A simply and manually-operated multipurpose fruit juice extractor was designed, constructed and its performance was evaluated in terms of juice yield, extraction efficiency, juice content, extraction loss and extraction capacity. The machine has two major parts which are: the extraction chamber and the structural frame. The extraction chamber is made of stainless steel and consists of a turning handle (f24.5 x 400mm), screw rod (f32 x 620 mm), compression plate (f100 mm), perforated inner cylinder (f115 x 180 mm), non-perforated outer cylinder (f120 x 180 mm) and discharge pipe. The structural frame (350 mm x 415 mm x 60 mm) is made of mild steel of U-channel section. The machine basically works on the principle of transmission of compressive force to rupture the juice cells of the fruit for the liberation of juice. Sweet orange, watermelon, red apple, green apple, pineapple, lime, lemon and grape were used for the performance evaluation process. Results obtained showed that pineapple had the highest values of juice yield (68.74%),juice content (66.40%), extraction capacity (92.85 g/min) and extraction efficiency (82.99%) while sweet orange and lime had the lowest extraction loss and extraction capacity of 1.67% and  29.81 (g/min) respectively.

Indexing p. 1  Editorial Bord p. 1  Guide for Authors p. 3  Manuscript preparation p. 5

This study investigates physical and chemical properties two seeds namely Ugba (Telfairia pedata) and Ugwu (Telfairia occidentalis) using soaking soxhlet methods of extraction. The physical properties examined are moisture content, ash content, crude protein, fat and oil, crude fibre and carbohydrates. The chemical properties examined are Acid value (mgKOH/g), saponification value, iodine value, free fatty acid, peroxide and refractive index. Higher mean values of moisture content, ash content, crude fibre and carbohydrates were noticed in Ugwu than in Ugba under soaking method. However, the trend was reversed for crude protein and free fatty acid, in whose case they appear to be higher in Ugba than in Ugwu. For soxhlet method, moisture content, ash content, crude fibre and carbohydrates seems to have higher mean values in Ugwu seed compared to when Ugba seed was used. However, crude protein and fat and oil content were higher using Ugba seed than Ugwu seed oil. For soaking method, Ugba seed seem to produce higher mean values of sap value, iodine value, and refractive index when compared with Ugwu seed. On the other Ugwu, seems to produce acid value, free fatty acid and peroxide value when compared with ugba for soaking method. Using soxhlet apparatus however, Ugba seed produces higher mean values for acid value, sap value, iodine value, and free fatty acid compared to Ugwu. The reverse was the case with peroxide and refractive index, still with soxhlet apparatus.Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and TechnologyVol. 13, No. 2, 2017, page: 48-60

In this study, some selected mechanical properties of red and white varieties of Almond seeds grown in Nigeria were determined using Testometric M500 – 100AT machine. The fracture force, compressive strength, deformation at yield for red varieties were 2679.40 ± 580.29 N, 408.70 ± 41.90 N/mm2 and 7.03 ± 0.65 mm respectively. The values obtained for the white varieties were 2843.90 ± 330.22 N, 396.20 ± 49.40 N/mm2, and 7.27 ± 0.46 mm. The determined engineering properties are vital for the design of postharvest handling and processing systems for Almond seeds as statistical test showed that there are significant differences (at 5% level) between the engineering properties of the two seeds studied.KEYWORDS: fracture force, compressive strength, deformation, almond seeds

A vertical livestock feed mixer with spring-controlled packaging unit was designed, constructed and tested. This design had in focus a weighing and gauging mechanism which made possible a semi-automatic packaging in conjunction with feed mixing and discharge operations. The main components of the machine included a double-wall cylindrical mixing chamber consisting of recycling gate, discharge gate, evacuating gate, window and a screw conveyor inside an inner cylinder. The packaging mechanism is attached to the discharge gate and the base of the frame with the frame serving as the structural support for the machine and its contents. The main design parameters included screw conveyor features such as helix angle, fill ratio, normal pressure due to bulk load on screw shaft, axial force per pitch, total screw torque, capacity and power requirements of the screw conveyor. The design concept of the packaging mechanism involved determination of free length of spring, total active length, pitch of spring, spring index, stiffness of spring, maximum shear stress and total spring rate. In a hitch-free operation, the machine was designed to package 25 kg of mixed feed ingredients at a time. In operation, the feed ingredients are scooped and moved upward by the rotary movement of the screw conveyor and then sprayed back into the smaller cylinder without passing through the internal tube. A preliminary testing was carried out on the machine to determine the actual discharge rate and hence the performance of the packaging mechanism. Results revealed that an average discharge rate of 0.356 kg/s was obtained. Powered by a 2 hp single phase electric motor, the machine has a mixing capacity of 4.124 m3/h with a production cost of $470.

Various blanching methods were applied to tomatoes and pumpkin leaves (Telfairia occidentalis) to investigate the effect of the  different blanching method on some of its nutritional content. The effects of steam and water blanching as a pretreatment on raw tomatoes and pumpkin leaves (control) were investigated in this study using standard methods. For tomatoes, the %nitrogen, potassium, vitamin A, C and E) mg/100g for raw were;0.48, 68.82mg/100g, 0.88mg/100g, 38.82mg/100g, 0.78mg/100g respectively. 0.45, 69.68mg/100g, 0.58mg/100g, 32.43mg/100g and 0.55mg/100g for water blanched respectively and 0.42, 69.14mg/100g, 0.47mg/100g, 29.66mg/100g, 0.42mg/100g respectively for steam blanching. * For pumpkin leaves, the %nitrogen, potassium, vitamin A, C and E) mg/100g for raw were; 0.98, 46.82mg/100g, 4.63mg/100g, 60.41mg/100g, 0.89mg/100g respectively. 0.95, 46.73mg/100g, 2.38mg/100g,41.08mg/100g and 0.59mg/100g for water blanched respectively and 0.94, 46.10mg/100g, 1.20mg/100g, 32.16mg/100g, 0.52mg/100g respectively for steam blanching. The results indicate that water and steam blanching significantly reduce the nutritional content. The values of the nutrient were higher in water blanching compared to steam blanching. Keywords: Fruits, vegetable, steam, water, blanching

Ugu (Telfairia occidentalis) seeds contain valuable Before the oil can be extracted, it has to pass through some processes like depoding, size reduction, cracking etc. The parameters needed in form of seed to design and construct the processing, storage and handling equipment are not readily available. Therefore, this study was done to determine the following mechanical properties; force at break, energy to break, strain at varieties of seeds (NHTo-1, NHTo-2 and NHTo Research (NIHORT) Institute Ibadan, Nigeria were used. 50 samples from each variety were selected at moisture content 67.734% (wb) and use (Testometric M500-100AT, 100kN) was used to determine all the mechanical properties. Result showed that the range of mean values at different orientations of diameters were as stated in the brackets: on the major diameter, for 224.857±129.892N); energy at break (0.097±0.044Nm to 0.526± (2.209±0.841% to 11.079±6.672%) and stress at break (0.133± 0.837 N/mm²). On the intermediate diameter, th to 2043.857±1050,785 N), the energy at break was (0.520±0.054 Nm to 2.604± Nm), the strain at break was (3.739 ±1.345% to 35.069± (0.225±0.111 N/mm² to 2.040±0.964 N/mm²). On the minor diameter, t was (53.500± 47.964 N to 363.857±107.606 Nm to 1.040 ± 0.548 Nm), the strain at break was (1.909± the stress at break was (0.412±0.421 N/mm gave the best crack and did least damage to the kernel on the minor diameter with the mean values of force at break of 53.500±47.964 N.

This paper presents a study carried out to develop empirical models and process optimization for prediction of nutritional parameters of stored cowpea variety (IT96D-610K). Twelve small scale prototype silos made of two different materials (wooden and galvanised mild steel) were constructed and used in the storage of the cowpea for a 4-month period. Seven kilograms of cowpea at 9.88% moisture content admixed with DE having two different particle sizes (7.5 × 10−5 m and 9 × 10−5 m) and three different concentrations (0.0001 kg, 0.00005 kg and 0 kg) in varying combinations were loaded into each prototype silo structure. The control (zero/no concentration) was set without the use of DE in each of the wooden and galvanised mild steel structures, respectively. Temperature, relative humidity and moisture content within the storage structures were monitored. Nutritional parameters such as ash, crude protein, fat, crude fibre, and carbohydrate content were also measured alongside moisture. Significant differences (P <0.05) were observed between the control sample and treated samples. Six model equations using Essential Regression Software package were further generated to determine the relationship between input and output parameters, and were checked for adequacy and validity. The model equations developed were used to get the optimum values of output parameters which are: minimum moisture content (8.87%), minimum ash content (4.07%), maximum crude protein (22.86%), maximum fat (2.04%), maximum crude fibre (2.26%) and maximum carbohydrate (60.31%) of the stored cowpea at various conditions. Study results show that all the storage conditions had significant effects at P <0.05.