Vitalis-Mary Maduka Omeche

Design and construction of a palm Kernel oil extraction machine Vitalis-Mary Maduka Omeche

Palm kernel oil is an important element of African cookery and rural industry. The traditional method of oil extraction currently used in rural area is strenuous, time consuming and inefficient. To mechanize the oil extraction process, a screw press implement for the multi-function platform diesel engine was designed and fabricated. This device will be capable for processing in excess of 100kg/hr of palm kernels, and expel kernel cake with no greater than 15% oil content for sub-Sahara region in Africa. In this design, consideration of operators' safety, hygiene and local maintenance were built-in into the process. The machine is a simple machine made up of a 2.43-Killo Watts diesel engine, a main shaft/ worm arrangement and a cage and bars compartment. All these are mounted on a rectangular main frame solidly supported by three iron blocks. On top of the machine is a hopper through which the Palm Kernel nuts are fed intothe machine. The machine was designed and fabricated using mathematical and physics applications when necessary. It was evaluated for performance and the results obtained showed that the mechanical method is more efficient than the traditional method.