Determination of voidage of palm nuts in a vessel

Inaccurate estimation of nuts volume in a hopper may likely influence the design of some components of palm nut processing system such as shaft, rotor, electric motor power, hopper supporting rods, etc. In an effort to address this challenge the voids/ spaces were considered as inherent in palm nuts when stored in a vessel. In this study, 5 kg of dried and ready to crack mixed varieties of palm nuts were grouped based on their minor diameter (d1) as small size:d1 < 13.00 mm; medium size:13.00 ≤ d1 < 17.00 mm and large size: d1 ≥ 17.00 mm for each size range, nuts were randomly selected and each range placed into different 100 ml beaker. Toluene was poured into each of the beaker until the nuts at the top were tipped covered. The volume of toluene (Vtoluene) used in filling to the tip of the top nuts was quantified as void / space unoccupied by the nuts. The experiment was repeated using 150, 200, 250 and 300 ml beaker respectively. Each experiment was carried out in duplicate and their mean and standard deviation computed. Result showed that voidage of palm nut in a processing vessel was 45 ± 4%. This designates that the actual volume of palm nuts occupied in a processing vessel such as hopper would likely be 55% of its container’s volume. Hence, could be used in the design of storage facilities such as silo, bin, etc.