DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF SMALL-SCALE BARREL TYPE

WASHING MACHINE FOR WHITE POTATO (Solanum tuberosum)

TRIZZA NICA P. VICMUDO

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE

AGRICULTURAL AND BIO-SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED TECHNOLOGY
BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL AND BIO-SYSTEMS

ENGINEERING

DECEMBER, 2021
 The thesis attached hereto, entitled “DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE

EVALUATION OF SPRINKLER CHEMIGATION SYSTEM WITH

AUTOMATIC INJECTOR FOR EGGPLANT (Solanum melongena)” prepared and

submitted by TRIZZA NICA PERANIA VICMUDO in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of BACHELORS OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL

AND BIO-SYSTEMS ENGINEERING, is herby accepted.

NAME OF CHAIR OF COMMITEE

Chair
Department of Agricultural and Bio-Systems Engineering

Date Signed

NAME OF PANEL
ISABEL SAMANTHA C. BELONIO Member
Adviser Guidance Committee
Guidance Committee
Date Signed
Date Signed

ALFREDO L. TALUBAN JR.

NAME OF PANEL Dean
Member Institute of Engineering and Applied
Guidance Committee Technology

Date Signed Date Signed

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL SHEET ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1

Rationale 1

Objectives of the Study 2

Scope and Limitation of the Study 2

Definition of Terms 3

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4

Washing 4

Potato Production in the Philippines 4

Barrel Type Washer 6

Manual Method and Existing Designs 7

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY 11

Concept Flowchart 11

Planning 12

Designing 12

Approval 12
 Fabrication 12

Testing 13

Data Gathering and Analysis 13

Design Considerations 13

Functional Requirements 13

Economic Considerations 14

Design and Fabrication 16

Principle of Operation 17

Performance Testing 17

Estimation of Machine Efficiency 18

Estimation of Input Capacity 19

Estimation of Washing Capacity 19

Estimation of Washing Efficiency 20

Economic Analysis

REFERENCES

12
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Rationale

Poor post-harvest handling like washing of potato crops before transferring to

market results from income losses. According to PhilMech study, it is estimated that

losses from upland crops ranges from 15-30%. The process of washing for harvested

potato crops in small farms is carried out usually in manual operation, that can be

laborious, time-consuming, and expensive process (Meshram and Ikhar, 2018). It is a

backbreaking job that demand more labor but the washing efficiency is relatively low do

to do soil coating (Murray and Judy, 1996).

Kenghe & Magar (2015) designed, developed and tested the small-scale

mechanical fruit and vegetable washer that improved the crops quality, time and labor

savings, and enhanced the speed and efficiency of sample handling using a washing tray

iron netting with supported frames. Even though this machine helps to utilize the

different aspects that mentioned above, the main frame of the washer is made in

rectangular shape which is kept at a rigid platform which make the cleaning less efficient

and iron netting tray is not ideal for batch type washing of potato crops considering they

used water bath process. In addition, their design project lacks conveniency in terms of

running the power motor and easy relocation of the machine.

Due to the problems encountered in manual washing operation, mechanized

washer was studied for different root crops that is suitable for small farms and in medium

production units (Shaban et. al., 2020). In addition, root crops washer with a barrel type
rotating drum and a pressurized water stream was beneficial in terms of washing and

bruising efficiency to improve the quality of crops (El-Ghobashy et. al., 2020). This type

of washer proved to be more efficient than the traditional approach used saving the cost

of the labor and time (Ganesh et. al., 2018), the production cost which was less about 2.8

times than manual washing process (Gawad et. al., 2020) and the increase in farm

incomes. 

This study will focus only on the design, fabrication, and evaluation of the

improvement of washing potato crops of small-scale farmers in terms of efficiency and

performance of a barrel type potato washing machine.

Introducing affordable potato washer is extremely important for small farmers to

lessen cost constraint and if found efficient, it will contribute to the improvement for

production and processing operations of white potato. Therefore, this project aims to

develop a small scale, movable and affordable washer suitable for farmers for adequate

and not tedious washing of potato crop.

Objectives

The main objective of this study is to design and fabricate a small-scale barrel

type washing machine for white potato (Solanum tuberosum).

Specific Objectives:

1. to design a small-scale barrel type washing machine for white potato

2. to evaluate the performance of the machine in terms of capacity and

efficiency;

3. to determine the cost of using the machine

Scope and Limitation of the Study

 This research focuses on designing, fabricating and evaluating the small-scale

barrel type washing machine. A perforated steel component barrel is used to lessen the

corrosion that might occur with a helical screw blade attached inside to move the potatoes

from the start to finish. The performance of the developed washer can be evaluated based

on the efficiency of washing compared to manual operation.

This project is limited to be used for small-scale farmers and medium production

units, it will focus only on the performance of the machine designed for efficient potato

washing.

Definition of Terms

The following words are hereby defined for an ease of understanding of the study.

Barrel. This refers to a cylindrical container for rotary used.

Pressurized Water. This refers to ability of water to wash potatoes under high pressure.

Perforated Steel. This refers as a form of steel metal which has been punched to create a

pattern of holes.

Economic Viability. This refers to a financial analysis mainly focuses on costs and

benefits of the project.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Washing

Washing is a common postharvest handling operation to remove the soil, dust and

external pathogenic microorganisms from all the root vegetables. Unfortunately, before

transporting into the market, vegetables are hardly washed casing them to have a poor

quality and considerable losses (Amin & Hossain, 2021). Postharvest washing is a vital

unit of operation in the field of food processing, attractiveness of the produces, the

hygienic and safe food (Maffei et. al., 2016). According to Oyeleke et. al. (2014),

washing is a very important in processing as unit of operation for farm produce into

value-added and storable products. Before the consumption or before further processing,

washing of produces is essential to the health of every consumer since it helps to remove

soil, chemical residues, dirt and other impurities that are attached to the produce, which

might cause a serious food poisoning, illnesses and other health hazards (Grandison,

2006).

According to Buchholz et. al. (2011), washing helps to lessen the amount of

potentially hazardous microorganisms, although it has been found that it only reduce the

microbial populations by 90% to 99% dependently in water. Maffei et. (2016) also stated

that the reduction of the microorganisms via washing in terms of safety level cannot be

assured since there’s a limitation on the effectiveness of crop washing in water alone.

Narender et. al. (2018), confirms that it will never be able to completely clean the farm
produce (Olutomilola et. al., 2019) and may affect their quality, appearance, market

values and spoilage.

According to Adegbite et. al. (2018), the washing operation in many parts of the

world is mostly in manual. Magar et. al. (2010) stated that manual washing operation of

produces is very tedious, laborious, time consuming and often characterized as low-level

output. Thus, Adegbite et. al. (2018) added that mechanizing the washing of farm

produce improved the productivity among the farmers, make a higher chance of

marketability, the hygiene and safety of food is assured which are very crucial to healthy

living.

Potato Production in the Philippines

Potatoes scientifically known as Solanum tuberosum L., also known in the

Philippines as patatas. It is a herbaceous annual that grows up to 100 cm tall and produces

a tuber and ranks as the world’s fourth most important food crop, after maize, wheat and

rice since it is rich in starch (Gujrati, 2003), which contains 15-24% (Li, 2012). The

major potato production in the Philippines is mainly in high elevations particularly in

Benguet and Mountain Province with temperature below 21°C which is suitable for the

development of a quality potato tuber (Gonzales, et. al., 2016). According to Philippines

Statistics Authority (2019), white potato had PhP 305,833 net returns amounted per

hectare and a return of investments rate of 164 percent from year 2018.

In the Benguet and some part of Mountain Province, potato is one of the

important high value crops and a major agricultural product. According to Philippine

Statistics Authority, the production of potato in the country reached 116,783 MT in 2016.
The cordillera region remained the highest contributor with 85.6% share or 99,981 MT,

followed by Davao Region with 8.4% or (846 MT and Northern Mindanao with 5.9% or

%,879 MT. Among the Cordillera provinces, Benguet had the biggest hare with 88.8%,

followed by Mountain Province with 11.1% since potato in the Philippines usually

planted in upland municipalities. The regional production decreased by 1.8% from the

previous year’s (2015) 101,829 MT due to the occurrence of Typhoon Lawin and

Typhoon Karen. Yet the annual demand for potato in the country is about 745,000 MT

(The PhilStar, 2017) for consumer and industrial applications (Wustman et. al., 2010).

Barrel Type Washer

This type of washer consists of a rotating barrel/drum inside which the crops are

being washed under constant supply of a pressurized water stream. Washers of this type

can conveniently serve in the production operation lines that process the farm produce

into value-added, easy for transporting and reservable products (Olutomilola, 2021).

Small farmers can save labor and time by make use of mechanical washers for

their produce. According to ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture Program, it is depends on

the types of the crops that will be washed to determine the right type of mechanical

washer. Barrel washers are ideal for many type of root crops such as potatoes, parsnips,

carrots, beets, rutabagas, celeriac and sunchokes. However, unlike the wet-brush washer

that small farms are commonly using for their wash stations due to the number of crops

lining up, barrel washers are not applicable for root crops that can be bruised more easily,

such as turnips and winter radishes. This type of washer can be made through different

materials particularly perforated steel. It is working usually by motor-driven, it rotates,

and root crops are rolled through either a water stream or a water bath. Although some

units designed have a final rise sprayer that is located at the outlet of the barrel.

Manual Method and Existing Designs

In the Philippines, specifically in the Cordillera Autonomous Region, all the

practices in the production of white potatoes are carried out by hand and there is no part

of production is mechanized (Wustman, 2010). According to Batara et. al., (2015), the

manual washing of potato tubers takes usually from 0.5 kg/min to 0.7 kg/min or 33

minutes for a person to wash a bag of potato with 20 kg of weight. With that, manual

washing is not suitable for medium and large scale of crop processing (Ogunlowo S, et.

al., 2016).

Nila Onate, Joel Sadol and Julius Devilla (2017) made a batch-type mechanical

root crops washer shown in Figure 1 that can be used for small, medium and large food

processing industries in the region of Bicol. It uses a stainless steel which was formed

into a semi-cylindrical container that served as a water container. The machine uses

different power transmission assembly such as pulley, shaft, pillow block, bearing and

drum assembly which are mounted on the left side of the frame. The rotary cleaning drum

which was made of round bars are wrapped into rubberized hose to give protection in root

crops from bruises and any mechanical damage.

Hossam El-Ghobashy et. al, (2020) developed a small-scale washing machine for

root crops shown in Figure 2 which is also using a rotating drum with a continuous

pressurized water stream for washing. The machine performance was evaluated under

three drum speeds, three different batch loads inside and four different retention times.
The water is pressed from a centrifugal water pump to a galvanized iron pipe inside the

water drum. The power transmission used different changeable sizes of pulleys and V-

shaped belts to transmit the power from the motor to the gear box. While two sprockets

and chain were used to transmit the power available from the gear box to the rotor drum

axis which can prevent slippage.

More designs were made by other countries for different types of potato washing

machine. Figure 3 shows the design of peeling cum washing machine for potato which

comprises of a specially designed peeling drum with protrusions on the surface inside that

rotates and detaches peel from potatoes by abrasion and a spraying unit for washing

designed by Tyagi et. al., (2018). Figure 4 shows the pedal type of root vegetable washer

designed by Ganesh et. al. (2018). A design of a manually operated root crop washer with

optimum operating speed for washing of about 10 to 12 rpm is shown in Figure 5 was

developed by Dawn et al. (2013).

Figure 1. Batch-Type Mechanical Root Crops

Washer/Cleaner (Onate et al., 2017)
Figure 2. Small-Scale Washing Machine for
Root Crops (El-Ghobashy et al., 2017)

Figure 3. Potato Peeling Cum Washing

Machine (Tyagi et al., 2018)
Figure 4. Root Vegetable Washer (Ganesh et
al., 2018)

Figure 5. Manually Operated Root Crop

Washer (Dawn et al., 2013)
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Concept Flowchart

Figure 5 shows the conceptual flowchart of the study. The step-by-step process

consists of different stages such as planning, designing, approval, fabrication, testing,

data gathering and data analysis.

Planning
No

Was the
Designing design
approved?

Yes
Testing Fabrication

Yes No Data
Fine Tuning Glitches?
Gathering

Data
Analysis

Report
Writing

Figure 5. Concept Flowchart

Planning

The state where the information is gathered about the current problems faced by

the agricultural industry and their possible solutions. Washing of white potatoes has been

chosen to be the main focus of the study. The identified problems are made more specific

to come up with a solution which serves as the particular topic, and it is to mechanize the

washing of white potatoes in order to lessen the cost constraints and the reduction of

drudgery in human labor.

Designing

Following the stage of planning is the designing stage, this is where the principles,

the mechanism of the proposed machine and the whole concept was considered. The

concept started with a preliminary design which has evaluated by the researcher’s

adviser, Engr. Isabel Samantha Belonio.

Approval

The preliminary design was presented to the research adviser for prior review.

The next step was taken after revising the suggested information to complete the design.

Fabrication

The researcher started the canvassing for materials and fabrication process in

different machine shops and hardware. Upon finding the applicable shop and materials,

the fabrication of the machine started. To ensure that the design was strictly followed by

the machine fabricator, the fabrication was supervised all throughout the process.

Testing

The fabrication was followed by the testing stage which the machine undergone

the preliminary testing to see if the machine performed its function completely. If some
irregularities found in the machine performance, the machine was subjected to fine tuning

in order to achieve the desired performance. After complying with the performance, the

machine has been put through to the actual field tests to evaluate its mechanical capacity.

Data Gathering and Analysis

The test results were gathered and interpreted. To determine the overall

performance of the machine, the results were assessed and evaluated.

Design Considerations

The fabricated barrel-type washing machine for white potato was designed based

on the following considerations:

Functional Requirements

The barrel-type washing machine for white potato should perform the following

functional requirements:

a. the machine to be fabricated includes power transmission system, conveyor

system, inlet and outlet system, frame and handle as its main parts.

b. the machine should be able to wash the white potato with less damage.

c. the machine should be strong enough to sustain the loads in the barrel.

Economic Considerations

The fabricated machine should meet the following economic considerations:

a. the materials to be used should be locally available.

b. the cost of the machine should be as low as possible for small scale

cooperatives can afford on owning a unit.

Design and Fabrication

The design was prepared using SketchUp 2019, see Figure 6 where the design

was composed of power transmission system, conveyor system, inlet and outlet system,

frame and the handle for machine.

The transmission system (pulley, shaft with screw conveyor and pillow block

bearing) and the main frame structure of the barrel type designed washing machine will

be adapted from the existing design of root crops washer by Onate et al. (2017).

Perforated Screw/Auger
Sheet Metal

Main Frame

Pneumatic
Tire

Figure 6. Barrel-Type Washing Machine

Design
 16” DIA. v-pulley

Drainage Outlet 8” DIA. v-pulley (to engine)

3” DIA. v-pulley (to shaft)

Pneumatic tire
10” DIA.

Figure 7. Left Side Elevation

Shaft

30 cm DIA.
drum cover

95 cm
Engine Mount

Figure 8. Front Side Elevation

Principle of Operation

The barrel-type washing machine for white potato is composed of a water

container made of 25 mm stainless steel which has been formed into a semi-cylindrical

container and is attached to a drainage outlet at the bottom part. The machine was

constructed using angle bars which act as support, the bars are fixed and attached at the

edge of the container. A drainage outlet was placed at the bottom side of the semi-

cylindrical drum to for the water or dirt to be drained after the washing operation.

The barrel where the potatoes will be in placed was made of perforated stainless

steel and was formed also into semi-cylindrical shape that can be detachable from the

water container for cleaning purposes, perforated sheet metal was used to strain the water

and to not soak the potatoes while in washing process. Inside the cylindrical perforated

stainless sheet is the screw conveyor assembly made from stainless steel for more

resistance to corrosion and rust and is subjected from the shaft to convey the potato

continuously while washing. The water container was fixed and attached to the frame

made of angle bars. The power transmission assembly such as the pulley, shaft and pillow

block bearing are mounted at the left side of the frame. The cylindrical perforated

stainless steel has 1 mm round hole and 0.7 mm of thickness to protect the potato from

bruises or any mechanical damage and to strain the water.

There’s an inlet hopper attached to the semi-cylindrical perforated stainless-steel

sheet to allow the operator on putting the kgs of potatoes safely, while on the right side of

the stainless-steel sheet is the outlet hopper which let the potato to slowly unload from the

barrel. The pneumatic tire and roller wheel makes the machine movable and a handle
made from a round bar which is attached to the main frame helps to facilitate the ease of

operations.

Performance Testing

Upon completion of the assemblies, performance testing was conducted. It will be

conducted to determine the estimation of the input capacity, operating speed, volume of

water inside the drum, washing time, loading time, unloading time, weight of cleaned

samples, weight of soil impurities removed, washing efficiency, washing capacity and the

overall machine efficiency.

Estimation of Machine Efficiency

The estimation of the machine efficiency will be determined by computing the

following:

Mr
E ff = x 100 equation 1.
Mb

where:

E ff is the machine efficiency, %

M r is the soil impurities removed from samples, %

M b is the soil impurities present in the samples, %

Soil Impurities Removed from Samples, %

M r= M b −M a equation 2.

where:

M r is the soil impurities removed from samples, %

M b is the soil impurities present in the samples, %

M a is the soil impurities present in the output sample, %

Soil Impurities Present in the Samples (before washing), %

W if
M b=W ii− x 100 equation 3.
W ii

where:

M b is the soil impurities present in the samples, %

W ii is the initial weight of input sample, kg

W if is the final weight of input sample after washing, kg

Soil Impurities Present in the Output Sample, %

W of
M a=W o i− x 100 equation 4.
W oi

where:

M a is the soil impurities present in the samples, %

W o i is the initial weight of output sample, kg

W o f is the final weight of output sample after washing, kg

Estimation of Input Capacity

The input capacity will be computed by dividing the weight of input material to

input time.

Wi
C i= equation 5.
Ti
where:

C i is the input capacity, kg/hr

W i is the weight of input material, kg

T i is the input time, hr

Estimation of Washing Capacity

The washing capacity will be computed by dividing the total weight of material to

the total operating time.

Wo
C w= equation 6.
To

where:

C w is the washing capacity, kg/hr

W o is the total weight of material, kg

T o is the total operating time, hr

Estimation of Washing Efficiency

The washing efficiency will be computed by dividing the weight of potato after

washing by the weight of potato before washing.

WA
E w= x 100 equation 7.
WB

where:

E w is the washing efficiency, %

W A is the weight of potato after washing, kg

W B is the weight of potato before washing, kg

Economic Analysis

The economic analysis of the study only focused on the estimation of the cost of

using the machine and the comparison between the machine and manual operation.

Estimating the cost of using the machine is the fixed cost and operating cost were

summed up.
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