Design and Testing of an Experimental Cassava Tuber Peeling Machine

Abstract

A novel cassava peeling machine that operates on the principle of the lathe was designed, fabricated and tested. The unique peeling principle uses a self-loading, self-adjusting single point cutting tool that can follow the contour of the cut cassava tuber sections or sized lots. The single point cutting tool allows the peeler to peel both freshly harvested cassava tubers and cassava tubers that are up to four days old effectively and efficiently. Test results show a peeling efficiency of over 70% for all categories of tubers and a minimal loss of flesh.

A review of mechanical cassava peeling and its adoption by processors

“…It is mostly used in traditional processing. It is reported to be the most efficient in terms of peeling efficiency and cassava flesh loss, and it serves as a reference (with respect to flesh-to-peel ratio determination) in the evaluation of many mechanical peelers (Akintunde et al, 2005;Edeh et al, 2020). However, it is said to be low-yielding, time-consuming and involve much drudgery, making it unreliable for commercial processing of cassava roots (Alli and Abolarin, 2019;Oluwole and Adio, 2013).…”

“…This is the type of mechanism whereby the work piece (cassava) is held by the machine and rotates about its axis while the tool moves along it, removing the material (peel) as it moves. The application of this mechanism in cassava peeling was utilised as a novelty by Ebunilo et al (2013), even though it was first recommended for consideration by Abdulkadir (2012). Ebunilo et al (2013) designed, fabricated and tested a mechanical cassava peeler, which operates on the lathe mechanism at a speed of 3 rev/s (Figure 2).…”

“…The application of this mechanism in cassava peeling was utilised as a novelty by Ebunilo et al (2013), even though it was first recommended for consideration by Abdulkadir (2012). Ebunilo et al (2013) designed, fabricated and tested a mechanical cassava peeler, which operates on the lathe mechanism at a speed of 3 rev/s (Figure 2). It had a self-loading and self-adjusting single-point peeling tool designed to follow the contour of the cassava in order to reduce the level of flesh loss.…”

“…To ascertain the assertion that the performance of this design will not be affected by the varying shapes of cassava roots, it is recommended that the design be constructed and evaluated. Figure 21 shows the modified attrition peeling machine by Edeh et al (2020). Modification of the Projects Development Institute's (PRODA) cassava attrition peeling machine (Ezekwe, 1979) resulted in this.…”

“…Usually, the amount of peels expected to be removed or the flesh-to-peel ratio is initially determined through careful manual peeling before undertaking machine peeling or evaluation. This is because manual peeling (especially by the unwrapping method) is known to have a peeling efficiency of 100 % (Adetan et al, 2006;Edeh et al, 2020). As with all machines, the higher the peeling efficiency, the better the peeler.…”