Design Modification and Performance Evaluation of a Cassava Pelleting Machine

Abstract

This paper presents a modification of an existing design. The goal was to incorporate a heating tray to the cassava pelleting machine to aid in heating up or drying the cassava pellet after the extrusion process. This is to solve the problem of drying the pellet at room temperature which at most times is not favourable for pelleting conditions. This design will save time due to its efficiency in drying the cassava pellet at a specified temperature and time depending on the mass of the dewatered cassava fed into the hopper. The first phase of the project involved a sorting exercise to obtain a suitable material with good mechanical, physical, and electrical properties as regards the elements, insulator (ceramic), stainless steel (galvanized) and a regulator to regulate the amount of heat required. The second phase involved cutting, bending and coupling of parts which was done observing a tolerance of ±0.1 to aid fitting of parts accurately , also the wiring was done to reduce electric hazard. Test result showed that 1 kg cassava pellet can best be dried at a temperature of 70 ºC at a suitable time of 3.5 minutes and also the heating tray has an efficiency of 93% and capacity of 30.3 kg/hr. The heating tray can dry at any required temperature depending on the mass of the product, and the product itself.