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Power-Driven Melon Seed Shelling Machine
Power-Driven Melon Seed Shelling Machine
The shelling process of melon seeds is usually manual and laborious.melon seed shelling machine This is one of the constraints hindering the large scale production of melon seed kernels. Several studies have been carried out to develop a mechanized method of shelling melon seeds and to determine the optimum motor speed and seed moisture content for effective dehulling. However, most of these machines are not well tested to meet the demand of the industry and are still in the research stage.
The aim of this research work is to design, construct and test a power-driven melon seed shelling machine that can efficiently and continuously shell conditioned melon seeds and separate the seed cotyledons from their shells. It is designed to take advantage of the engine exhaust heat to mildly dry melon seeds before they are shelled and separated. The fabricated machine is also capable of using the kinetic energy generated by the spinning disc to separate the cotyledons from the shells.
This machine has four units which include a feed hopper, shelling unit, a delivery chute and a power system. The hopper is made up of four welded mild steel metal sheets slanting to the smaller opening and it has an inlet throat that connects with the shelling chamber. The hopper is shaped like a square based frustum with a maximum capacity of 250 mm upper and 70 mm lower square – an angle of repose was considered in the inclination of the hopper so that the seeds do not pipe out.
The melon seeds that are not fully shelled move down the delivery chute which is connected with a spout at the top of the hopper for easy flow. The seeds are then fed into the shelling chamber through a hole at the inlet point of the spout. The unshelled melon seeds are then collided with the rough body of the shelling drum (lined with rod weldments) which causes them to crack and lose their hulls and eventually free the cotyledons from the coat. The partially shelled melon seeds and the chaffs then discharge from the spout into a collection bin.
The fabricated melon seed shelling machine is powered by a single phase 1hp 2900rpm electric motor. The shelling efficiency of the machine increases with increase in the speed of rotation of the rotor and in the optimum prevailing seed moisture content. This machine is an efficient way of mechanizing the manual shelling of melon seeds and it can greatly improve the productivity of melon seed processing in Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that erratic power supply is common in most developing nations and it would be more beneficial to use this machine than to depend on manual labour for the shelling of melon seeds. This will also lead to reduced cost and improved yield of the melon seeds and kernels. In addition to this, the machine can be used in other horticultural crops such as tomatoes, pepper and beans as it is highly adaptable to different conditions.
Tags:hulled sunflower seed machine | sunflower seed decorticating machine
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