ABSTRACT

This research centers on the design, development and performance evaluation of a motorized juice extractor fabricated using locally-available materials. The machine is made essentially of two basic compartments: the chopping compartment and the juice extracting compartment. Other components include feeding hoppers, auger conveyor housed in a cylindrical barrel, juice sieve, juice collector, waste outlet, transmission belt, main frame, pulleys and bearings. In operation, fruits introduced into the chopping compartment via the first hopper are chopped/sliced and passed into the extracting compartment via a second hopper. The auger conveys, crushes, presses and squeezes the fruits to extract the juice. The juice extracted is filtered through the juice sieve into juice collector while the residual waste is discharged through waste outlet. When tested for freshly harvested pineapple, results show that the average juice yield for pineapple is 83 %; juice extraction efficiency is 96%, and juice extraction losses 3.9 %, at optimum machine speed of 335 rpm for pineapple. Powered by a 2hp electric motor, the machine has a capacity to process 60litres/hr of pineapples and the machine costs of about N89,600, hence it is affordable for small-scale farmers.