Journal of
Engineering and Technology Research

  • Abbreviation: J. Eng. Technol. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9790
  • DOI: 10.5897/JETR
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 197

Article in Press

Design, Fabrication, and Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Crop Milk Extracting Machine.

Benedict Iorzer Labe,Idris Ademola Adeleye

  •  Received: 05 October 2021
  •  Accepted: 26 November 2021
Many small-scale processors produce vegetable milk to meet consumer needs. However, these processors are mostly limited in their production capacity because the unit operations employed are rudimentary, unmechanized, stressful, time-consuming, and prone to contamination. This paper reports the development of a multi-crop milk extractor. The performance of the extractor was evaluated using Soymilk and tiger nut milk. The performance indicators considered were machine grind & strain rate (GSR), grind and strain capacity (GSC), and grind and strain efficiency (GSE). The GSR was 10.1g/s and 13.57g/s on Soybean and tiger nut, respectively, compared to the traditional method with a GSR of 7.2 g/s and 9.6 g/s; GSC was 18.91l/h and 24.94l/h on Soybean and tiger nut, respectively, as compared with 13.7l/h and 17.95l/h for the traditional method of extraction. The GSE of the multi-crop machine was 89.8% and 85.86% for both soymilk and tiger nut milk, respectively. The straining efficiencies were 79.72% and 87.14% for Soybean and tiger nut, respectively. In addition, the machine motor's speed (at 900rpm, 1440 rpm, and 1840rpm) showed a significant interaction with GST for both Soymilks (p<0.05) and tiger nut milk (P< 0.05) extraction; but showed no significant interaction (P > 0.05) with the volume of milk produced for both soymilk and tiger nut milk. Thus, the machine is simple to operate, maintain, and recommended for local food processors, including micro, small, and medium-scale processing industries.

Keywords: Milk extractor, Soymilk, Tiger nut milk, Vegetable milk, Tiger nut