Introduction

The promotion of agro forestry faces a very low rate of adoption in Malawi and possible in other countries as well. One way of increasing the adoption rate is to promote utilization of other products from the trees such as leaves, fruits, stem, flower and root of the trees. Alternative way of utilizing the fruits is to extract oil from its seeds. Oil content and proportion of various fatty acids in oil seeds vary with growing conditions. High temperatures in seed development reduce oil content and proportion of linoic acid (Hyman, 1994). Amongst the oily seeds are the moringa and jatropha. Moringa seed kernels contain about 40% oil by weight. The oil can be used for soap making and consumption. Besides the industrial uses such as fine lubricant and perfumery, the fatty acids profile of the oil with its very high content of oleic acid may make it the oil with potential for further industrial application (Machell, 1994). After pressing, the cake can be dried, stored and be used for water purification or as a fertilizer (Horticulture Development Organization of Malawi, 2000). Jatropha seeds kernels also contain about 40% oil by weight (H.F Mbeza, J. Pratt, M. Chawala and K. Nyirenda, Bunda College of agriculture). Jatropha curcus oil is mostly used as lamp oil. It is also used for soap making (Hyman, 1994). In traditional methods of processing of oil seeds, the extraction efficiency is about 40% (Intermediate Technology Publications, 1993). Use of hand is tedious and has a very low output. However not all machines are suitable for use with tree seeds. Ram and Spindle presses are some of the mechanical methods of extracting oil from seeds. A ram press is manually operated press capable of pressing a range of oil seeds including jatropha and moringa. The press operates by applying pressure to seeds inside a cylinder and cage by means of a piston and a system of levers. Under the pressure built in the cage the seeds release oil, which flows out through the slots available in the cage The ram press technology for oil extraction has received a lot of attention in the last decade. The technology is based on manually operated mechanical presses. The original machine was designed by Carl Bielenberg in 1985. Although, this technology was originally developed for the expression of oil from sunflower seed some other oilseeds such as Jatropha, sesame, moringa, mustard and rape seed have been tested on this machine. In 1994, under a Moringa collaboration between Malawi Polytechnic and Leicester University (LU), the Intermediate Technology Development Group, Zimbabwe (ITDG-Z) carried out Moringa oil extraction experiments. The Ram Press was quickly discarded as being of too low labour efficiency, yielding oil under trials at the rate of just 170/hr.
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In view of the above, a need has therefore risen for the Malawi industrial research and technology development centre (MIRTDC) to carry out an adaptive research to improve the performance of ram presses with tree seeds such as moringa and jatropha. Therefore this project has been carried out towards the satisfaction of the MIRTDC need.

Problem statement
In 1994, under a Moringa collaboration between Malawi Polytechnic and Leicester University (LU), the Intermediate Technology Development Group, Zimbabwe (ITDG-Z) carried out Moringa oil extraction experiments from where a ram press was developed. The Ram Press was quickly discarded as a result of the following: y Low output (oil) per given amount of input (seed & labour), the output: input ratio of the machine was too small. For instance a test on the press indicated that the production capacity for moringa seeds is as low as 500ml oil/day on average. The operation is generally very tedious particularly, because it involves a lot of manual labour. Its dependency on human labour results into limited Production due to human inefficiencies, at some point it demands labour from 3-4 men at a time as the piston becomes too rough & hard to move due the property of fast hardening of the seeds The ram press experienced a number of breakdowns due to the incorrect selection of metals.

Machine assessment From a test of the existing MIRTDC RAM PRESS, shortfalls in the material selection and mechanical advantage of the mechanism were deduced as a cause of the above problems. The effect of low mechanical advantage proved to be more evident on the moringa and jatropha seeds which have high rapture pressures due to their rubbery property. Therefore this report focuses on improving the mechanical advantage, varying the linkage proportions and material selection of MIRTDC ram press which will reduce the power input from an individual while at the same time insuring the designed life span of the mechanism. All in all the improvement on the mechanical advantage, improvements on the machine linkages and material selection of the MIRTDC RAM PRESS will finally help in combating the 3 problems as stated above.

Methodology The overall information pertaining this project has been acquired through: y y y y y y y y Literature review on ram press machine (Internet & Books) Industrial visit to the Malawi Industrial Research and Technology Development Centre (MIRTDC) Engineering design book from the library Direct interviews for instance at Blantyre museum Generation of concepts and selecting the optimum concept Component designing and preparation drawings Lab Testing Report writing

Literature review
Many sources confirmed that both Jatropha and moringa contain about 40% of oil by weight. Moringa Moringa Oil or Ben oil is obtained by pressing the seeds of Moringa Oilefera Tree. The Cold pressed Moringa oil will retain all the properties of the Moringa Oil. Moringa oil is the most stable oil in nature and it does not go rancid. Moringa oil has numerous applications in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry. The Moringa seeds yield 38 40% edible oil (called Ben oil, from the high concentration of behenic acid contained in the oil) that can be used in cooking, cosmetics, and lubrication. The Moringa tree, below, is native to Africa and India and has been revered for thousands of years as a miracle tree: Its nutrient-rich leaves and seeds can be eaten, and the oil pressed from its seeds is chock-full of radiance-boosting fatty acids and vitamins A and C. Moringa oil possesses exceptional oxidative stability which may explain why the Egyptians placed vases of Moringa oil in their tombs. Moringa oil has a potent antioxidant considered to be the factor behind its remarkable stability. Moringa oil is non-drying nutty flavoured oil with a pale yellow consistency. The healing properties of Moringa oil, also known as behen oil, were documented by ancient cultures. It has tremendous cosmetic value and is used in body and hair care as a moisturizer and skin conditioner. Moringa oil has been used in skin preparations and ointments since Egyptian times. This is very long lasting oil with a shelf life of up to 5 years. Moringa is a fast growing, perennial tree which can reach a maximum height of 7-12 m and a diameter of 20-40 cm at chest height. The Moringa tree is referred to as the miracle tree because of its wide array of uses. All parts of the tree are used for their pharmacological and nutritional properties. The use of moringa for medicinal purposes may seem to have its roots in folklore and myth, but indigenous people have found much success in using various parts of the tree to cure many physical ailments. Indian Ayurveda claims that Moringa oil also possess ant tumour, antipyretic, antiepileptic, anti-inflammatory, ant ulcer, antispasmodic, diuretic, antihypertensive, cholesterol lowering, antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal activities, and are being employed for the treatment of different ailments in the indigenous system of medicine, particularly in South Asia.

Jatropha When people use the term Jatropha, usually they refer to the species Jatropha Curcus L., which is one of the 170 known species of this plant ( Paramathma and others, 2006).The species Jatropha Curcus, of particular interest for this study, will for Simplicity sake from now on it will be referred to as Jatropha. Jatropha is a wild plant i.e. in other words it has not been cultivated through variety research. The plant belongs to the family Euphorbiaceous and is indigenous to Latin America (Akintayo, 2004, 307-310) and naturalized throughout tropical and subtropical parts of Asia and Africa where it is mostly Used for hedging (Augustus, Jayabalan, and Seiler, 2002, 161-164). Both plant and seeds are toxic to humans and animals due to the presence of phorbol esters (Haas and Mittelbach, 2000, 111-118). Jatropha is a bush or small tree that is able to survive on marginal lands and can get up to 6 or 8 meters high. Its leaves have length and width of 6 to 15 cm. This perennial bush can live up to 50 years and starts to grow fruits from the 2nd or 3rd year. Under favourable conditions it can grow to a thick bushy fence of approximately one meter high in 6-9 months (Augustus, Jayabalan, and Seiler, 2002, 161-164). Jatropha will grow under a wide range of rainfall regimes from 200-1500mm. Ideal would be 600mm in moderate climates and 1200mm in hot climates (Biswas, Kaushik, and Srikanth, 2006). Much research has been conducted on the composition and properties of Jatropha seeds by others ((Openshaw, 2000, 1-19), (Heller, 1996), (Henning, 2004) and (Sirisomboom, 7 A.D.)). These studies also provide insight in the possibilities of using Jatropha oil for fuel purposes.

Product design specifications

Performance y y y should be manually operated easy to operate and maintain reliable and durable

Environment y y y should be able to work in oily wet conditions should work in places with no obstructions the base should be laid on a hard surface

Life expectancy y Using the concept of linear depreciation the machine has been estimated a life span of 4 to 5 years

Safety y y There should be no exposed sharp points The machine should well supported

Size and weight y Should be of considerably small in size. For the designed contained herein the volume of the main machine is 0.096m^3 with a handle of 1.5 m

Materials y y y should be non-corrosive high resistance to bending high wear resistance

Appearance y Should be beautiful to suit an exposed environment

Ergonomics y y easily operated Easy to maintain

Processes y y y y cutting bolt and nut production welding and fabrication assembling

Quantity and manufacture Due to the demand, amount of moringa and jatropha on the market the following production rates would help: y y 1 device should be produced per production 10 devices per month

Target cost y Testing y Testing the device should be done at the same place of manufacturing so as to correct the defects if at all they present. should be sold at not more than K30, 000.00 and a minimum of K20, 000.00

Standards y Safety standards should be of first priority. in design selection of materials and design analysis, the British standards have been applied

Competition y At the moment there is no competition on the market due to low investment in the moringa and jatropha products

Concept generation

Concept 1: MIRTDC ram press Mode of operation The machine cylinder is meant to receive the moringa or jatropha seeds via the hopper upon the opening space while on forward stroke of the piston. The entry of the seeds will be followed by the backward stroke which will squeeze the seeds against the bolted end resulting into an attainment of the rapture point of the seed cells. It is this rapture point that will let the oil out of the seeds The oil will collected out from the cylinder through the openings near the bolted end Concept sketch view

Concept pictorial view

Advantages y y y y easy to maintain once spares are available no need of skilled labour no need of electricity cheap

Disadvantages y y consumes a lot of human energy low efficiency comparing output to input

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Concept 2: hollowed shaft ram press

Mode of operation On this device is the lever arm 1 which is pinned to the hollowed piston shaft at point B through which the resultant squeezing force is applied. Arm 2 is pinned at a convenient angle to the main arm 1 which enables it to facilitate the forward movement of arm 1 as it imparts the horizontal displacement of the hollowed shaft through B. Therefore it is at point B where the forward stroke and backward stroke are generated with dependence on the direction of lever arm 1 The forward stroke will sweep the seeds towards the other end face on which is the removable plate. This removable plate will in reaction offer a resistance hence a back ward pressure on the seeds resulting in having them squeezed to a rupture point of the seed cells hence giving out oil

Advantages y y y no need of skilled labour no need of electricity cheap

Disadvantages
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y y y

difficulty to machine the hollowed shaft consumes a lot of human energy low efficiency comparing output to input

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Concept 3: bottle jack ram press

Mode of operation The concept will incorporate a hydraulic jack mounted on a support as shown in the figure above This jack will be coupled to the piston shaft enabling it to have a backward and forward stroke as per command of the lever and the releasing screw The forward stroke will give a push on the seeds in the cylinder towards the arrow shaft. At this end they will receive a backward pressure from arrow shaft resulting in having them squeezed up to rupture point of their cells hence oil given out

Advantages y y easy to operate does not consume much of human energy

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Disadvantages y y expensive need semi-skilled labour to operate

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Concept evaluation matrix

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Concept selection
The generated concepts were evaluated using the evaluation matrix shown in table Concept number one was chosen for a number of improvements as it can be seen by its high score on a scale of 1-5. This concept has outclassed the other concepts by quite a considerable measure stand i.e. 4 scores above concept number 2 and 2 scores above concept number 3

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Design Analysis
There are a number of parameters through which a ram press performance can be improved can be improved. These parameters include: y y y y altering the configuration of the mechanism varying the existing linkage proportions introducing an offset in the slider crank mechanism material selection

This report will concentrate on all the bullets above but with much concentration on the last 3 bullets i.e. varying the existing linkages, introduction of an offset and material selection. This is the case because the research on most of the ram presses produced by Malawi industrial research and technology development centre have shown lack of consideration in the mechanical advantage and material selection.

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18

Static analysis of the machine geometry

With reference to the parameters in figure 1 above the following are:     a = length of lever b = length of crank c = length of connecting rod e = the introduced offset

A particular position of the machine is specified by the position angle of the lever , while fully describes the position of the rest of the linkages as well as angles and . The relationship between these angles can be shown below:

(Exterior angles equals 2 opposite interior angles)

..i

Therefore .ii

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Analysis assumptions y y y is assumed to be equal between metal-to-metal contact faces the weight of the links is considered negligible since the ram press is manually operated low speed machine, there is no need for dynamic analysis, hence a static analysis will be sufficient

The analysis has been concentrated on moringa seeds which have the same properties with jatropha hence making all the analysis is applicable to jatropha seeds.

 With reference to figure 2 above, the following force analysis was adopted in order to calculate and verify the ratios between forces acting on the system, which were later used in the design calculations of the mechanism

1. Equations of static equilibrium for the piston

 Horizontal equilibrium y         Vertical equilibrium y  Equilibrium of moments y Where y y

 

 

.iii

..iv

                       at which the piston touches the cylinder hence giving a point of normal reaction N1 and N2

Notes: Dimension depends upon the position of the lever, which may be defined by the angle , and expressed in terms of a and the corresponding angle . It also depends on the initial depth for the original position of the lever, which in this case for a = 80 and the corresponding angle 14.196

The general equation for the value of x

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vi
Note: Equation (vi) is obtained from the following geometry

The movement of the lever (E1) in the equation can be verified by the diagram above i.e. y y

The movement of the connecting rod (E2) can be supported by the diagram above i.e. 22

y y

= =

2. Equations of static equilibrium of lever

 Horizontal equilibrium y  Vertical equilibrium y  Equilibrium of moments y

Notes:

..vii

viii

..ix

Equation (i) and (ix) formed the basis for further analysis of an offset ram press mechanism. The analysis was expressed in terms of the ratios between the effort (E) and other forces such as T and R, as well as the effort ratio e/b. these dimensionless ratios were then used in calculating the mechanical advantage, velocity ratio, efficiency, and transmission angle of the ram press.

DESIGN PARAMETERS

I) MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE (M.A) This is a ratio of the magnitudes of output force to input force   In

..x

Working on equation (iii), (iv) and (v) the following expression was derived for R/T:
..xi

From where  xii

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And working on equations (Vii), (Viii) and (xi) the following expression was derived for E/T:

.(xiii)

II) VELOCITY RATIO (V.R.)     .xiv

EFFICIENCY The mechanical advantage (M.A.) and the velocity ratio (V.R.) will determine the mechanical efficiency ..xv

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CALCULATIONS
From the geometry of the system the transmission angle and velocity ratio were calculated. Calculations were performed for the full range of the angle , which in the case of this particular ram press was 80 to 0

I) MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE

Given: =0.31 r=0.0245 e=0.05m Sin = (b sin -e)/c Note: at 80   and was calculated from the machine geometry to be 0.108m L=0.275m c=0.8m

TABLE-A-Evaluation of



 

at

different positions of the lever

Lever angle( ) in degrees 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 Sin (m)

14.195 13.3650 12.01 10.18 7.953 5.37 2.54

0.108 0.14732 0.18266 0.2102 0.2513 0.264 0.275

65.8 56.63 47.99 39.82 32.047 24.63 17.46

0.614725 0.7450 0.082260 0.8757 0.915044 0.94514 0.96558

0.168 0.148 0.135 0.114 0.1 0.0524 0.050

TABLE-B-Mechanical advantage (M.A.) =

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Lever angle ( ) 80 0.168 70 0.148 60 0.135 50 0.114 40 0.1 30 0.0524 20 0.050 0.96558 0.94514 0.915044 0.8757 0.082260 0.7450 0.614725

M.A.

3.659 5.033 6.1

8 9.18

18.03

19.31

II) VELOCITY RATIO (V.R.)

Angle V.R.

80 0

70 6.658

60 7.013

50 9.50

40 10.42

30 20.61

20 23.79

III) EFFICICIENCY   

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TABLE-C-machine efficiency at different lever positions M.A. 3.659 5.033 6.1 8 9.18 18.03 19.31 V.R. EFFICIENCY Undefined 76% 87% 84% 88% 87% 81%

0 6.658 7.013 9.50 10.42 20.61 23.79

Therefore the overall efficiency of the machine is equal to the average of the different efficiencies at different positions of the lever  

IV) Force required at the handle

From TABLE-D, the force required at rapture pressure is 53690 N

Therefore the force needed at the handle from the operator is obtained from equation of mechanical advantage  

Hence Force at the handle =53690/19.31 =2782N

This force is too high to be attained from an operator therefore there is need of reconsideration on the design parameters so as to attain an achievable form from an
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operator. This has been done by altering different ratios of which has proven to be a very important ingredient in the increase of mechanical advantage. Therefore the calculations for ratio is very important so as to verify the importance of an offset in the mechanism

OFFSET CALCULATIONS
Below is a table showing the results in the mechanical advantages at different offset ratios TABLE-E-Mechanical advantage due to offset changes Offset ratio 20 20 20 20              

20.3 21 21 21.4

21 22.5 23 22

23 23 23.9 22.7

34 30 25 25

60 50 38 38

126 80 46 45

The results of TABLE-E with the help of equation (x) show that the negative offset ratio of ---0.5 gives a very high value of mechanical advantage. This value decreases as we increase the offset to the positive side Note: negative offset means that the piston and cylinder are arranged below the main journal bearing D (figure2)

Considering the design of a ram press incorporating an offset ratio of -0.5 we obtain the force to be applied on a handle as:

F=53690/126 =426.11N

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This force is achievable by many individuals. Therefore the design which will replace the MIRTDC ram press is recommended to incorporate an offset ratio of -0.5 so as to get rid of the low mechanical advantage

VI) Cylinder thickness (t)

-The cylinder thickness is backed by the following equation: 

-From the experimental values (TABLE-D), the rapture pressure of moringa seeds has been found to be 13.1MN/m^2. -The cylinder will be made of a seamless steel pipe which has a hoop stress of 65MN/m^2

Therefore

2.5mm Considering 1.9 as a factor of safety

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VII) Angle of the tapered end

    

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EXPERIMENTS An experiment was conducted to determine the rapture pressure in T5 of the Malawi polytechnic.

Apparatus 1. Casted cylinder 2. Grooved base 3. Pressing machine 4. Circular disk 5. Raw moringa seeds 6. White plain paper 7. Supporting bars

Figure 3

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figure 4
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Figure 5

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TABLE-D- range of pressure values from rapture pressure maximum

Pressed moringa

Tons on 92.075mm diameter ram Tons on 72mm diameter ram Area of the circular plate(m^2)

7.5

8.5

5.5

5.9

6.6

7.819

4.1*10^-3

4.1*10^-3

4.1*10^-3

4.1*10^-3

4.1*10^-3

Force=ma(N)

53690

57526

61362

65197

69033

Pressures

13.1MN/m^2

14MN/m^2

14.9MN/m^2

15.9MN/m^2

16.8MN/m^2

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PROCEDURE The test was done on a batch of 200g of moringa seeds at pressures ranging from 10MN/m^2 to 17MN/m^2 so as to attain the rapture pressure of the seed cells. This range was chosen upon knowledge of the other people s experimental results. With the gradual increase on the pressure, oil on an A-4 paper which was put under the base plate started to show out at the pressure of 13mn/m^2 which was correlated with the 7 tons on the indicator gauge. The 7 tons was a result based on the machine press ram 92.075which was the correlated again to the circular plate of 72mm which was used to press the seed. RESULTS AND COMPARISON The experiment showed that maximum pressure is 16.8MN/M^2 which is contrary to the maximum pressure (13.6 MN/m^2) found by Carl Bielenberg, an engineer who has worked effectively for the third world rural developments. The same was the case to the maximum pressure (14.3 MN/m^2) obtained by Allesandra Maria Sabelli, a former student in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts institute of technology.

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Findings

A search on the ram press, moringa properties and jatropha properties has yielded a number of findings of which most of them are similar as listed below:

I) RESULTS ON EXTRACTION TEMPERATURE

Extraction temperature yields

Room temperature 5.5%

preheated 7%

II) NATURE OF THE SEEDS

Nature of seeds Yield per circle

Shelled 5.4%

unshelled 5%

1-1 mixture 6.1%

III) NUTRITIONAL VALUES FOR MORINGA Per 100 grams of oil edible portion Water (%) Vitamin c (mg) Protein(g) Vitamin B (mg) Fibber(g) Potassium(mg) Minerals(g) pods 86.9 120 2.5 423 4.8 259 2 Leaves powder 7.5 17.3 271 19.2 1324 -

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IV) PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF JATROPHA OIL

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CONCLUSSION AND RECCOMMENDATIONS This project is step toward adapting existing technology to extraction of oil specifically from moringa and jatropha seeds. Upon a critical assessment of the project on problem statement, literature review, product specifications, possible concepts, design analysis and findings, it is really worth to carry out the project as proposed by the MIRTDC. The fulfilment of the project would help Malawi as whole in a number of areas including energy sector, pharmaceutical applications, laundry application, and water purification management just to mention a few. The offset concept which has been detailed herein for the improvement of the MIRTDC ram press offers a good design in the extraction of moringa and jatropha oil. The improved design has increased the mechanical advantage, a property lacking in the MIRTDC design.

On this design of an improved ram press for oil extraction from moringa and jatropha, a number of recommendations have been raised so as to improve the oil extraction efficiency. Below are some in bullets: y y y y y y Spindle pressing is considerably fair in its oil output as compared to the ram press as compared to the ram hence use of motorized expellers is highly recommended for their efficiency and independence of human energy chemical extraction is much simpler and attached to high oil outputs hence recommended pre-heated seeds have resulted in a high output of oil in the extraction process hence recommended on moringa and jatropha mixture of hurled and un-hurled has also given a better output from the seeds hence encouraged for extraction as well government investment on the two seeds by encouraging , supporting and processing moringa and jatropha would make a great milestone in attaining the sweet fruits of moringa and jatropha products

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] [2] Http//:www.patentsearch.com Ken Hurst, engineering design principles , 1999, Arnold publishers.

[3] Ashby M.F. and Jones D.R.H, engineering materials , 2nd edition, Heinemann. [4] Schlenker, B.R, introduction to material science , SI edition, 1986, jacaranda press. [5] O. Ostrowsky, engineering drawing for technicians , volume 1, 1987, Arnold publishers [6] Alger A.J problems in engineering design , Mc Graw-Hill publishers. [7] Hearn E.J mechanics of materials , volume1, 1997, third edition, scotprint. [8] H.F. Mbeza, et. al. Bunda college of agriculture, Lilongwe, Malawi. Optimization of oil extraction from moringa Oilefera and jatropha curcus using ram and spindle presses :http://www.jatropha.de/malawi/Agroforestry-conf-paper.htm (15 October, 2003.). [9] Allesandra Maria Sabelli, design of a press for oil extraction from moringa seeds for Haiti , 2004, Massachusetts institute of technology. [10] Ivan A. LOUKANOV and Jacek UZIAK. University of Botswana. Theoretical analysis of an offset single-stroke ram press for sunflower oil extraction ,2002, African journal of science and technology.

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Figure 6

Figure 7

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