ABSTRACT

This work centers on the design, development and performance evaluation of a juice extractor developed using locally-available materials. The machine is designed so that it can be moved from one place to another simply by lifting it. The size makes it suitable for household use. The uniqueness of the machine is in its ease to assemble and disassemble. The machine is made up majorly of two units: Power end and Extraction unit. The power end is where the motor which transmits power to the shaft is located. The auger shaft which is the main component of the extraction unit coveys the fruits and squeezes it against the walls of the barrel which has a cone shaped end. The motor transmits enough power to masticate whatever fruit that is fed in through the feeding hopper and relatively rotates at a slow speed so as to achieve proper squeezing. When tested with fresh orange, pineapple and water melon fmits, results show that the average juice yield for orange, pineapple and water melon were respectively 76.5%, 82.0% and 9 1.9%; juice extraction efficiencies were respectively 91.9%, 94.5% and 96.7%; and juice extraction losses were respectively 6.3%, 6.9% and 4.2% for orange, pineapple and water melon fruits. Powered by a lhp electric motor, the machine has a capacity to process 281itres/hr of oranges, 301itres/hr of pineapples and 3 llitres/hr of water melon and the machine costs about 64,000, hence it is affordable for small-scale, hospitals, hotels, companies and household use.