Description
ABSTRACT
Introduction: This work is on design and fabricating a Feeding mixer incorporated with pelleting machine. The aim of this work is replace the traditional ways mixing and pelleting animal feed and to reduce human labour required.
Method: This machine was built using available locally made materials which were bought from the market and later taken to a welder shop for the fabrication. At the end the prototype of the machine was designed and fabricated.
Test and result: The machine was also tested to evaluate its performance. The machine consisted of a screw conveyor, die, barrel and hopper. It can be driven by an electric motor or a prime mover. The machine was tested with broiler’s mash and at different levels of moisture content using 500, 750 and 1000 cm3 each of water and starch binder as pre-conditioners. The best pellets were formed after been mixed using 750 cm3 of either starch or water. The average specific energy consumption when 750 cm3 of starch binder was used was 0.69 kWh/kg while it was 0.93 kWh/kg when water was used as pre-conditioner. The density of the pellets varied between 0.7 and 1 g/cm3.
Conclusion: At the end the machine was fabricated which can be used for small-scale livestock farmers in developing countries. Its advantage covers both livestock and farmer as it supplies the required nutrients to the livestock and is also economical.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE
TITLE PAGE
APPROVAL PAGE
DEDICATION
ACKNOWELDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE
- INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
- PROBLEM STATEMENT
- AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
- REVIEW OF ANIMAL FEED
- FEED MIXING
- THE PELLETING PROCESS
- REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
- MATERIAL SELECTION
- CHOICE OF MATERIALS CAST
- DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
- TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS
- PROCEDURE
- COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION AND SPECIFICATION
- DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 TEST AND DISCUSSION
4.1 TESTING OF THE MACHINE
4.2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
CHAPTER FIVE
- CONCLUSION
- REFERENCES
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Poultry farming has gained increasing popularity because of the high demand for fish and chickens, protein, and oil that have a wide array of applications in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The agricultural industries have played significant roles in the emancipation of most developing economies and the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals 1–3: No poverty, zero hunger, and good health and well-being. It has provided employment, enhanced income, and supplemented the nutritional needs of the populace (Davies et al., 2017). Poultry farming due to technological advancement has been recognised as one of the fastest-growing sectors of food production chains in the world (Olusegun et al., 2017). Over the years, the quest for poultry farm produce consumption in Nigeria has resulted in an annual importation amounting to about 90 billion Naira which is equivalent to 3 million tonnes in national demand (Olusegun et al., 2017). Factors responsible for these are mainly related to the overall high cost of production in terms of their feeds and the crude or less developed feed production technologies. Therefore, proper feed development and management practices will play a vital role in the growth and expansion of this important sector of the economy, especially at the small- to medium-scale level (Ojediran et al., 2014). Feed formulation and processing have been regarded as the two most important challenges faced by aquaculture industries’ feed processors (Cruz et al., 2015). This is due to the high technical know-how required for producing the exact feed mix, the high cost of raw materials which increases the overall feed cost, and the lack of technological tools which are not available to the small-scale farmers. Poultry feed accounts for about 60% of production costs, therefore for the profitability of such a venture, the need to examine how these input costs can be reduced significantly becomes imperative (Ojediran et al., 2014). Fish feed production processes involve milling of the substrates, mixing, pelleting, and drying. How these processes are handled has notable impacts on the overall production costs and output.
Mixing as a unit operation in feed processing helps in the uniform distribution of the feed ingredients to ensure each piece of the pellet contains an equal proportion of the feed composition. Pelleting is a mechanical process used in the production of agglomerated feeds, by compacting and passing the feed mix through a die. It involves compacting and forcing individual or mixed ingredients through a die orifice or opening (Okewole et al., 2016). Pelleting of feed improves fish feeding, produces feeds of high durability, reduces wastage, and improves the ease of handling by fish farmers (Burmamu et al., 2015). Poultry feed development in sub-Saharan Africa has not influenced aquaculture development significantly as expected due to the low mechanization of this important sector (Ojediran et al., 2014).
To achieve proper mixing in feed production, intensive labour is needed especially when done manually. For a mechanised feed process, most of the time, the mixing and pelleting units are separated, which might be a burden on the budget of small-scale farmers, due to the high cost of production. Therefore, the aims of the work is to design and fabricate a feed mixing cum pelleting machine.
1.2 Statement of the problem
In the early days on the small family farm, the mixing of homegrown grains with supplements purchased from the local miller began with a smooth floor, shovel, and knowledge of quartering. Local village and commercial operators were more refined and had the advantage of both grinding and screening facilities to increase the efficacy of the formulas that were being prepared for animal feeds. In time, operators duplicated the action of the shovel by fashioning crude plows or paddles fastened to slowly rotating horizontal shafts contained in a wooden booth with a curved bottom (Culpin, 2010). For a mechanised feed process, most of the time, the mixing and pelleting units are separated, which might be a burden on the budget of small-scale fish farmers, due to the high cost of production, that is when a feed processing machine incorporating both mixing and pelleting as a single unit has not been developed. The labour requirement (LR), which explains the man-hour required per kg was too high. In order to overcome the problem associated with the manual processing and that of the old mechanizing system of mixing and palleting feet, a feed mixing machine incorporated with pelleting mechanism is fabricated. Here, Mixing as a unit operation in feed processing helps in the uniform distribution of the feed ingredients to ensure each piece of the pellet contains an equal proportion of the feed composition. Pelleting is a mechanical process used in the production of agglomerated feeds, by compacting and passing the feed mix through a die. It involves compacting and forcing individual or mixed ingredients through a die orifice or opening (Abdelaleem et al., 2014)
1.3 Aim and objectives of the study
The aim of this work is to fabricate a feed mixing machine incorporating pelleting as a single unit. The objectives of the study are:
- Design and fabricate a feed mixing cum pelleting machine.
- To evaluate the economic benefit of the machine.
- To reduce human labour
1.4 Significance of the study
The mixer plays a vital role in the feed production process, with efficient mixing being the key to good feed production. If feed is not mixed properly, ingredients and nutrients will not be properly distributed when it comes time to extrude and pelletize the feed, or if the feed is to be used as mash. This machine is important for producing animal feed because it ensures that the ingredients are properly mixed to create a uniform product that’s beneficial to the health of the animals
Fabricating a feed mixing machine incorporating pelleting mechanism as a single unit will serve as a means of reducing human labour, increasing productivity in poultry business, reducing waste associated with feed production, and finally improves the ease of handling by poultry farmers
CHAPTER FIVE
Conclusion
At the end of this work a feeding mixer incorporated with pelleting machine the machine was designed and fabricated, the operation of the system complied with the aim of the work which is to replace the traditional ways of mixing and pelleting animal feed and to reduce human labour required.
This machine was built using available locally made materials which were bought from the market and later taken to a welder shop for the fabrication. At the end the prototype of the machine was designed and fabricated.
The machine was tested and its performance was evaluated. The machine was tested with broiler’s mash and at different levels of moisture content using 500cm and 750 each of water and starch binder as pre-conditioners. The best pellets were formed after been mixed using 750 cm3 of either starch or water. The average specific energy consumption when 750 cm3 of starch binder was used was 0.69 kWh/kg while it was 0.93 kWh/kg when water was used as pre-conditioner.
At the end the machine was fabricated which can be used for small-scale livestock farmers in developing countries. Its advantage covers both livestock and farmer as it supplies the required nutrients to the livestock and is also economical. A machine has been developed for the use of the local small scale farmer. The machine can be fabricated affordably at small workshops or machine shops in developing countries. The fabrication involves the utilization of the available local raw materials, the selection of the materials were based on physical and mechanical properties of materials and cost of materials.
Detail fabrication include welding, grinding of weld joint to make it smooth, fabrication of components and painting as well as the fixing to make the whole component complete.
The components that require servicing mainly are the bearing, belt and the mixing chamber which has an opening for easy maintenance. The key must be checked from time to time to ensure that they are well seated in their grooves. Inspection of bolts are very necessary to ensure that it is not overdue for changing, the machine on the other hand should be cleaned thoroughly after usage to make it dry and free from rusting. The designed output and hence the efficiency can be enhanced by varying any of these factors- speed, weight of the feed or the maximum tension in the belt. For very safe and smooth operation, it is recommended that proper adjustment be carried out on the belt tension and key before operation.
The machine must be securely bolted to the basement to reduce vibration and embrace rigidity of the machine. However, preventive maintenance should be adopted as an alternative to breakdown maintenance. Also software design should be encouraged in our institution of higher learning.
