Design and performance evaluation of centrifugal cashew nut sheller for improving the whole kernel recovery

Cashew nut centrifugal shelling machine was designed and constructed. Shelling efficiency and whole kernel recovery were evaluated for hot-oil roasted nuts on the machine. The design was based on the principle of the optimum kinetic energy that could break the cashew nut shell. The deformation energy used was 4.8763 J. The angular velocity of the impeller calculatec! from the energy was 376.12 r s·1 which was equal 3592 r min-1• The motor power used was more than 9 17.34 W, the minimum power requirement. The prototype of cashew nut sheller was constructed and evljluated for its shelling efficiency (SE) and whole kernel recovery (WKR) using three levels of moisture content (7.00% w.b., 8.46% w.b. and 9.83% w.b.), three levels ofirnpeller speeds and three grades (large, medium and small) of nut sizes. The results showed that the moisture content had a significant effect (at P