Design and Construction of a Small Scale Sugarcane Juice Extractor

Abstract

The production of sugarcane is increasing in Nigeria nowadays. Juice extracted from sugarcane can be used extensively in manufacturing brown sugar, industrial sugar and bioethanol fuel through the process of fermentation; hence, the need to develop a machine that can extract juice from sugarcane effectively. This work involves the design, fabrication and performance evaluation of sugarcane juice extractor. The machine was designed to extract juice from sugarcane at small scale level suitable for small and medium scale sugarcane processors. The prototype machine was designed, fabricated and assembled in the Department of Agricultural and Bio-resources Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The machine consists of rollers, gears, cane guide, juice collector, frame, and prime mover. The developed machine was evaluated using koma variety of cane and obtained an output capacity of 148.2 kg/h and extraction efficiency of 67.44%, respectively at a speed of 30 rpm. The production cost stood at N 90,000 which is affordable and therefore recommended for small scale processors.