Design and Development of Integrated Melon Processing Machine

An integrated machine comprising electric motors, hopper, shelling, separating and pressing/grinding units for processing melon seed to either melon kernel, melon flour or melon oil was developed. This machine which was fabricated using locally sourced standard materials eliminated the drudgery in the loading and discharging of intermediate materials among stand-alone machines for melon shelling, melon shell and kernel separation, melon grinding and melon oil extraction. Performance Analysis of this machine indicated that it performed best at 9.7% melon seed moisture content, press temperature of 100 o C, blow-dryer heat rating of 1500W and shelling, conveyor, blower speeds of 950 rpm, 24 rpm and 1200 rpm respectively. Its melon kernel, flour and oil extraction capacities are 94.4kg/hr, 10.42kg/hr and 4.67kg/hr respectively while 93%. 89.3 % and 91.5% constitute the respective melon seed shelling, kernel/shell separation and oil extraction efficiencies of the integrated machine. Adoption of this innovation is recommended because it reduced seed breakage during shelling, improved hygiene (as human contact with the product during processing is reduced) and also energy saving