Design and development of a water hyacinth removal machine

Abstract

The scope of this work is to design and development of a water hyacinth removal machine. Water hyacinth is categorized as an invasive alien plant mainly due to its adverse impact on the environment. Controlling the growth of water hyacinth is tedious due to the fast spreading rate. Controlling spreading by mechanical means is proven as the safest and most viable method with minimal impact to the surrounding environment. This paper focuses on improving the efficiency of mechanical spread-controlling and reducing reformation of new plants by leftovers on the shore. The proposed machine can be used as an attachment for existing mobile units and fixed-point removal machines. It consists of two major mechanisms namely cutting mill and screw press. Volume reduction by using a cutting mill and weight reduction (dewatering) by using a screw press increase the efficiency of the hyacinth removal process by reducing the loading and unloading turns. Carefully-packed plant debris can be used for recycling activities such as producing paper and compost fertilizers and the enhanced reactive surface of the plant debris (by the cutting mill) can be effectively utilised in bio-gas production.