Coconut Milk Extractor

University of the Philippines – Los Baños College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology Institute of Agricultural Engineering

Coconut Milk Extractor

Submitted by: Collado, Julia Angela Mae Obnial, Alain Renz Ogana, Jasper Ceasar Panganiban, Ma. Evic Roxas, Ampy Paulo Sarte, April Luz

Submitted to: Engr. Ralph Kristoffer Gallegos

This paper is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in AENG 60 (Machine Design I)

I.

Introduction

Coconut cream is the processed milk extracted from fresh matured coconuts. In southern China and Taiwan, sweetened coconut milk is served on its own as a drink during spring and summer. It is made by adding sugar and evaporated or fresh milk during the process of preparing the coconut milk. Another Chinese drink is coconut milk made from water that is then mixed with fresh or evaporated milk in a 1:1 ratio and a spoon of condensed milk or sugar for each cup. They are served chilled. It is also fine to drink raw by itself, or reduced with plain water. Coconut products are some of the major products that are exported by the Philippines. One of these products is coconut milk which is extracted from mature coconut meat. But then coconut milk extraction is a difficult process and can prove to be untidy at times. Efforts are in the works to improve the process of coconut milk extraction. Many attempts have been done to increase the efficiency of the early prototypes and until now, no high efficiency models have been made regarding the design of machines for extracting coconut milk. II.

Review of Related Literature

Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut. The color and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content and sugars. It is an instant product, which can either be used directly or diluted with water to make various preparations such as sweets and desserts. It can also be used in the manufacture of bakery products and for flavoring food stuffs. Processed and packed coconut cream has a shelf life of six months and once opened it should be stored in refrigerator for subsequent use. In Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia coconut milk is called santan and in the Philippines it is called gata. In Thailand it is called ga-ti and used in many of the Thai curries. In Brazil, it is called leite de coco (literally, coconut milk). Coconut milk and cream are extracted from mature coconut meat. The meat is ground or grated then squeezed to extract the milk or cream. There is a special machine for grating mature coconut meat in most Asian markets but in places where no such service is available, cooks buy the coconut whole, split the husk at home and grind the meat in the blender. In the Philippines, coconut milk extraction is primarily done manually. Coconut meat is first obtained from the coconut by using either a mechanical or a manual shredder. Water is then added to the coconut meat and then the mixture is squeezed either by hand or through a mesh to extract the milk. The need for efficient and large scale processing is due to the increasing demand for processed coconut milk thus the need for mechanical coconut milk extractors. A screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mat with a complementary thread often in the form of a nut or an object that has the internal thread formed into it. Other screw threads are designed to cut a helical groove in a softer material as the

screw is inserted. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and to position objects. A coconut milk extractor is a machine used to reduce the manual extraction of coconut milk. It also aims to increase the volume of milk produced. The more milk produced, the higher is the efficiency of the whole process. Thus to increase the efficiency of coconut milk extraction, mechanization is introduced. Now a days, various coconut milk extracting machines are available in the market. They promise high efficiency and ease of use. An example of the commercially available coconut milk extractor is the one made by Charoenchai Company Ltd. The specifications of the machine are listed below: Table 1. Specifications of a Commercial Coconut Extractor. Type of Machine Coconut Milk Screw-type Extraction Machine Commercial Name Coconut Milk Extractor Power Source Electric Power Type Manual Power Requirement 1 Person Length (mm) 1 470 Height (mm) 1 100 Weight (mm) 170 Capacity (kg/h) 100 L/h Efficiency (%) 80-90 Width (mm) 450 Price $ 486

Figure 1. Coconut Milk Screw-Type Extraction Machine. (FAO)

To contribute to the possible improvements in the design of coconut milk extractors that are efficient enough to use in mass production, the authors came up with a design to extract coconut milk from coconut meat with the use of little effort. This attempt is also in partial fulfillment of the requirements in AENG 60 (Machine Design I). III.

Objectives

This project aims to incorporate all the lessons learned in AENG 60 (Machine Design I). Specifically, it aims to 1. Design a manually operated coconut milk extractor; 2. Fabricate a working coconut milk extractor based from the design. IV.

Methodology Materials Used(for dimensions, refer to the machine drawing in the Appendix) Galvanized Iron Sheet Angle Bar Fan Belt Red Paint Fine Nylon Net Procedure The design of the coconut milk extractor was determined by first assuming a force required to comfortably drive the handle in order to extract sufficient amounts of coconut milk from the coconut meat. After determining the right dimensions, a sketch was made so that the design is determined. The right materials to be used on each part were also identified. Then, the design was brought to Mang Andy who fabricated the extractor. After the extractor was fabricated, testing was done to determine if the machine is working. Since the design had minor flaws, adjustments were done to account for these flaws. It was found out that after testing that the machine could extract coconut milk.

V.

Results and Discussion After the machine was tested the following results were then obtained:

Table 2. Results obtained from testing the machine. Minimum Amount of Force Applied to the Handle Approximate Number of Turns to Extract Amount of Coconut Meat to be Extracted Amount of Coconut Milk Extracted Capacity

80lbs 40 1kg (approx) 175 mL 2.33 mL/sec (approx)

The design itself of the machine is not perfect. Many turns had to be made in order to lower the anvil. This is not desirable at all as it can cause fatigue to the person operating the machine. Rubber had to be installed at the bottom of the cylinder to lift it so that the anvil could reach the bottom of the cylinder. The machine also becomes somewhat unstable when the anvil is about to reach the bottom of the cylinder. It should be noted that the coconut milk that was extracted from the coconut meat is about 99%. This would explain the small amount of milk that was extracted as opposed to the usual amount of milk being extracted using the same amount of meat. Also, applying the equivalent amount of force during the usual milk extraction – that is without the use of any machine/equipment but of only hands, given the same coconut meat condition would not yield the same amount of milk as it is very difficult to extract the milk with only little water added to the meat. This is where the need for an equipment to efficiently extract coconut milk comes in. it is desirable that the machine be as much as possible easy to bring about and to operate as well. The machine made in the project does not meet the first requirement which is the portability. If one would buy equipment that is used almost frequently, it has to be portable and easy to bring and adjust. This is one of the disadvantages of having to use materials that are strong enough to resists wearing during operations. As for the efficiency of the machine, it is found out that the machine is 38% efficient. As compared to the usual method of extraction that uses the hands or blender to extract coconut milk, this machine is 50% efficient. The efficiency of the traditional milk extraction is based from the assumption that the extracted milk is also about 96% pure. In comparison also to the commercially available machine presented above, the fabricated machine is less efficient. Due to these findings, recommendations are accounted for by the authors. VI.

Conclusions and Recommendations

After fabricating and testing the machine, it was found out that the machine is working though it is not efficient enough in comparison to the traditional way of coconut milk extraction as well as to the commercially available machine. Considering the budget and time constraints, the authors would recommend that improvements on the machine design be made. It could be recommended that the use of heavier anvil material so that just by the weight of the anvil alone, milk could already be extracted. Since there was also a discrepancy in the design measurements, the screw could also be made longer so that it would reach the bottom of the cylinder. Also, it would be made that the lead of the screw be increased so that the number of turns made to lower the anvil be minimized. Finally, it is recommended to test varying loads of coconut meat and water combinations to come up with the ideal mixture that would produce the biggest amount of coconut milk.

VII. • • •

References Coconut Development Board. “Coconut Processing Technology.” Retreived: March 26, 2010. (url: http://coconutboard.nic.in/cream.htm). FAO Corporate Document Respository. “Coconut Milk Screw-Type Exatraction Machine.” Retrieved: March 26, 2010. (url: http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/X5424E/x5424e16.htm). Veneracion, Connie. “How To Extract Coconut Milk/Cream.” 2009. Retrieved: March 26, 2010. (url: http://pinoycook.net/net/how-to-extractcoconut-milk-cream/).