Scholarly works in Agricultural and Environmental Engineering
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/568
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Item Effect of packaging materials on selected quality attributes of cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott) flour(Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, 2022) Aremu, A. K.; Oyefeso, B. O.; Molehin, K.Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott) is an important crop which serves as a staple food for a large number of people in developing nations including Nigeria. Its perishability necessitates immediate processing after harvest to obtain products such as chips, flakes and flour with better storage stability. Proper selection of appropriate packaging materials for cocoyam flour is important to maintain the quality attributes during storage and to extend its shelf life. This study, therefore, examined the influence of packaging materials and storage period on the quality of cocoyam flour. Cocoyam flour was produced from fresh, wholesome cormels. The flour samples were stored in three packaging materials (polyethylene terephthalate [PET] bottles, polyethylene bags and woven polypropylene sacks) for six months under ambient conditions. The flour samples were then analyzed at four-week intervals for proximate composition, pH, colour and sensory analysis using standard methods. The results showed that packaging materials and length of storage significantly affected crude fibre and carbohydrate content of cocoyam flour. The moisture content of the flour packed in woven polypropylene decreased to a larger extent due to its higher water vapour permeability. The type of packaging did not significantly affect the crude fat content of the flour throughout the storage period. The PET bottle performed better in retaining the protein and ash content of the flour. Although significant differences were observed in the pH levels and colour of the cocoyam flour samples after storage in the different packaging materials, the type of packaging material did not affect these physicochemical properties. The sensory properties of the cocoyam flour in three packaging materials were found to be within acceptable limits at the end of storage. All the selected packaging materials performed well in retaining the quality attributes of the cocoyam flour throughout the period of storage.Item Development of a concentric drums peeling machine for cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) cormel(School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), 2022) Aremu, A. K.; Oyefeso, B. O.; Gbolagade, A. T.Cocoyam is cultivated mainly for its edible cormels. In spite of its great potential as a cheap raw material, the processing operations are still largely performed manually. Some of the equipment already developed for mechanizing the postharvest operations require further modifications and performance optimization. This study therefore, aimed at developing and evaluating the performance of a cocoyam cormel peeling machine with a view t reducing the drudgery involved in manual peeling. A cocoyam cormel peeling machine was developed using locally available materials. The machine consists of the main frame, hopper and outlet gates, two abrasive concentric drums (one stationary and the other rotating) and blower. Performance of the machine in terms of capacity, peeling efficiency and peel-cormel weight proportion were evaluated for soaked and unsoaked cormels. The average machine capacities were 188.4 and 188.9 kg/h for soaked and unsoaked cormels, respectively. The peeling efficiencies ranged between 55.5 and 87.5% while the peel-cormel weight proportions ranged between 15.3 and 22.9%. The peeling efficiency was higher for soaked cormels than unsoaked ones. The developed cocoyam cormel peeling machine helped in reducing the drudgery associated with its peeling operation while soaking as a form of pretreatment was recommended before peeling the cormels for better performance.Item Physical Characterisation of Two Varieties of Bambara Groundnut Seeds(Adeleke University, 2022) Aremu, A. K.; Ojo-Ariyo, A. M.; Oyefeso, B. O.Some physical attributes of two selected varieties of Bambara groundnut seeds grown in Nigeria were determined in this study. Standard methods were used to determine the selected properties which include linear dimensions, surface area, mass, volume, density, sphericity, porosity and coefficients of friction of the seeds on plywood, galvanized iron and aluminium surfaces. Length, width and thickness were within the ranges of 13.41-14.40 mm, 12.00-12.89 mm and 11.36- 11.99 mm, respectively for cream variety and 12.54-13.91 mm, 11.16-12.28 mm and 10.51-11.46 mm, respectively for light brown variety. Surface area of the seeds and volume were within the ranges of 507.94-588.45 mm2 and 1077.59-1351.79 mm3, respectively for cream variety, and 443.05-880.63 mm2 and 541.47-1191.18 mm3, respectively for light brown variety. The thousand seed mass ranged from 833.20 to 1116.93 g and 718.97 to 863.83 g for cream and light brown varieties respectively. Bulk density ranged from 0.71 to 0.79 g/cm3 and 0.71 to 0.77 g/cm3 for cream and light brown varieties respectively. The results showed that that the cream variety is larger and heavier than the light brown. Variations in true density and porosity of the seeds were sinusoidal in nature as moisture content increased for both varieties. Frictional coefficients on the three surfaces increased with moisture content. The investigated physical attributes were dependent on the amount of moisture in the seeds. The results from this study are useful in the development of handling and processing equipment for Bambara groundnut seeds.Item Selected mechanical properties of Banbara groundnut seeds under compressive loading(LAUTECH, 2022) Aremu, A. K.; Ojo-Ariyo, A. M.; Oyefeso, B. O.Knowledge of mechanical properties of agricultural materials is useful in the development of equipment for processing and handling them.Selected mechanical propertiesnamely rupture force, maximum deformation at rupture point, hardness and toughness of cream and light brown varieties of Bambara groundnut (BGN) seeds were determined at four moisture levels (5, 15, 25 and 35% dry basis) under compressive loading alongaxial and longitudinal orientations.Rupture force, deformation, hardness and toughness of BGN seedswere within the ranges 45.58-438.55 N, 0.31-5.71 mm,14.61-448.55 Nmm-1 and0.01-1.02J, respectively. Rupture force, deformation and toughnessof the seeds had interplay of increasing and deceasing trends while hardness decreased consistently as moisture content increased from 5% to 35%.The cream variety withstood higher rupture force and deformed more without failure than the light brown variety within moisture content range of 5-25% along both loading orientations.Bothvarieties demonstrated greater hardness when loaded along the longitudinal orientations than the axially loaded samples. All the investigatedproperties were dependent on moisture content andorientationof loading. Predictive mathematical models forestimating the investigated properties at different moisture contents with reasonable accuracy were also established in this study.Item Moisture sorption isotherm of Moringa (Moringa Oleifera Lam.) seed(Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers South West Zone, 2023) Akintola, A.; Aremu, A. K.; Oyefeso, B. O.This study was designed to investigate and model the moisture sorption isotherm of moringaseed during storage. An important factor in the quality loss of dried moringa seeds during storage is the water activity (aw) which influences the stability of the product. Knowledge of sorption isotherms is necessary to correctly carry out drying and storage operations. Sorption Isotherms (SI) of moringa seed were obtained by determining the Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) at a temperature range of 20-40℃ and nine aw (0.09-0.92) levels using thermostatic water bath and concentrated H2SO4. The sorption data were fitted into four selected models namely: Brunauer- Emmett-Teller (BET), Guggenheim-Anderson-De Boer (GAB), Hailwood-Horrobin (HH) and Modified Henderson (MHM) models. The performance of the models was tested using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), co-efficient of determination (R2) and Residual Sum of Squares (RSS). The SI curves generated were sigmoidal in shape indicating Type-II isotherm. The GAB was the best-fitted model and predicted the EMC at all temperatures with highest R2 (0.9994) in adsorption and (0.9994) in desorption processes. The BET and HH models did not fit well at all temperatures with R2 (0.6957) and (0.8439), respectively. The GAB gave the least RMSE and RSS and it ranged 0.0775-0.2124 and 0.0060-0.0431, respectively. Experimental isotherm obtained demonstrated Type-II behaviour, which is typical for most agricultural materials.Item Effect of temperature and hysteresis on Monolayer moisture content of Moringa see Grit during storage(Nigerian Society of Engineers, 2022) Akintola, A.; Aremu, A. K.; Oyefeso, B. O.The adsorption and desorption isotherm data of stored moringa (Moringa oleifera) seed grit within the water activity and temperature ranges of 0.09–0.92 and 20–40oC respectively were used to determine its monolayer moisture content (Mo) using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Guggenheim-Anderson-DeBoer (GAB) and Caurie equations. Results showed that Mo decreased from 3.03 to 2.064 %db (BET); 4.38 to 2.792 %db (GAB); 4.24 to 2.63 %db (Caurie) and 3.007 to 2.011 %db (BET); 4.346 to 2.621 %db (GAB); 4.215 to 2.545 % (Caurie) in adsorption and desorption processes respectively as temperature increases from 20–40oC at specified relative humidity. The GAB model gave the highest Mo values at various temperatures followed by Caurie equation while the BET model gave the lowest values. The Mo were lower in desorption process than the corresponding adsorption values for the three models, thereby indicating the presence of moisture sorption hysteresis. However, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there were no significant differences between adsorption and desorption Mo at (p≤0.05), thereby indicating that moisture hysteresis has a negligible effect on the monolayer moisture content of moringa seed grit.Item Design, construction and performance evaluation of a rice destoner(CIGR, 2018) Aremu, A. K.; Oyefeso, B. O.; Ajao, T. O.; Ojo, K.; Egbunu, J. O.The market price of local rice in the market is significantly determined by its quality which is dependent on the level of cleaning and some other processing operations. Hence, the need to improve the quality of rice, increase production and reduce human labour has brought about the development of rice destoning machine. Therefore, this study aimed at designing, fabricating and evaluating the performance of a rice destoner. The design was based on the principle of material separation and was constructed from locally-available materials. The machine was powered by a 2hp electric motor and three vibrating screens of varying apertures were used for the upper, middle and lower screens. The machine had an average capacity of 130 kg/h. The performance of the machine was evaluated with 10 kg of Ofada rice at 11, 21 and 25% moisture content (dry basis) and 10 kg of Faro 55 rice at 14, 22 and 27% moisture content (dry basis). The results showed that separation efficiency decreased as the moisture content of rice decreased for both varieties. Cleaning of rice at low moisture content is recommended for optimum performance of the destoner.