A study on the use of renewable energy for coconut dehusking

Abstract

A solar photovoltaic (PV) coconut dehusking machine may become one important application of renewable energy especially in rural areas like in Sarawak. It will not only enhance the socio-economy in such areas but also indirectly reduce the risk of injuries from the process of dehusking coconuts manually. Thus the purpose of the study is to simulate the performance of the PV coconut dehusking machine by circuit modeling in Simulink and PVsyst software. Simulation results showed that it could match the rpm and torque required in the dry coconut shear test. Furthermore, when implemented, such a PV-powered machine is expected to offer better cost of ownership in the long term when compared to a dehusking machine that runs on fossil fuel based on the PVsyst software analysis.