Design and Testing of Improved Village-Type Dehuller- Degerminator for Dry-Milling Process of Corn
Michael A. Gragasin1, Romualdo C. Martinez2
1Michael A. Gragasin, Agricultural Mechanization Division, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), Department of Agriculture, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
2Romualdo C. Martinez, Agricultural Mechanization Division, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), Department of Agriculture, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
Manuscript received on 15 October 2015 | Revised Manuscript received on 25 October 2015 | Manuscript Published on 30 October 2015 | PP: 121-126 | Volume-5 Issue-1, October 2015 | Retrieval Number: A4311105115/15©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Majority of the available village-type corn mills in the Philippines have failed to fully satisfy the minimum product recovery and degerminator efficiency of 64% and 80%, respectively, as set by the Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standard (PAES). This resulted in the production of poor quality corn grits with high postharvest losses. Vital in improving the performance of existing village-type corn mills is the development of efficient dehuller-degerminator that responsible in the separation of germ and hull including the tip cap from the endosperm. The major part of the corn kernel that causes irritation when cooked corn grits are served in the table is primarily the tip cap and not the hull alone. The results of laboratory and field trials revealed that the developed dehuller-degerminator has a milling capacity of 367 kg/h and capable of providing milling recovery of 79.2% and degerminator efficiency of 83.8%. Significant reduction in aflatoxin level was also observed once corn kernels with high level of aflatoxin have pass through the developed dehuller-degerminator. The innovative design features a hexagonal-dented screen-huller with counter-flow auger and suction blower to efficiently separate the tip cap, germ, and hull from the endosperm.
Keywords: Corn Dehuller-Degerminator, Corn Mill, Dry-Milling Process, Postharvest.
Scope of the Article: Optical Link Design