Performance Evaluation of a Small-Scale Sugarcane Juice Extracting Machine

The study was aimed at evaluating the machine performance of a fabricated prototype of a sugarcane juice extractor. The study was conducted in the Department of Agricultural and Bio-resources engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in May 2018. The machine was evaluated using two varieties of cane; Koma (saccharumbarberi) and Kantoma (saccharumofficinarum) in a factorial experiment with five (5) levels of crushing roller speeds (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 rpm) and three levels of feed rates: one (1) cane stalk, two (2) cane stalks and three (3) cane stalks arranged in 2x5x3 in completely randomized design. Average values of measured parameters obtained from the five crushing speeds were used in plotting graphs in order to establish the relationships that exist between the measured parameters and speed of operation. Data collected for output capacity and extraction efficiency were analyzed using a statistical analysis software (SAS version 9.0). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) were computed at 1 and 5 % levels of significance. The results of performance evaluation showed that the best output capacities of 152.4 and 154.2 kg/hr and the best efficiencies of 72.1 and 63.4% were obtained at the speed of 30 rpm and feed rate of one (1) cane stalk for koma and kantoma varieties respectively. The extraction losses of 17.8 and 21.5% were also recorded at the speed of 60 rpm for the two varieties respectively.