Evaluation of a portable watermelon juice extracting machine

Adekanye, T. A. and Adelakun, O.J. (2017) Evaluation of a portable watermelon juice extracting machine. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal, 19 (4). pp. 219-223.

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Abstract

A small-scale machine for extracting watermelon juice was developed with locally available materials and evaluated to determine its best extracting operating factors. The machine slices a whole watermelon and extracts its juice. This machine operates on the principle of compressive and shearing force which exerts through an auger. Component parts includes feeding hopper, conveyor shaft, auger conveyor housed in a cylindrical chamber, juice sieve, juice collector, seed and pulp outlet, gear and main frame. It was powered by a 1 hp electric motor, coupled to a gear reduction speed to operate at 46.67 rpm. In operation, watermelon fruits introduced via the hopper were squeezed and transferred to the auger conveyor. The auger presses and squeezes the watermelon fruit to extract the juice. The juice extracted is filtered through the juice sieve into juice collector while the seeds and pulp are discharged through another outlet. Performance evaluation was carried out using different sizes of watermelon fruit (2.3 kg, 2.6 kg, 2.8 kg, 3.1 kg and 3.3 kg) to determine juice yield, extraction efficiency and extraction loss. Results revealed maximum juice yield of 86%, extraction efficiency of 92.6% and extraction loss of 18% respectively. The machine has a capacity of 49.04 kg hr-1. The portable watermelon juice extracting machine is simple to operate and maintain, therefore it is recommended for small scale farmers and local fruit juice processors. Keywords: watermelon, juice, extraction, small scale, evaluation

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
Depositing User:	Mr DIGITAL CONTENT CREATOR LMU
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2019 11:41
Last Modified:	23 Oct 2019 11:41
URI:	https://eprints.lmu.edu.ng/id/eprint/2599

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