Development and Evaluation of a Dual-Powered Cassava Peeling and Washing Machine

Cassava is abundantly available in most farms across the country, and it can be readily employed to meet the nation’s vast need for food if appropriate machinery is in place. Therefore, this project developed a vertical stand cassava peeling and washing machine that could be powered electrically or manually using locally sourced materials. This was actualised through comprehensive engineering design fabrication and assembly. The machine was tested and performed satisfactorily in peeling and washing any size and shape of cassava tubers. Performance evaluation was carried out using 5, 10 and 15 tubers, with varying volumes of water from 15 to 50 litres and operating speeds of 360, 380 and 420 rpm. The peeling and washing efficiency of the machine depends on the number of cassava tubers, the volume of water in the peeling and washing chamber, and the speed of the machine when electrically powered. However, the peeling and washing efficiency of the machine only depends on the number of cassava tubers and the volume of water in the peeling and washing chamber when manually powered. The machine performed optimally when loaded with 15 tubers of cassava and 50 litres of water when electrically operated at 480 rpm. The highest peeling efficiency of 87% was obtained when loaded with 15 tubers and operated at a speed of 420 rpm. A throughput of 160 kg/hr was achieved at full capacity when powered electrically.