Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 29 (3) September 2017, p. 358-365

PERFORMANCE OF OIL PALM LOOSE FRUITS SEPARATING MACHINE

MOHD RAMDHAN KHALID* and ABD RAHIM SHUIB*

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21894/jopr.2017.2903.08
ABSTRACT

Oil palm loose fruits contain a high amount of oil, hence they need to be fully collected. Handpicking may be the ideal way to get clean fruits but this practice is inefficient. Raking is a faster option to gather scattered fruits but the trash that comes together during the gathering process is high. The oil palm loose fruits separating machine offers a mean to separate loose fruits from trash using vibration and airstream principles. Parameters that were observed included productivity, time-motion, loose fruits cleanliness and noise levels produced by the machine. It was observed that the machine was able to separate the loose fruits from the trash effectively with 98.9% cleanliness and at the productivity of 30.6 kg of clean loose fruits in 99.9 s. However, the machine produced a sound level above 90 dB during operation, hence, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is required. With the introduction of separating machine, it is anticipated that the productivity of the current collection of loose fruits can be increased, hence, contribute to higher national oil extraction rate (OER).

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* Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 6 Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia. E-mail: ramdhan@mpob.gov.my