Design and Construction of Gari Frying Machine
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
The main objective of this project is to design and construct a functional and cheap batch process gari frying machine
CONDITIONS NECESSARY
To achieve the above objectives, the following conditions must be met:
- Adequate agitation and processing in order to achieve uniform heat circulation.
- Ensure that the final product is cooked and dehydrated
- Avoidance of caking of the cassava mash.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Gari is creamy-white, granular flour with a slightly sour taste made from fermented, gelatinized fresh cassava tubers(sanni,etal.,2006). It is the most developed and storable commodity from cassava and is widely consumed in Nigeria, Brazil as well as in most countries of West African coast. Nigeria, with an estimated population of 140 million people, a land mass of approximately 93,000 square kilometers and a vast mineral and agricultural resource, Nigeria has substantial economic potential in its agricultural sector (Ajao, et al.,).
However, despite the potential of the agricultural sector in creating employment, being a source of income and boosting the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic product) the sector is still not fully exploited. The sector’s importance has fluctuated with the rise and fall in oil revenue. Over the past decade, the agricultural sector has remained dormant, while the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has declined over this period of time (Simon, 2011).
Numerous efforts at the political level have been made to increase the agricultural sectors contribution to economic growth, but there has been no significant impact on employment creation or improvement in rural income and infrastructure.
This is due to the fact that substantial growth in agriculture has been handicapped by lack of adequate machineries and equipment for agricultural production, processing and storage. Various programs e.g.FAO, RAIDSetc. have been designed to achieve sustainable agricultural growth, they have mainly focused largely on increasing farm productivity through the maximization of agricultural production, rather than processing and storage.
Through the efforts by various agricultural research institutes, technologies for transforming small holder agriculture have been developed for production through post-harvest, but adoption of these remains low (IITA, 2005).
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS DEVELOPMENTS IN GARI FRYING MACHINES
Gari frying (Garification) is a complex process; mere stirring of the pulverized and sifted mash in a vessel over a fire would yield a product which, though resemblinggari visually, is not in fact gari (Odigboh and Ahmed, 1982).
During the gari frying operation, the moisture content reduces and most of the small lumps developed are broken down by constant pressing and agitation, the heat is then increased in order to further cook and dehydrate the product. This product is still hot and a little dampat the end of the frying operation. It is then left to cool and dry in a cool dry shade until the moisture content is reduced to 10-12% (Gbasouzor et al, 2012).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY
This charcoal fired electric gari frying machine is a batch process machine. The sieved cassava grit is introduced into the frying chamber or pan. The paddle turns the grit in rotary motion using the electric motor. A blower is used in blowing the charcoal, in order for it to supply heat to the frying chamber quickly. The smoke generated from the burning of the charcoal, is disposed into the atmosphere, through an exhaust pipe/chimney. The operator controls temperature of the frying process through the control panel. The fried gari discharges through the outlet and another batch is introduced. The machine is made up of electric motor, rotating shaft and paddle, frying chamber/pan, charcoal chamber, fiber glass, control panel, exhaust pipe/ chimney, ash collection chamber, blower and frame support.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERATION
The following points should be noted during frying:
- Regulation of heat input with time during frying to avoid caking.
- Adequate agitation and pressing to break lumps formed.
- Ensure that the final product is cooked and dehydrated.
- To make sure that heat is uniformly distributed.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
RESULTS
The cassava mash used in testing this machine was collected and processed at Oye-Emene, Enugu. Other experiment and tests were carried out in the Department of Agricultural and Bio-process Engineering laboratory. Samples of cassava mash were tested at different moisture content. The moisture content was determined using gravimetric method, by placing the grit sample in the oven and heating it at 1100c, for 8 hours (ASAE, 1990).
Table4.1:Samples of cassava mash at 40% moisture content.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
CONCLUSION
Frying is a very sensitive unit in processing of cassava into gari. The best product is obtained from the village technique. Based on that, this machine followed the principles and techniques of village method. It was discovered that frying depends on factors such as temperature (heat), moisture content of the mash, and turning of the cassava mash. The tests performed on this machine proved its standard in terms of producing good quality and light efficiency.
The importance of gari as a major source of human food cannot be over-emphasized. It supplies about 70% of the daily calorie of over 50 million people in the world (Agbetoye, 1999). A machine suitable for the frying of sieved cassava mash into gari was designed and fabricated. This machine was aimed at improving on the traditionalmethods of frying cassava mash. The gari frying machine using charcoal is therefore considered appropriate for small and medium sealedfarmers that may want to go intogari production.
Gari frying is not a straight forward frying operation, but it needs a good understanding of the factors that affect the quality of the final product.
REFERENCES
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- Egba, A.J., 1987 – ( Design and construction of gari fryers for local use. In BScproject report, Agricultural Engineering Department.
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- GbasouzorA.I., MaduabumA.I.V., Proceedings of the international Multi-conference of Engineers and computerscientists 2012 vol II IMECS 2012, March 14-16, 2012, Hong kong
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