Development of an Efficient Processing System for Young Coconut Husk

Abstract

A processing system for young coconut husk was developed to cater abandoned young coconut husk in the coconut industry. This was a new invention as an alternative to the current old coconut husk extractor in the coconut industry. There were several machines developed; 1) chopping machine, 2) young coconut husk extractor, 3) conveyor system, and 4) rotary screener. This processing system was introduced to ensure the abandoned young coconut husk can be extracted into fiber and cocopeat. The evaluation results showed that the average machine capacity of the young coconut husk extractor was 350.79 kg/hour with the average weight ratio of unfiltered cocopeat and fiber produced at 70 % and 30 % respectively. The assessment of quality for fiber and cocopeat was done by using rotary screener that equipped with 16 mesh nets. The result of cocopeat was 2.8 % in the extracted fiber after extraction and filtration. Based on the analysis, cost of operation was RM 3.80/hr or equal to RM 668.70/month for the entire processing system. Total monthly income for machines owner was RM52,923.30 and the ROI was 88.21%. The results showed that the processing system was able to process the abandoned young coconut husk into fiber and cocopeat. Performance evaluation of each machine should be carried out in the future research to identify machines efficiency and durability.