Design, Fabrication and Performance Evaluation of a Cashew Nut Roasting Machine

Abstract

The cashew nut roasting machine was design, fabricated and tested in Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi. The cashew nut roasting machine consist of the roasting drum, a paddle attached to a shaft which rotates and stir the cashew nuts constantly inside the drum. A charcoal box incorporated with a blower forms the heating chamber was beneath the roasting drum which uses charcoal as the source of heat for roasting the cashew nuts. The shaft was directly driven by the gear reduction electric motor with the help of a belt. An outlet was made for the discharge of the roasted nuts. The materials for machine production were source locally. The various components were carefully assembled and the total cost of the machine production amounted to sixty four thousand naira only (N64, 000.00). The machine was tested with cashew nuts. The machine roasting capacity was found to be 13.8kg/h, functional efficiency was 68% and effective roasting time was 8.13 minutes. Efficient and improved cashew nut roasting can be achieved with this machine, for a small scale production process.