DESIGN, FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF BATCH-TYPE CACAO

(Theobroma cacao L.) OIL EXPELLER MACHINE

CONCEPT/ DESCRIPTION OF WORK

Cocoa-based products like cacao oil is a valuable by-product of the cocoa. It is an important
ingredient in chocolate, confectionery, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry. However, due to the
lack of locally made machine for oil extraction, this value adding activity was failed to do.
This study will address the problem in the production of cacao oil. Availability of postharvest
machine such like cocoa oil expeller will improve the productivity and efficiency in the value chain
of cacao processing. The study aims to design and fabricate a cacao oil expeller that suitable for local
cacao production. The method that will be employed for the extraction of oil is a hydraulic piston-
press principle, same principle implied in PAES-234 (Multi-crop Juice Extractor) which extract
through compression. The machine will use hydraulic two-way valve (sliding-spool type) which
generally control the direction of fluid flow in the hydraulic ram. The hydraulic piston downward
movement will be intended for pressing action and vice versa. The cacao nibs will be put manually
inside the muslin cloth and will be placed inside the extracting chamber. The proposed design will be
having a movable cylindrical extracting chamber for loading and unloading process of cacao nibs
and cake. The outlet for the oil extracted will be placed under the extracting chamber imbedded with
filter cloth to remove oil impurities. In accordance, pressure gauge and pressure switch/control will
be installed in the machine in order to monitor the pressure exerted by the hydraulic ram and to
automatically stop the pressing action when the required pressure exerted is attained. To make the
design simple and hygienic, the materials to be used are non-corrosive and food grade materials as a
standard for food processing. Pressure applied and pressing time are the parameters that will be
monitored and evaluated during the testing in order to achieve optimum oil extraction.
DESIGN, FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF AN ONION (Allium cepa
L.) TOPPING MACHINE

CONCEPT/ DESCRIPTION OF WORK

Onion also known as “sibuyas” in the Philippines is a high value crops which are mainly
grown for its bulbs. Onion production has become one of the main cash income source of the
Filipino farmers due to the great demand in the market. However, post- harvest operation like
topping is one of the problems encountered by the onion farmers due to the drudgery of work and
lack of labor supply.

This study will address the drudgery in onion leaves removal. It aims to design and fabricate
an onion topping machine that is suitable for local onion production in the Philippines. The method
that will be employed for onion topping is excising method where leaves will be cut into its desired
length acceptable in the market. Combination of electric motor, belts and pulleys will be use to
operate the machine. Circular cutting blades will be used as excising material in the study. The
machine will installed two (2) pcs of cutting blades and belt conveyors on both end sides, opposite to
each other. Harvested onions will be manually placed in the belt conveyor perpendicular to the
cutting blades to remove leaves from onion bulbs. Adjustable onion guide will also be installed to
become suitable for different onion bulb sizes. Onion bulbs will be fell inside the perforated
oscillating conveyor which is located between the two (2) circular cutting blades. This conveyor
helps to remove impurities at the same time it will ease the collection of onion bulbs.
 DESIGN, FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SINGLE BED GINGER
(Zingiber officinale R.) HARVESTER

CONCEPT/ DESCRIPTION OF WORK

Ginger which is popularly known in the Philippines as “luya”, “luy-a”, and “kasabi” is an
important spice crop.
The production of ginger in the Philippines is currently increasing. According to the Bureau
of Agricultural Statistics in 2017, there are 3,805 hectares of area plantation with a total production
of 26,623 tons of ginger in the Philippines.
However, harvesting operation is one of the major challenge encountered by the farmers due
to its laborious, tedious and time consuming process. Traditionally, ginger are harvested manually by
digging each hill with a spading fork or a cutlass, pull the entire plant, shake off the soil and lay on
the top of the bed. Through this study the current problem of farmers on manual digging of ginger
rhizomes during harvesting will be given solution by developing a mechanical ginger harvester to dig
the ginger rhizomes from the plat bed instead of manual digging. The machine will be self-propelled
and operated by a gasoline engine. Oscillating knife and rail conveyor will be used for harvesting
operation. Oscillating knife serves as digging mechanism which penetrates the soil at a certain angle
and depth while rail conveyor will be used to sieve the soil sweep from the bed.