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APPLICATION OF COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION TO THE SEPARATION OF COCOA HUSK–BEANS MIXTURE
Author(s) -
OWOLARAFE O.K.,
OGUNSINA B.S.,
GBADAMOSI A.S.,
FABUNMI O.O.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of food process engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1745-4530
pISSN - 0145-8876
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4530.2007.00124.x
Subject(s) - husk , rotational speed , materials science , plane (geometry) , mathematics , separation (statistics) , coefficient of friction , composite material , point of delivery , statistics , mechanical engineering , geometry , horticulture , botany , engineering , biology
Investigation was carried out on the application of coefficient of friction in the separation of cocoa beans–husk mixture. An inclined plane at angles 20, 25 and 35 ° rotating at different speeds (215, 250 and 260 rpm) and receiving the mixture at heights 30, 60 and 90 mm, was used for the study. The result indicates that within the range of factors considered, the separation efficiency of the beans from the mixture increases with increase in speed of rotation and height of fall, while it decreases with increase in angle of inclination. Statistical analysis shows that the effects of each of the factors and that of their interaction are significant at 99%. The best separation efficiency (99%) was observed at a speed of 250 rpm, an angle of inclination of 25 ° and a height fall of 90 mm.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Separation of cocoa beans from the husks has been a serious problem in cocoa processing. Handpicking is still being used to separate the mixture of cocoa beans–husk even with the mechanical pod breaker available. This therefore constitutes a tedious operation. An inclined plane mechanism tested for the separation of the mixture in this study can be incorporated into the design of the cocoa pod processor to reduce the drudgery involved in cocoa processing and improve the quality of the product.