Development and Testing of a 'lappered Screw Mecahanism Top Groundnut Oil Extraction

Abstract

A groundnut oil expeller having a capacity of 800kg per day was designed and fabricated as one of the equipment with which oil can be extracted from oil bearing seeds. The equipment was fabricated in Desſabeng Company Nigeria Limited, Bida-Niger State. It consists of the seed inlet unit (hopper), oil extraction unit, cake discharge outlet, oil collector, power transmission unit, covers and frames. A gear box having a turn ratio of 1:2 was fitted to the end of the worm shaft. This helps in reducing the speed of the 20Hp clectric motor to the speed required to expel the oil from the oil bearing seeds. The machine was fabricated with about 90% local materials. Test results of the oil expeller using groundnut variety "Rmp 12" reveals extraction efficiency of 89.2%, extraction losses of 10.8% and cake recovery of 56% at a moisture content of 6% and seed temperature of 60°C. It was also found suitable for extracting oil from neem seed, sesame and other oil bearing seeds. The machine was generally found to be easy to maintain by local artisans due to its simple design features.