Evaluation of a Modified Multipurpose Cassava Processing Machine for Size Reduction

Abstract

The production cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) is considered an important alternative to reduction in food scarcity around the world. In Kenya, it is rapidly gaining prominence due to the declining production of staple foods, especially maize and wheat. Though still considered a poor man’s food, the usage of cassava has greatly diversified in terms of both industrial and domestic applications. This coupled with the introduction of improved varieties and better farming options calls for innovative ways of handling the increasing volumes of fresh cassava tubers to minimize post-harvest losses. One of the important postharvest processes is size reduction which is achieved by either chipping or grating. Improved production methods alone are not adequate to solve the issues of field losses in cassava production. Factors affecting the efficiency of size reduction operation include operator experience, disc type, disc speed, cutting clearance and moisture content. Conventionally, this has been done manually but due to the inherent problems, use of machines is being encouraged through the development and adoption of chipping/grating machines. In this study the machine developed was dual powered and allowed conversion from a chipper to grater and vice versa as need be. It has a capacity of 162.15kg/h and 81.62 kg/h when chipping and grating respectively. The chipping process consumed less power averaging 0.0034kW/kg compared to 0.0075 kW/kg used in the grating and these chips dried faster than manually worked cassava. Keywords: Cassava, post-harvest, chipping, grating, dual power DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/13-8-03 Publication date: May 31 st 2023