Development and testing of Plantain (Musa paradisiaca) chips pulverizing machine

A plantain (Musa Parasidiaca) chips pulverizing machine was developed in the department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Institute of Technology, Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Nigeria. The machine consists of the following components parts: hopper, main frame, rotary hammers/beaters, shaft, screen, suction blower, bearing, cyclone/outlet, electric motor, belt and pulley. The design of the machine was based on the engineering properties of plantain chips and the quantity of the plantain to be pulverized in an hour while making use of locally available materials for the fabrication. The machine was tested for its performance while using a five horse power (5hp) electric motor to power it. The machine has the highest throughput capacity and efficiency of 493 Kg/h and 95 % respectively at a feed rate of 15 Kg/min and machine speed of 3500 rpm while the least capacity and efficiency was observed to be 300 Kg/h and 83 % respectively at a feed rate of 5 Kg/h and machine speed of 2500 rpm. The machine is therefore recommended for adoption by small and medium scale processors. The total cost of the machine is two hundred and twenty-one thousand seven hundred naira only (₦221,700).