Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences: Research Areas

Abstract:
In Nigeria, Local rice processing has suffered a lot of setback, such as problem of stones and other foreign materials in processed rice. In an attempt to develop capacity to meet the ever increasing demand, this study designed, constructed, and evaluated performance of a rice de-stoning machine. The study is divided into five major tasks namely: (1) determination of the engineering characteristics of five commonly cultivated local rice varieties in Nigeria that are relevant to design of the de-stoning machine, (2) design of basic components of rice destoner (3) engineering drafting of the components, (4) construction of de-stoning machine using local technology and sourced materials (5) performance evaluation of the fabricated machine. Relevant engineering procedures and standards were applied to the determination of the properties and design of the machine components. The machine with a design capacity of 3 tons per day was constructed in the Faculty of Engineering workshop, Niger Delta University. It�s consists of centrifugal blower, reciprocating sieves, screw conveyor, separating cylinder, transmission shaft with rotating speed of 360 rpm, powered by a 5 hp electric motor. The total cost of constructing the machine is estimated at ?196,050. The performance evaluation revealed a de-stoning efficiency of 78%. This research work has developed a local, cost effective and efficient rice de-stoning machine, thus improving the quality and the market value of locally produced rice in Nigeria.

Keywords: Local Rice, Processing, Engineering Property, De-Stoning Machine, Research And Development. Centrifugal Blower, Reciprocating Sieves, Transmission Shaft

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