Cassava Flour

Production
ME 491 – International Development

Jared Dorvinen | Adi Kosgi | Kyle Schubel | Brian White

[email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected]
Motivation
“The service we render to others is really the rent we
pay for our room on this earth.” — Wilfred Grenfell

• Develop a mechanical device that produces flour from cassava

root
• Targeted for use by small farmers in Kenya
• Will help to increase annual income
• Will provide a safe and reliable way to store harvested cassava
root for future consumption
• Device will empower women in Kenya who are often the ones
performing this labor intensive task
• The project is generously sponsored by a Kenyan NGO called
the Macheo Children’s Centre
Macheo Children’s Centre
• Established in 2005
• Located in Thika, Kenya (East-Africa)
• Mission – “To offer the children of today a better and brighter
future.”
• Macheo means ‘sunrise’ in Swahili
• Macheo Children’s Centre is home to 56 children
• Thousands of other children in surrounding slums benefit
from the education program
• Education program consists of a daily meal, uniforms, and
psychosocial support.
 Kenya U.S.A.

• Population: ~ 41 million • Population: ~ 313 Million

• Life Expectancy: 57.1 Years • Life Expectancy: 78.5 Years
• Education Index: 0.582 • Education Index: 0.939
• Human Development Index:
143 out of 187 • Human Development Index: 4
• GNI per capita in PPP: $1,492 out of 187
• Gender Inequality Index: • GNI per capita in PPP:
0.627 $43,017
• 80% of Kenya’s population live • Gender Inequality Index:
below the international
poverty line of $2 per day. 0.299
(2000) • 16% of the U.S.A.’s population
• 75% of Kenya’s population lives in rural areas
lives in rural areas
Food Security
and Health
• Kenya relies heavily on food imports
• According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 18.6% of the
population of Kenya is undernourished experiencing chronic
hunger.
• Under-five mortality rate was 8.4% in 2009
• 16.4% of children under the age of 5 in Kenya are underweight
• In the US 3.8% of children under 5 are considered underweight
while 10.4% of the same age group is overweight.
• In the summer of 2011 intensely volatile food prices worldwide led
to the first famine of the 21st century in the horn of Africa,
including Kenya.
• Political instability in 2007, and droughts in 2008 and 2011 also
contributed.
Nutrition in Kenya
• Typical Kenyan consumes
2200kcal/day with just 17g of
animal protein.
• Typical North American consumes
3800kcal/day with 74g of animal
protein.
• Starches such as corn, potatoes,
sweet potatoes, beans, and cassava
are the staple foods of a Kenyan
diet.
• As of 2006 75% of Kenyans made
their living through agriculture.
• About half of what they farm is
used strictly for subsistence
purposes.
Cassava Root
• Long, tapered, firm, tuberous root
• Also called tapioca, yuca, mogo, manioc,
mandioca
• Very hardy, will grow where other crops
can’t and still produce high yields
• Staple food for nearly one billion
people, most of these being among the
world’s poor
• Very rich in starch, poor source of
protein
• Can be classified as either sweet or
bitter
• Contains potentially harmful levels of
cyanide
• Once harvested and separated from the
rest of the plant, the root will rot within
two to three days
Culinary Uses of Cassava
• Boiled roots may be fried and
make a good chip
• Fufu, a starchy cooked dough, is
made from boiling cassava flour
• Tapioca balls are made from
cassava
• Gari is a fried-course flour that is
often eaten cold in the form of
gari soakings
• Cassava flour is mixed with wheat
flour to make bread
• Fresh roots are used in soups and
stews like potatoes
• There is even one company in
Mozambique that makes cassava
beer!
Cassava Flour Production
• First, the peel must be removed from the harvested root
• This eliminates most of the cyanide
• Next, the root is laid out to dry
• It is often cut into smaller pieces before the drying process
• Once dried, the root is then ground into flour
• This grinding process is typically done by hand
• Shelf life of approximately two years
Difficulties in Processing
• Avoiding spoilage
• Cyanide removal
• Peeling
• Drying
• Fungal growth
and mycotoxins
• Grinding flour
• Involved multi-
step process
Cyanogen Removal
• Cyanogenic glucosides,
primarily linamarin, are
the cyanide containing
compounds in cassava
• Stored in the vacuoles
of cassava cells
• Linamarase stored in
cell wall, separate from
linamarin
• With breakdown of cell
structure the two are
able to mix
 Enzymatic Breakdown of Linamarin

Step-by-step
• Linamarin (I) is reduced to glucose (II) and acetone cyanohydrin (III) upon mixing with
linamarase (β-glucosidase).
• Acetone cyanohydrin is then reduced to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and acetone (IV)
• Reduce by enzyme hydroxynitrilelyase (HNL)
• Or spontaneously depending on temperature and pH
• Free HCN is volatile at 25.7°C while acetone cyanohydrin is volatile at 82°C.
Important Design Parameters
• Function
• Cost
• Manufacturability
• Ease of Operation
• Quantity
• Health
• Operating Conditions
• Maintenance
Design Concepts
Methods: Driving Mechanisms:
• Abrasion Grinding • Crank
• Compression-Based • Bicycle
Crushing • Screw
• Rack Drying • Gravity
• Sunlight Concentration Materials:
Geometries: • Metal
• Cylindrical • Wood
• Rectangular • PVC
• Vertical Feed/Collection • Stone
• Horizontal
Feed/Collection
Concept Designs
Objective Analysis
Concept Number
Parameters Weight
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Cost 1 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.1
Safety 0.9 0.81 0.72 0.54 0.72 0.54 0.72 0.72 0.45 0.36
Operating Costs 0.9 0.81 0.72 0.81 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.81 0.54
Health Issues 0.9 0.9 0.72 0.54 0.63 0.54 0.72 0.63 0.63 0.54
Government Regulations 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
Function/ Performance 0.8 0.08 0.32 0.56 0.56 0.32 0.56 0.48 0.64 0.72
Maintenance 0.8 0.64 0.48 0.4 0.48 0.48 0.4 0.56 0.32 0.24
Manufacturability 0.8 0.64 0.24 0.32 0.24 0.4 0.16 0.64 0.24 0.16
Quality 0.7 0.42 0.35 0.42 0.49 0.35 0.49 0.49 0.42 0.63
Service Life 0.7 0.63 0.49 0.35 0.56 0.42 0.56 0.63 0.35 0.35
Operating Instructions 0.6 0.6 0.42 0.3 0.42 0.42 0.3 0.42 0.42 0.24
Quantity 0.6 0.48 0.36 0.48 0.36 0.3 0.42 0.24 0.54 0.54
Environmental Conditions 0.6 0.24 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48
Human Factors 0.5 0.4 0.15 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.45 0.25
Delivery Date 0.3 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21
Weight 0.3 0.15 0.12 0.24 0.27 0.18 0.06 0.3 0.18 0.06
Total 11.3 8.21 6.78 6.85 7.84 6.96 7.6 8.22 7.24 6.32
Subjective Analysis

• 9 designs in total
• Several factors considered
• Each design mixed-and-matched various design concepts
• Allowed for thorough exploration of several
options/geometries
• Immeasurable properties – aesthetics, fatigue from extended
use, removal of toxins – considered and discussed by group
• Upon evaluation of objective analysis and further subjective
analysis, final design decided
 First Prototype

Materials: • Quick/simple way

• Plywood to test our final
• 2x4 lumber prototype idea
• PVC pipe • Various hole
• Sheet metal sizes/shapes were
explored
Second Prototype

Dryer and Grinder

• Human powered grinder • Solar powered vertical dryer
• Hand crank • Same concept found in PhD
• Cheese grader concept dissertation,
• Sharp edges on the metal “Natural drying of Cassava”,
drum
by Gonzalo Roa
Second Prototype
Manufacturing Process

Materials: Tools:
• 2x4 lumber • Hand drill
• 2x6 lumber • Drill bits
• Plywood • Screwdriver
• Laundry dryer drum • Hammer
• Fence post • Circular saw
• Fence post elbows • Wrenches
• Angle iron • Staple gun
• Galvanized hardware cloth • Tin snips
• Screws, Nails, Nuts, Bolts, Staples, etc.
Second Prototype
Preliminary Testing

Procedures:
• Peel cassava with fruit peeler
• Cut cassava into 1”x2” pieces
• Put cassava into vertical drier with device outdoors until dry
• Crank handle to grind cassava
Data:
• 3 days for cassava to dry
• After grinding, particles ranged from .1 mm – 10 mm in size
• Cassava was ground at a rate of 18.14 kg/hour
Second Prototype
Future Recommendations
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to
continue that counts.” – Sir Winston Churchill

• Add weight on top of cassava to

increase production speed
• Make device adaptable for any size
cylindrical drum or barrel.
• Add additional shields to protect the
operator and aid in the collection of
the flour
• Add an option to make the device
bicycle driven
• Secure the device to the ground
Diffusion of Ideas
• We plan to create assembly instructions
to be sent to our contact in Thika, Kenya
• These instructions will be mostly
pictorial to allow for ease of
understanding
• We plan to check in with our contact
every two weeks for the first two
months to assist with any challenges
that arise.
• After the initial period we plan to be in
contact every three months to receive
updates on how our device is
performing
Thank you!
• MSU College of Engineering
• Dr. Brian Thompson
• Simon Wachieni
• Dr. Irvin Widders
• Dr. Dale Romsos
• Dr. Maurice Bennink
Questions?