Development of an Electrically Operated Cassava Peeling and Slicing Machine

• Main Authors: I. S. Aji, M. U. Emmanuel, S. A. Abdulrahman, O. F. Franklyn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Maiduguri 2017-08-01
• Series: Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment
• Online Access: http://azojete.com.ng/index.php/azojete/article/view/77/72

The development and construction of an electrically operated cassava peeling and slicing machine was described in this paper. The objective was to design, construct and test an electrically operated machine that will peel and slice cassava root into chips, to aid the processes of drying, pelletizing and storage. The methodology adopted includes; design, construction, calculation, specification, assembly of component parts and performance test. The machine was able to Peel and slice cassava to fairly similar sizes. Performance test reveals that 7 kg of cassava tuber was peeled and chipped in one minute, which shows that, the machine developed can significantly reduce the cost of labour and time wastage associated with traditional processing of cassava tubers into dried cassava pellets, and finished products, such as; garri, and cassava flour. The machine has a capacity of 6.72 kg/min, with peeling and chipping efficiency of 66.2% and 84.0% respectively. The flesh loss of the peeled tuber was 8.52%, while overall machine efficiency obtained as 82.4%. The machine is recommended for use by small scale industries and by cassava farmers in the rural areas. It has an overall cost of N46100 ($150). The machine can easily be operated by an individual and maintained, by using warm water to wash the component parts, and sharpening of the chipping disc when required.