used were two traditional yam barns, one with fan to aid air circulation and the other without. A total of 216 tubers of yam ( Dioscorea roundata ) "Giwa" variety with 108 tubers in each barn, were stored in the barns. Parameters evaluated were temperature and relative humidity of the storage environment, signs of deterioration of the tuber such as sprouting, weight loss and rotting and some nutritional parameters (carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus, crude fibre, crude fat, crude protein, ash and moisture contents). Temperature and relative humidity were measured three times a week and four times a day at 0800h, 1200h, 1600h and 2000h. The results showed that average temperature and relative humidity in the barn with fan were slightly lower than that of the barn without fan. These differences were statistically significant for April, May and June at P≤0.1. Tubers stored in the barn with fan had the least sprout weight and least weight loss. At the end of a 3-month period, the tubers in the ventilated barn showed 4.7% less weight loss compared to the barn without fan. The difference in sprout weights and weight loss between the structures was statistically significant at P≤ 0.05. Also, tubers stored in the barn with fan had the least percentage of rotten tubers (1.85% of stored tubers) compared to the tubers stored in the barn without fan (12.03%). A reduction of some of the nutritional content was also observed during the six months of storage period. From these results it can be concluded that intermittent air flow on stored yam tubers reduces sprouting, weight loss and rot development, thus reducing the overall loss in stored yam tuber. However, moisture, crude protein, carbohydrates, phosphorus and calcium contents of the tuber reduced significantly in the two barns studied

Effect of extraction temperature on the yield and physicochemical properties of cashew nut oil

Effect of Extraction temperature on the yield and Physicochemical Properties of Cashew nut oil were investigated using standard analytical methods. The oil was extracted using solvent extraction method at two different temperatures; the physicochemical properties and the oil yield were determined. The physical properties of the extracted oil at two temperatures 55oC and 65oC are as follows: specific gravity 0.93 and 0.9; refractive index 1.39 and 1.40; viscosity 6.93 and 6.57; smoke point 183.33 and 187.00 respectively. The chemical properties of the extracted oil at the two temperatures of 55oC and 65oC are as follows: Saponification value of 156.61 and 199.62; acid value of 12.53 and 14.40; iodine value (mg iodine/100g) of 55.23 and 52.36; peroxide value of 8.55 and 7.59 and free fatty acid (mg KOH/g) of 6.26 and 7.20 respectively. The oil yield for the extraction temperatures of 55oC and 65oC were 41.52% and 50.33% respectively. The result shows that oil yield increases with increase in extraction temperature; the refractive index and specific gravity were not significantly different.Keywords: Temperature, Extraction, Cashew nut, Oil, Physicochemica

Optimization of Storage Parameters of Selected Fruits in Passive Cooling Structures

This study was carried out to determine the optimum storage parameters of selected fruit using three  sets of four types of passive evaporative cooling structures made of two different materials clay and  aluminium. One set consisted of four separate cooling chambers. Two cooling chambers were made with  aluminium containers (cylindrical and square shapes) and the other two were made of clay container  (cylindrical and rectangular). These containers were separately inserted ina bigger clay pot inter- spaced  with clay soil of 5 cm (to form tin-in-pot, pot-in-pot, tin-in-wall and wall-in wall) with the outside  structure wrapped with jute sack. The other two sets followed the same pattern with interspacing of 7 cm  and 10 cm, respectively. The set with 7 cm interspace served as the control in which the interspace soil and jute sacks were constantly wetted with water. The other two sets (5 cm and 10 cm interspaced  soil) were constantly wetted with salt solution (sodium chloride) to keep the soil in moist condition.  Freshly harvested matured oranges and bananas were used for the experiments and temperature, relative humidity and decay were monitored daily. The weight, â carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, lycopene,  bacterial and fungal counts of these produce were determined at intervals of three days for a period of 21 days for oranges and 10 days for bananas. Further analysis by optimisation process revealed optimum  storage conditions for stored produce using Essential regression software package. Optimum values of  951.42 g, 22.76/IU, 48.60/mg/100ml, 2.89/mg/ml and 3.27/mg/ml were obtained for weight, â carotene,  vitamin C, vitamin E and lycopene contents, respectively for stored oranges at various conditions. Also  238.34g, 12.43/IU,24.23/mg/100ml, 2.52/ mg/ml and 2.88/mg/ml were obtained for weight, β carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and lycopene contents, respectively for stored bananas at various conditionsKeywords: Optimization, Bananas, Orange, Storage, Passiv

The Effects of Moisture Content Variation on Some Engineering Properties of Almond Seed (Terminalia Catappa)

The physical and mechanical properties of Almond seed at different moisture content levels of 6.78%, 12.39%, 17.11% and 21.97% were investigated in this study. The physical properties include geometric mean diameter, bulk density and angle of repose; they were determined using standard procedures. The length, width and thickness obtained for the 100 samples of the almond seeds were in the range of 25.42-28.63mm, 23.69-26.63mm, and 7.51-9.18mm respectively. The result shows a high uniformity on the seed sizes and significant variations between the length, width and thickness. The calculated values of the geometric mean diameter and sphericity ranged from 16.48-19.07mm and 64.66- 66.63% respectively. The results of the surface area varied from 853.6-1143.04mm2. The result also indicated a high variation in the surface area of the seeds with respect to the different moisture content levels. The mechanical properties which include rupture force, compressive strength and tensile strength were determined on the seeds. The mechanical properties show that the fracture force and compressive strength decreased from 2689N to 2499N, 410N/mm2 to 398 N/mm2respectivelywith an increase in moisture content (6.78%-21.9%). The tensile strength obtained for moisture levels of 6.78%, 12.39%, 16.11% and 21.9% were 3.20Mpa, 3.90Mpa, 4.20Mpa and 4.60Mpa respectivel

Development, optimization and characterization of Enriched noodles

Noodles are one of the staple foods consumed in Nigeria. Wheat, which is a major component in noodles formulation has suffered decline in production in recent times and in addition to this, noodles made from wheat lacks adequate essential nutrient needed for growth considering the awareness that the demography of the population that consumes noodles are mostly children. This study developed and optimized and characterized instant noodles from blends of sweet potato flour, corn flour, and soybean flour. Experiments were conducted using a four-component constrained D-optimal mixture-process experimental design, with thirty-nine (39) randomized experimental runs. The formulation design constraints were: sweet potato flour (10%–61%), soybean flour (5%–20%), corn flour (5%–30%), and water (25%–37%). Other components of the formulation were salt (2.5%), sodium carbonate (0.5%), guar gum (0.5%), and Soy lecithin (0.5%). The processing factors investigated were mixing time (2min - 10min), frying time (1min - 3min), and frying temperature (140 °C–160 °C). The formulated noodles were analyzed and evaluated for the moisture content, crude protein, crude fibre, ash content, crude fat, carbohydrate, energy value, water absorption index, cooking time, cooking weight, bulk density and sensory characteristics, using standard procedures. The result of the formulated noodles optimization gave optimal formulated noodles with overall desirability index of 0.518, based on the set optimization goals and individual quality desirability indices. The optimal noodle was obtained from 23.228% sweet potato flour, 8.815% corn flour, 27.508% soybean flour, 36.449% water, 2.500% salt, 0.500% sodium carbonate, 0.500% guar gum, 0.500% soy lecithin; with 8.169min mixing time, 2.5min frying time, and 144 °C frying temperature. The quality properties of this optimal noodle were 13.654% moisture content, 19.131% crude protein, 5.171% crude fibre, 7.798% ash content, 21.818% crude fat, 32.231% carbohydrate, 32.231 kcal/100g energy value, 109.275 g/g water absorption index, 6min cooking time, 20.928 (% increase in g) cooking weight, 0.645 (g/cubic centimeters) bulk density, and overall acceptability of 6.54, based on 9-point hedonic scale. The result of the study showed that the optimal formulated noodles was of high quality and that improving nutritional quality of noodles is possible through composite formulation. It is recommended that further study be carried out on formulation of nutritionally improved noodles using other nutritionally rich resources. Enrichment of noodles with protein-rich sources will result in noodles with improved nutrient quality that meets the consumer's dietary needs

Academic Research International INFLUENCE OF MOISTURE CONTENT ON THE YIELD OF MECHANICALLY EXPRESSED NEEM SEED KERNEL OIL

ABSTRAC

Statistical Modelling of Oil Expression from Neem Seed using a Screw Press

A study was carried out to determine the effect of some process parameters on the yield of neem seed oil from a screw press using 44 factorial design experiments. This consisted of four independent, randomly assigned parameters at four levels each namely, moisture content (wb) of seeds (6.3%; 8.1%, 13.2% and 16.6%); temperature of heating at ϴ1 (55°C), ϴ2 (70°C), ϴ3(85°C) and ϴ4 (100°C); duration of heating at t1 (5 min.), t2(10 min.), t3 (15 min.) and t4 (20 min.) and machine pressure at p1 (602.91 kN/m2), p2 (723.07 kN/m2), p3(925.84 kN/m2) and p4(1334.88 kN/m2). Three replicates of the experiments were carried out and from the values obtained, oil yield was calculated. The effects of the processing conditions (moisture content, heating duration, heating temperature and machine pressure) on the oil yield were investigated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) at p≤0.05 and the levels of the significant means were further evaluated using Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test (DNMRT). Mathematical model was developed to express the oil yield with respect to the process parameters and this was fitted to experimental data using MATLAB 8.0 software package. Adequacy of the model was authenticated using coefficient of determination and adjusted coefficient of determination, R2.The results obtained showed that temperature, heating time, moisture content, pressure and their interactions all proved to determine the outcome of oil yield of neem seed. The highest oil yield of 33.55% was obtained at temperature of 81.98°C, pressure of 1067.23kN/m2, moisture content of 9.03% and heating duration of about 20 min.The results obtained(coefficient of determination and adjusted coefficient of determination R2) indicated that the model generated was statistically adequate