IPASJ International Journal of Mechanical Engineering (IIJME)

Web Site: http://www.ipasj.org/IIJME/IIJME.htm

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Volume 7, Issue 4, February 2019 ISSN 2321-6441

Analysis of Solar Operated Coconut Oil

Extraction Machine
Chetan Papade 1
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering
N. K. Orchid College of Engg. & Tech., Solapur, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT
In this research D.C. Motor is run by solar panel to crush the coconut. After crushing the coconut milk is obtained, this
coconut milk is allowed to undergo fermentation process for some period of time. This fermentation process can be achieved by
two ways such as natural and forced fermentation, after fermentation the obtained curd is heated with help of circular shaped
parabolic dish collector and after filtering pure coconut oil is obtained. The coconut oil of 500ml is obtained by crushing the
7kg of coconuts, this system is cost efficient. From readings the conclusion is that time required for fermentation process by
using lemon is less as compared to use of tamarind and by use of natural process. The waste of coconut after crushing utilized
by making biscuits and coconut powder, with the use of this system coconut oil produced at home.
Keywords – DC motor, Solar panel, Parabolic dish collector, Fermentation, Coconut oil etc.

1.INTRODUCTION

Now a day’s the prices of non-renewable energy sources are increasing and increase in the environmental problem by
exhaust emission, therefore world is mostly attracted towards the utilization of renewable energy sources. With the
commercialization of solar wet coconut oil making machine, it is possible to make better use of solar energy. Wet
coconut oil making machines are present but in our system time required for the oil formation is less, an even though it
is solar operated it can also be used at night time, by using battery for crushing the coconut and soybean oil for heating
purpose by storing heat energy, for a limited period of time.

Solar energy is available in an abundant amount and free, which is the best suitable alternative for non- renewable
energy sources for variety of application, it is freely available everywhere in sufficient amount, making it one of the
most promising, clean, non-pollution sources. Therefore this project is based on solar energy. Coconut palm is a tree of
life, in addition to its food value it has health, medicinal, and cosmetic value. Wet coconut oil (virgin coconut oil) is the
oil made from the fresh coconut meat. This wet coconut oil method eliminates the use of solvent; it lowers the
investment cost and energy requirement. This is the healthiest oil having more shelf life; therefore in this project
coconut oil is produced by solar operated coconut oil extraction machine.[4]

The main objective of “Solar operated coconut oil extraction machine,” is to produce coconut oil by using wet
extraction method, for cooking purpose and cosmetics, with the use of solar energy at day time. Also to reduce the cost
of coconut oil and make its production at home level.

2. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
The experimental setup of solar operated coconut oil extraction machine is shown in below figure, the experimental
setup consist of solar panel, crushing system, fermentation tank and circular parabolic dish collector.
In this experimental setup DC motor is used to crush the coconut, solar panel is used to run the DC motor. After
crushing coconut the white coconut milk is obtained this coconut milk is then filtered within the crushing system. The
filtered coconut milk is then passed to fermentation tank through pipe and set to fermentation process. There are two
types of fermentation process such as natural fermentation process and forced fermentation process. For completion of
natural fermentation process approximately 24 hours are required and for forced fermentation process 8 to 12 hours are
required. After completion of fermentation process coconut curd is obtained. This coconut curd is taken into heating

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 IPASJ International Journal of Mechanical Engineering (IIJME)
Web Site: http://www.ipasj.org/IIJME/IIJME.htm
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Volume 7, Issue 4, February 2019 ISSN 2321-6441

tank; circular parabolic dish collector is used to heat this coconut curd. After constant heating of coconut curd about
950C to 1000C the formation of coconut oil layer is start to produce.

Figure 1.Set-up of solar operated coconut oil extraction machine

The construction and manufacturing of the different components of system are described in detail. The proposed system
consists of different components such as,
i. DC motor
ii. Solar panel
iii. Crusher system
iv. Fermentation tank
v. Heating tank
vi. Circular parabolic dish collector
vii. Supporting system for crusher
viii. Supporting system for fermentation
2.1 DC motor
A machine that converts dc power into mechanical power is known as a dc motor. Its operation is based on the
principle that when a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, the conductor experiences a mechanical
force. The direction of the force is given by Fleming’s left hand rule and magnitude is given by
F = B*I*L’ (1)

Figure 2. DC motor

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2.2 Solar panel

Solar panel is nothing but Photovoltaic cell comprises the technology to convert sunlight directly into electricity. These
PV cells are made of semiconducting material such as silicon, which is most widely used. As our requirement of the
DC motor is 250 Watts and 12 V. Therefore we have selected PV cell of the capacity 150 Watts and 12 V supply. In
this system the PV cell of lower capacity is selected, because obtained electrical energy can be stored into the battery
and that energy is utilized to run DC motor.

Figure 3. Solar panel

2.3 Mounting and tracking system of solar panel

For mounting of solar panel a rectangular bracket is made on which solar panel is placed and fixed with nut - bolt. Now
this arrangement is placed on the ground facing the face of the panel to the sun. The efficiency of the solar panel will
be maximum if and only if its face is perpendicular to the direction of the sun rays. Therefore tracking of sun rays is
important. For tracking purpose manual tracking system is selected.
For the tracking purpose, two metal strips are used with nut and bolt arrangement made on it. Now these two metal
strips are placed on the leg of the supporting system of panel and fastened with the nut and bolt. The position of these
metal strips is decided according to the sun’s position. Then on this metal strips the panels are rested. Now this position
of the panel will be perpendicular to the direction of sun rays. It is shown in fig.4 below.

Figure 4.Tracking system of solar panel

2.4 Crushing system
For crushing the coconut solar operated crusher is used in which DC motor is used to crush the coconut. For connecting
the motor shaft to the cutter coupler is used, like domestic mixer in this system same arrangement is done for mounting
the crusher pot. Hole is provided to the crusher pot in order to get the coconut milk into fermentation tank. This
crushing system can also be run by storing the energy into the battery.

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Figure 5. Crushing system

2.5 Fermentation tank
For clear observation of layer of coconut curd the material of the tank should be transparent. There are some
transparent materials like glass, high quality plastic and fiber. The price of glass is high as compared to others. Fiber
was not available according to requirement and also it is difficult to manufacture .So, at last the high quality plastic jar
is selected to store the coconut milk. Fermentation tank is held at 1.2m of height by using supporting system, this
fermentation tank is kept at inclined position by providing four strips. The inclination is provided for proper flow of
coconut curd from fermentation tank to heating tank. According to design calculations the fermentation tank is selected
having capacity of 16 litre.

Figure 6. Fermentation tank

2.6 Heating tank
Heating tank mounted on the parabolic dish for heating the curd to get the coconut oil, the cylindrical shaped heating
tank of capacity 6 liter is used and to hold the heating tank at the focal point of dish collector we have provided two
strips with clamp. The copper material is used for heating tank because it has high thermal conductivity and easily
available as per requirement.

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Figure 7. Heating tank

2.7 Circular parabolic dish collector
Thin strips of thickness of 0.5cm and length 439cm is used and bent on anvil by using the hammer for making circular
ring and joined these two corners by using welding type lap joint. After this we found out the centre of the circular ring.
And again six strips are taken having depth 27 cm and having projected length 70cm. One side of strip is welded at
centre circular plate and another side to larger circular ring with equal spacing.
Aluminum sheet having reflectivity of 85% is used and cost is less as compared to other materials like anodized
aluminum, stainless steel and glass. Cutting is done according to shape and size of dish and fastened on dish by using
nut and bolt. This circular ring along with aluminum sheet is mounted on stable superstructure base having four legs.

Figure 8.Circular parabolic dish collector

2.8 Tracking system of parabolic dish collector
In this research the manual tracking system is done and with this mechanism dish can rotate fully 3600 about vertical
axis. In this system the nut bolt arrangement is done to track sun rays on the parabolic dish collector. Bolt is inserted in
the horizontal square bar of the base and with help of nut the movement is given to the dish collector. Two nuts are also
provided one above another, to ensure the correct tracking their shadows should be overlapped.[5]

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 IPASJ International Journal of Mechanical Engineering (IIJME)
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Figure 9. Tracking system of parabolic dish collector

2.9 Supporting system for crusher
For supporting the crusher system firmly square shaped base is manufactured. For manufacturing the base L- section
members are used and welded it with electric arc welding, the plywood is placed on top face of the base .The height of
supporting system is kept 1.1m for flowing the coconut milk into the fermentation tank.

2.10 Supporting system for fermentation tank

For supporting the fermentation tank inclined supporting system is done, this inclined arrangement is done
purposefully to flow the curd from fermentation tank to heating tank. For manufacturing the base L- section members
are used and welded it by electric arc welding, two inclined strips are provided at the front side to hold the fermentation
tank firmly and two strips are provided at the sides to restrict the horizontal movement of the tank. The height of
supporting member is 1.2 m at back side and 1m at the front side.

3. SELECTION OF MATERIALS
The below table shows the component material used, reason why it is used. The reason for selecting material for
particular components such as DC motor, crusher, solar panel, fermentation tank, parabolic dish collector, supporting
system for solar panels, supporting system for crusher and fermentation tank, supporting system for DC motor, tracking
system of parabolic dish collector are explained in table 1.
Table 1. Materials used for components of set-up
Sr. No. Components Material used Reason
1. Solar panel Silicon Good conducting properties
2. Crusher pot Stainless steel Corrosion resist, easily available
3. Fermentation tank Plastic material Transparent, Light in weight,
Low cost
4. Sheet for parabolic dish Aluminum sheet Light in weight, low cost, Easily available
collector
5. Heating tank Copper Anti corrosion, easily available, good thermal
conductivity
6. Piping system PVC Corrosion resistance, low cost

7. All Supporting Systems Mild Steel High strength, good elastic property, good weld
and Shaft ability, high rigidity & ductility, easily
available & economical

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4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The setup is tested for different fermentation techniques and compared the readings. The following observations are
obtained on the setup on different dates and time.

4.1 Reading for tamarind fermentation technique

For mass of coconut 600 gm the time required for fermentation process is 9 hrs, from 600 gm of coconut 850 ml of
coconut milk is obtained and in this coconut milk 40 ml of tamarind solution is added. After heating 42 ml of oil is
obtained.

Table 2. Observation table on day one (Tamarind fermentation)

Sr. Time after each Curd temp. Receiver temp. Solar intensity
No. 10 min. (0C) (0C) (LUX)*100
1. At 1.16PM 94 102 1137
2. 10 93 101 1130
3. 20 87 95 1105
4. 30 88 95 1110
5. 40 88 96 1113
6. 50 91 100 1127
7. 60 96 104 1140
8. 70 94 103 1138

Temp. v/s Time (Tamarind fermentation)

98

96

94
Temp.
(0C) 92

90

88

86

84

82
Figure 10. Temp. v/s Time for tamarind fermentation
In this fermentation process tamarind solution is used as a additive to reduce the fermentation time by using tamarind
solution. The average time required to complete the fermentation process is 9 hours. Formation of oil layer starts from
the temperature of 900C. While heating curd maximum curd temperature obtained is 960C.

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4.2 Reading for natural fermentation technique

For mass of coconut 600 gm the time required for fermentation process is 24 hrs, from 600 gm of coconut 850 ml of
coconut milk is obtained and 39 ml of oil is obtained.
Table 3. Observation table on day one (Natural fermentation)
Sr. Time after each Curd temp. Receiver temp. Solar intensity
No. 5 min. (0C) (0C) (LUX)*100

1. At 3.10PM 93 102 1136

2. 5 92 101 1130
3. 10 88 99 1125
4. 15 88 98 1123
5. 20 86 97 1121
6. 25 84 95 1110
7. 30 84 95 1105
8. 35 83 95 1107

4.3 Reading for lemon fermentation technique

For mass of coconut 600 gm the time required for fermentation process is 12 hrs, from 600 gm of coconut 850 ml of
coconut milk is obtained and in this coconut milk 40 ml of lemon solution is added. After heating 40 ml of oil is
obtained.
Table 4.Observation table on day one (Lemon fermentation)
Sr. Time after each 5 Curd temp. Receiver temp. Solar intensity
no. min. (0C) (0C) (LUX)*100
1 11.10AM 40 66 952
2 5 51 72 957
3 10 57 79 963
4 15 65 84 968
5 20 74 85 973
6 25 79 87 980
7 30 80 88 984
8 35 81 90 987
9 40 80 84 993
10 45 82 83 995
11 50 82 81 994
12 55 79 80 998
13 60 76 81 987

4.4 Comparison of Time required for three fermentation techniques

This graph represents the different fermentation techniques and time required for their completion .From above graph
it is concluded that time required for natural fermentation is more as compared to the tamarind and lemon fermentation
technique.
After analyzing all the observations, it is concluded that the time required for tamarind fermentation technique is less
as compared to lemon and natural fermentation technique; to get the 500ml coconut oil 7kg of coconut is required.

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30

25

20
Time in
hour
15

10

Figure 11. Comparison of time required for different fermentation technique

4.5 Oil samples and use of waste coconut

The different oil samples of coconut oil are produced by using different fermentation techniques are shown in below
photograph. In photograph 1 Shows oil sample obtained by using
(a) Tamarind fermentation technique.
(b) Lemon fermentation technique.
(c) Natural fermentation technique.

(a) (b) (c)

Photograph 1. Different oil samples
In crushing process the coconut waste is obtained, this coconut waste can be used for making the coconut biscuits by
drying it upto700C and this waste can be used to make coconut powder by drying it using solar energy

Photograph 2. Coconut biscuits

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5.CONCLUSION
i. In this system solar energy is used to run the set-up which saves the non-renewable energy sources.
ii. This system is cost efficient.
iii. The use of this system can save the 914 Rs per month. In this way after 3 years the system production is free of
cost.
iv. The time required for fermentation techniques with tamarind (9hrs.) is less as compared to time required by lemon
(12 hrs.) and natural (24hrs.) fermentation technique.
v. By using this system the coconut oil produced at the home.
vi. The waste of coconut which is obtained after crushing, this waste can be utilized for making biscuits and coconut
powder.

References
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[2] M. I. Ladan, “Design and development of a parabolic dish solar thermal cooker”; International journal of
engineering research and applications, vol. 3,pp. 1179-1186,2013.
[3] D.M.S. Dissanayake , K.N. Seneviratne, “Effect of method of extraction on the quality of coconut oil”, Publication
in the Journal sci. university, Kelaniya; vol.2, pp.63-72, 2005.
[4]C.V. Papade , S. L. Vallal , N. D. Dornal , 2016, “ Literature review on solar operated coconut oil extraction
machine” International journal of engineering trends and technology ,Vol. 36, pp. 10-13,2016.
[5] V.Bamane, C.V. Papade, "Analysis of solar cooker using sensible energy storing material" International research
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[6] A.M. Marina, Y.B.C. Manand, I. Amin;“Virgin coconut oil emerging functional food oil”, Publication in the
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[7] J. Folaranmi “Design, construction and testing of a parabolic solar steam generator”, Leonardo electronic journal of
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[8] D.D. Bawalan, K.R. Chapman, “Virgin coconut oil production manual for micro and village scale processing”,
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[9] C. Y. Zhao, “Review of solar collectors & thermal energy storage in solar thermal applications”; vol.104, pp. 538-
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