Design and Performance Evaluation of a Cassava Chipping Machine for Dried Chip Production in Cross River State

This study involves the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of a motorised cassava chipping machine for dried chip production in Cross River State, South South Nigeria. Dried cassava chips are an important intermediate product used in the livestock feed, starch, and ethanol industries. The chipping process, currently conducted manually in most smallholder processing centres in Cross River State, is slow and produces irregular chip sizes that extend drying time and create uneven moisture content in the final product. This study designs a rotating disc chipper with adjustable blade configuration using mild steel and stainless steel blade assembly, powered by a 1.5 kilowatt electric motor. The machine is designed to produce chip thickness of 3 to 8 millimetres adjustable by blade spacing. Performance tests use fresh cassava tubers of TMS 4(2)1425 and TMSI 91934 varieties from farms in Akamkpa and Obubra local government areas. Parameters measured include throughput capacity, chip thickness uniformity, chip damage percentage, and moisture content of chips after 24 hours of sun drying. Findings reveal that the machine achieves throughput of 280 kilograms of fresh tubers per hour, chip thickness uniformity coefficient of variation of 12 percent, and drying to 14 percent moisture content within 18 hours compared to 36 hours for hand-cut irregular chips. The study concludes that the designed chipping machine significantly improves the efficiency and quality of dried cassava chip production in Cross River State.

Keywords: cassava chipping, dried chips, Cross River State, post-harvest, mechanisation.