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Design and Development of a Manually Operated Oil Palm Crusher

MR Islam
Minor Irrigation Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

MA Awal
Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh.

CK Mistry
Minor Irrigation Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Palm growers in Bangladesh are currently facing problems extracting crude palm oil from FFB. The traditional method of palm oil processing is time-consuming, laborious, hazardous, and inefficient resulting in the production of low-quality oil. Though mechanical processing is costly but produces good quality Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and the oil recovery rate is high. A low-cost mechanical (manually operated) oil palm crusher was designed and fabricated in the workshop of the Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. The crusher was designed by using Auto-Cad software. It was fabricated according to design parameters. It is fabricated by stainless steel (SS) shaft, stainless steel cylinder, mild steel ( MS) hopper, ( MS ) hollow bars, MS pressure case cap & Bearing. It requires a very small rotating force. The cost of the crusher is only BDT 12000, which is within the buying capacity of the farmers of Bangladesh. Crusher was mounted on the table or bench. At first 500 gm fresh palm fruits were taken for experimentation. About 300 gm mesocarp and 200 gm oil palm kernel (nuts) were found from 500 gm oil palm fruits. Heating 300 gm mesocarp for about 15 minutes and was weighted 280 gm mesocarp due to moisture loss. About 62 gm crude palm oil, 124 gm oil cake, 88 gm skum were collected from 280 gm mesocarp. The average m.c (wb) of fresh palm fruit was found at 20.73%. The crushing capacity of the mesocarp of the crusher was o.84 kg/hr. The rotating speed of the screw was 26 rpm. Crude oil percentage was found at 22.14%. The total time to extract 62 gm crude palm oil from 500 gm of fresh fruit was 1hr and 15 minutes. The weight of the crusher is 11 kg which is easy to operate by one man. The overall performance of the crusher was found quite satisfactory and could be useful for smallholder palm growers in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Design, Oil palm, Crusher, Manual, Palm oil, Performance

Location: Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Farm Mechanization

Commodity: Crusher

Objectives:

To design and develop an oil palm crusher for smallholder farmers.

Methodology:

Design Consideration: The following factors were considered to design a manually operated oil palm crusher.

Simple in construction
The size of the cylinder
The size of the shaft and handle.
The clearance between the shaft and cylinder
It should have a simple and easy adjustment
It should have uniformity in the feeding rate
It should be easy to repair and maintain
The cost of a crusher will be affordable
It should be light in weight and easy to operate
Easily portable
Low repair and maintenance costs.

The motor-operated oil palm crusher was designed and drawing was done with the help of Auto-Cad software. Then the crusher was fabricated accordingly and finally tested at the Workshop of Farm Power and Machinery Department, BAU, Mymensingh. Design of different parts of manually operated oil palm crusher: The crusher consists of a pressure cage cylinder, frame, screw shaft, hopper, pressure case cap, a perforated strainer mounted inside the pressure cage cylinder, handle, adjustable terminal bolts, and these were designed and developed in the department of Farm Power & Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University. Materials to fabricate the crusher: Materials required to construct the crusher were procured from the local market. The major materials required to fabricate the crusher were stainless steel (SS) shaft, stainless steel cylinder with SS strainer, mild steel ( MS) hopper, M. S hollow bars, MS pressure case cap, Bearing (# 6007 ). Hopper: Hopper is the most important part of designing and developing the crusher. It was made by the M.S sheet. At first, a 12 cm diameter hopper was made which was welded with an MS hollow shaft. The hopper was supported by MS hollow shaft (feeding part). The feeding diameter of the hopper is 3 cm. When the round screw shaft rotates then prepared material enters the chamber from the hopper and then moves forward by the rotating pressing screw and is pressed. Design and development of cylinder: A simply designed cylinder was introduced in the crusher. The cylinder was made of stainless steel. The length of the cylinder is 20 cm. The outer and inner diameter of the cylinder was 6 cm and 4 cm respectively. The cylinder was mounted with a bearing casing which is fixed to the frame. A perforated SS screen was mounted in the inner portion of the cylinder. The thickness of the perforated cylindrical screen was 5 mm. A pressure

Source of Information: Progressive Agriculture 32 (1): 60-70, 2021

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The design of a manually operated oil palm crusher is simple and its operation is also easy. It requires a small rotating force. The cost of the crusher was only BDT 12,000 which is within the buying capacity of the farmers of Bangladesh. Besides, if the machine is manufactured commercially then the price will be reduced to BDT 9,000. The crushing capacity of the mesocarp of the crusher was o.84 kg/hr at a speed of 26 rpm smoothly rotating and crude oil percentage was 22.14 %. That is 221 gm crude palm oil extracted from 1 kg of mesocarp. The most advantageous feature of this machine is that it can provide us with crude palm oil within a few times at our home itself. It requires less storage space as well as less operational space. Being manually operated requires negligible maintenance cost except for some greasing. It is very easy to clean and can be comfortably washed with water in post-operation of the machine. The weight of the crusher is 11 kg which is easy to operate by one man. The overall performance of the crusher was found quite satisfactory. The extraction efficiency (without palm kernel) of the machine is 22.14 % which is very close to the reported average value and very higher than the traditional method (just by boiling). Moreover, many of the smallholder palm farmers don’t have access to electricity in their locality so this machine is suitable for them. This machine might be introduced in Bangladesh and it will solve the burning need of smallholder palm farmers in Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Journal