Construction of Melon Shelling Machine

Abstract

Melon seed is a widely produced and consumed oil seed crop in Nigeria and West Africa. The removal of the yellow exterior shell and the separation of the shattered shells from the white seeds are the two most difficult difficulties in the processing of melon seeds. Under the current condition, the commercial shelling and separation of melon seeds is done manually. Furthermore, the current automated process is inefficient since the melon seeds are shattered and no longer consistent after being removed from the de-husking machine. The purpose of this project is to construct and test a melon shelling machine; the results of the shelling operation revealed that the machine has a capacity of 71.3 kg/hr and an efficiency of 63%, which is quite high; the percentage of damaged and shelled seeds is low; there is less seed breakage; and there is less weight of the unshelled seeds throughout the shelling operation, which may be due to its physical characteristics and moisture content.