Investigation of coconut deshelling performance based on thermal conditions: a case study

Abstract

The pressing safety concern in the Sri Lankan virgin coconut oil (VCO) and other coconut products industries is that the deshelling process records, four injuries per month on average. The manually fed deshelling process thus caused impaired productivity levels as well. This research aims to investigate coconut deshelling performance based on thermal conditions with the intention of subsequent automation of the process, thus improving safety and productivity. A literature review, an industrial case study, pilot experiments, and morphological analysis were conducted, and four main functions of the process were identified. The Factorial method of experiment design was used with the Minitab®. Nine experiments were carried out with varying parameter levels. Energy calculations were also done to assess the performance of the proposed method. Additionally, SolidWorks® was used for the 3D modelling of the proposed deshelling process. The proposed process shows promising results in mitigating safety and productivity. Further refinements are required to advance the design to commercial readiness.