Design and development of a paddle operated groundnut decorticator for small-scale farmers

Abstract

Shelling peanuts is a time-consuming and tedious task. This process provides less power, requires more effort from the user, and ultimately uses more energy. Therefore, the idea was developed to create a machine that requires less labor and less energy consumption. Performance evaluation of a pedal-operated peanut coring machine was evaluated using various treatment combinations of clearance and moisture content. The difference in the distance between the rotating drum and the friction plate, namely H.8 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm, and the water content of peanut pods is different. The peeling capacity, production capacity, peeling efficiency, unpeeled pod and kernel breakage were 92. 41 kg/h, 51.95 kg grains/h, 86. 37%, 13. 62%, and 15. 65%, respectively, at the best optimum values. The distance and moisture content combinations of 10 mm and 6. 53% were found, respectively. The total unit cost of developing a pedal-operated groundnut picker was ₹14,000 and the operating cost including fixed and variable costs was ₹90. 43/hour. The cost of shelling 1 kg of groundnut pods was estimated to be 0. 97 ₹. The developed pedal-operated groundnut coring machine is reliable and satisfactory for selected varieties of groundnuts.