Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.

1) March, 2014

DEVELOPMENT OF A FRUIT WASHING MACHINE

F. I. Oyeleke, A.M. Olaniyan, M. O. Sunmonu and S. K. Oyeniyi
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
Corresponding author: sholams2000@yahoo.co.uk
ABSTRACT
A fruit washing machine was designed and fabricated taking into consideration the techno-economic
status of the micro, small and medium scale fruit farmers who are the intended users of the machine.
Considerations also included high washing capacity and efficiency and the desire to make the
construction materials of stainless steel to ensure the quality of the washed product. Other consideration
was a strong main frame as support to ensure structural stability of the machine. The machine was
designed for ergonomic value, safety and ease of operation and maintenance by incorporating guards
around the moving parts and components. Rollers were also incorporated in the design to ensure easy
movement of the machine. The machine was tested using 50 samples of orange for the washing operation.
During the testing, the belt conveying mechanism was such that the fruits were conveyed under high jet
spray pressure in order to get rid of the attached foreign materials. The test result showed that the washing
capacity was 0.0163 tonnes/h or 16.3 kg/h and washing efficiency was 62.5 %. Powered by a 1 hp single
phase gear electric motor, the machine has a production cost of USD 300 while all the construction
materials were available locally.
KEYWORDS: Washing, machine, fruits, oranges, washing capacity.
1.

INTRODUCTION

Fruits are highly perishable FAO (1995), reported that over 23 % of most perishable fruits are lost during
their journey through the agricultural food chain due to spoilage, physiological decay, water loss and
mechanical damage. These occur during harvesting, transportation, processing and packaging. These
losses have been estimated to be more than 50% in the tropics and sub tropics. Washing fresh produce
(also known as surface treatment) can reduce the overall potential for microbial food safety hazards. This
is an important step since most microbial contamination is on the surface of fruits. If pathogens are not
removed, inactivated, or otherwise controlled, they can spread to surrounding produce, potentially
contaminating a greater proportion of the produce. (FDA, 1998).
Fruits are prewashed to get rid of immediate surface dirt and pesticide residues before any leaves and
stem still attached are removed. The removal of mites and other surface arthropods may be enhanced by
the use of a mechanical surface cleaning system, such as high-pressure water sprays and/or rotating
brushes (Walker, 1996). Hussain et al (1991) recommended that fruits must be cleaned after they are
harvested to improve product appearance and edibility to remove residues of field-applied chemicals and
to remove harmful microorganisms that would shorten the life of the product. According to Walker
(1996), pressurized sprays ranging from 2240 to 5516 kPa were used to remove surface arthropods.
In recent research, Bai et al (2006) mentioned that use of high pressurized sprays causes damages to the
fruit surface. Pressurized sprays at 560 kPa were more effective than those at 210 kPa in pest removal, but
also damaged the fruit surface but sprays at 420 kPa were as effective and did not cause injury.
Furthermore, increasing the pressure to 840 kPa did not significantly increase efficiency but reduced the
fruits quality as it caused damages to the fruits.

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Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.1) March, 2014

Papadopoulou (1998) was of the opinion that the clarity of the water which was affected by the
concentration of suspended particles was a measure of its quality. High pressures in the range 3000-8000
bars were suggested by Palou (2000) to be applied on some fruits in order to inactivate microorganisms
and enzymes without the degradation in flavour and nutrients associated with traditional thermal
processing. Unfortunately there are some problems associated with the use of this treatment on fresh-cut
products, as it affects the integrity of porous ones as a consequence of the compression and expansion
during pressurization and decompression of the air confined in the fruit matrix.
Rotary fruit washing machine features a simple design and sturdy construction. Fruits are fed into the
hopper continuously and get washed by slow tumbling action of the rotary drum. After washing, the fruits
come out through the other end (FAO, 1995). This machine is capable of washing fruits, vegetables and
most suitable for washing fruits like mango, pears, apples, potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables but
it cannot be used to clean fragile fruits like tomatoes.
The objectives of this study were to develop a fruit washing machine that can enhance the fruit quality
and to determine the machine efficiency.
2.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1

Main Components of the Machine

As shown in Figure 1, the machine main frame is made of 40 mm x 40 mm angle iron with a thickness of
4 mm. it is the chaises of the machine on which other parts are built. Fruits are fed into the washing
camber through the hopper. The hopper is in the form of a trapezium with upper dimension of 600 mm x
300 mm, base dimension of 500 mm x 300 mm and height of 150 mm, the hopper is twit at an angle of 50.
The conveyor belt is made of balata material since they are water proof and can be easily made endless.
This will convey the fruits to be washed to the washing chamber at a regulated speed. The washing
chamber accommodates the sprinklers and the conveying belt.
The drain net allows the draining of the fruits of wash water. The water basin contains the drained water
while the filter: filters the water being collected after washing in order to recycle it for the next washing
operation. A centrifugal pump of known specification was be used for water pumping while the sprinklers
sprayed water on the fruits at a regulated pressure. A weighing balance was employed to measure the
weight of the fruits before and after washing while a stopwatch was used to record the time spent in
washing operation. A Vernier caliper was used to measure the different dimensions (major, minor and
lateral diameters) of the fruit to be washed.
2.2

Working Principles of the Machine

The machine was designed to operate in batches of about 50 oranges per batch which are fed into the
washing chamber through the fruit hopper. The sprinklers spray water on the fruits while travelling
through the conveyor belt at a controlled speed. This is to ensure that the fruits are are thoroughly cleaned
to the required standard. The machine was powered by a 1-hp single phase geared electric motor of 200
rpm with a power transmission efficiency of 90 %.
The washing systems is aided by the sprinklers which spray water at high pressure spray across and along
the conveying belt over the fruits to be washed. In operation, the fruits lie still on the surface of belt
conveyor without relative motion between the product and the conveyor belt. In this way, there will
generally be no damage to the fruits until the fruits arrive to the dryer sheet in which the washed fruits are
discharged into a collector. The debris and unwanted particles are removed through the drain net or

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Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.1) March, 2014

dissolved in the washing water. The water discharged into the water chamber after washing is recycled by
pumping and filtering it into the washing chamber in order to maximize water use.

Figure 1: Exploded View of the Fruit Washing Machine: 1-Feeding Tray; 2-Pulley; 3-Belt; 4 Belt Guard;
5-Motor Seat; 6-Electric Motor; 7-Hose; 8-Frame; 9-Roller; 10-Water Pump; 11-Fruit Collector; 12Water Tank; 13-Drain Net; 14-Shaft; 15-Bearing; 16-Conveyor Belt; 17- Pipes; 18-Washing Chamber;
19-Nozzle or Jet
2.3

Design of the Machine Components

2.3.1 Design of the Feeding Tray

The tray inclination which is considered an important design factor in feeding tray (opened hopper)
design was determined using the expression given by Ashaolu, (1989). This is expressed as:
a = tan-1

(1)

where: a is angle of inclination and is coefficient of friction between orange and galvanized steel as
proposed by Singh, (2004). Given that = 0.36, hence, a = 19.70.
2.3.2 Design of Shaft
The shaft is the main component of the machine and is acted upon by weights of material being
processed, pulley, conveyor belt and the fruits. In operation, the shaft transmits the power being generated
by the gear reduction motor to the conveyor belt. Therefore, in order to safeguard against bending and
torsional stresses, the diameter of the shaft was determined from the equation given by Shigley and
Mitchell (2001) as:


(2)

where: d is diameter of the shaft in m, T is torque transmitted by the shaft in Nm, is yield stress for
mild steel in N/m2 and  is a constant. Given that T = 60 Nm and = 200 N/mm2, and = 3.142, hence,
d = 17.82 mm. Therefore, a mild steel rod of diameter 25 mm and length 680 mm was used for the shaft.

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Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.1) March, 2014

2.3.3 Design of Drive Mechanism

In determining the diameter of the driven pulley, the expression given by (Gupta, 2006) was used in
conjunction with relevant information in standard tables.
N1D1 = N2D2

(3)

where N1 and N2 are the speed of the driven pulley and speed of the driving pulley respectively in rpm and
D1 and D2 are the diameter of the driven pulley and diameter of the driving pulley respectively in mm.
According to Kempes Engineers Yearbook and Gates Rubbert Company Manual, the minimum pitch
diameter for A type V-belting transmitting power at a speed of 1500 rpm is 2.2 in (or 55.9 mm). For this
reason, a driving pulley diameter of 60 mm was chosen to be used. The calculated value of driven pulley
using Equation (3) is 4500 mm (4.5 m). However, due to this large calculated driven pulley, a gear
reduction box will be attached to the conveyor shaft in order to give the required speed of the conveyor 20
rpm.
Angle of Wrap
The angle of wrap was determined using the expression given by (Gupta, 2006) which was stated in the
expression below as:


 

(4)

where:  is angle of wrap in radian, D is diameter of bigger pulley, d is diameter of smaller pulley and
C is Centre to centre distance between both pulleys. Substituting the values of D, d and C into Equation
(4) gives the angle of wrap as 2.92 radians.
2.3.4 Design of the Conveyor Belt
The conveyor belt will reduce the fruit's velocity, minimize the chance for damage. Fruit-to-fruit contact
is preferred over fruit-to-metal therefore the conveyor belt is made of balata belt. The dumping sequence
and fruit flow control are critical for uniform throughput and an efficient operation. The groove angle was
determined using the expression given by Gupta (2006) shown in Equation (5) below as:





(5)

where: is groove angle, R is radius of driven pulley, r is radius of driving pulley and C is distance
between the centres of the two pulleys. Given that R = 12.5 mm, r = 12.5 mm and C =
Angle of Contact:
Flat belt drives consist of a strong elastic cone surrounded by an elastomer. Drives of this type have a lot
of advantages over gear drives or V-Belt drives. According to Shigley and Mitchell (2001), the contact
angle is found to be


 

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Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.1) March, 2014

Since D = d = 12.5 mm, hence, Qd = radians or 1800.

Belt Design
The length of the belt was be determined using the equation below (Gupta, 2006):
  

(7)

where: L is total length of the belt in mm, r1 and r2 are radii of the driven pulley and driving pulley
respectively in mm, C is distance between the centres of the two pulleys in mm. Substituting the values
of the parameters in the equation gives L as 1478.539 mm.
2.3.5 Power Requirements and capacity of the conveyor
The power required to drive the conveyor was determined using equation (8)
  

(8)

where: T1 and T2 are Tensions on the tight and slack sides of the belt respectively in N. With T 1 = 368.92
N and T2 = 349.53 N; hence, P = 28.51 W.
The capacity of the conveyor was determined by the equation given by Miller et al (2010) as:





(9)

where: C, W, S and A is the capacity (tonnes/hr.), width of conveyor in meters (m), linear speed (m/min)
and area of the conveyor (m2) respectively. Substituting W = 0.45 m, S = 0.13 m/min and A = 0.75 m2;
hence, C = 0.052 tonnes/hr.
2.4

Construction of the Machine

The machine components were fabricated based on the design specifications and were assembled together
as shown by its isometric view in Figure 2. The materials of construction, their specifications and
construction procedures are as shown in Table 1.

Figure 2: Isometric View of the Fruit Washing Machine

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Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.1) March, 2014

Table 1: Materials of Construction, their Specifications and Construction Procedures

S/N Component Parts
Materials
Procedure
Quantity
1

Frame

Galvanized
steel, 40 40
mm angle iron

Feeding Tray

1 mm
galvanized
steel.

Washing chamber

Pulley

Engine Base

1.5 mm
galvanized
steel
Mild steel,
single groove
( 300mm)
Galvanized
steel, 40 40
mm angle iron

Shaft

3.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATAION OF THE MACHINE

3.1

The Machine

Mild steel

600 mm 4, 770 mm 4 and

1060 mm 3 was cut to form the
breadth, height and length
respectively of the frame. They
were welded together to form a
rigid frame.
The metal sheet was bent at 3
sides and screwed to the wall of
the washing chamber inside

3 standard
length

The sheet was belt at 250 600

800 mm to form the height, breath
and the length of the chamber.
A pulley of 300 mm diameter was
selected.

The angle iron was cut into

300mm in 5 places and welded
together to form the base of the
prime mover of the machine.
The mild steel was machined to
20 mm and 500 mm long. Two
pairs of pillow bearing was used
to support the shaft.

200 x 600
mm
/2 of
standard
dimension
1

After fabrication of the component parts, the machine was assembled as shown in Figure 3. Testing was
carried out in this project work to determine the suitable washing rate, washing efficiency and volume of
water required to wash fruits. The gear electric motor was connected by belt mechanism to the pulley of
the shaft of the conveyor belt and the water pump was connected to the sprinkler system. The machine
was set into operation and, after the smooth running was maintained, fruits were introduced into the
washing chamber through the feeding trays. The washing operation continued.
3.2

Washing Efficiency of the Machine

Washing efficiency of the machine was calculated by the expression given by Scott et al (1981) and
shown in Equation (10) as:






(10)

where: WE is washing efficiency in %, SR is mass of foreign materials removed by washing (mass of

sample before washing - mass of sample after washing) in g/ kg and SA is mass of foreign material
attached in g/kg. SA was estimated by hand washing 30 samples of fruits to full cleaning and weighing
the foreign materials attached with one kg of fruits. From the test, SR and SA were found to be 100 and
160 respectively in g/kg resulting in WE being 62.5 %.

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Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.1) March, 2014

Figure 3: Pictorial View of the Fruit Washing Machine

3.3

Productivity of the Machine

The washing productivity of the machine was determined using the expression given by the equation
given below as:





(11)

where: C is washing capacity of the machine in tonnes/h, M is mass of the washed fruit in tonnes and T W
is washing time in min. From the test, M and TW were found to be 0.00244 tonnes and 9 min respectively
resulting in C being 0.0163 tonnes/h or 16.3 kg/h.
4.

CONCLUSION

The study examined the effect of pressurized sprays and conveyor belts on fruits. Washing as a unit
operation in fruit processing is of high necessity and very important in any fruit process industries. From
the test carried out on the machine the following salient points can be concluded that the water pressure
was able to remove the foreign materials attached to fruits and also reduce the heat built up in the fruits by
cooling. The steady slow speed of the geared electric motor enhances the thorough washing of the fruits.
The use of water proof belt for the conveyor belt is strongly recommended as this will not absorb
moisture as well as reducing the load on the conveyor belt.
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Ashaolu, M. O. 1989. Design and construction of a cassava chipping machine. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis,
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Bai, J. 2006. Effect of a high-pressure hot water washing treatment on fruit quality, insects, and disease in
apples and pears. Part II. Effect of different washing condition on fruit quality of dAnjou pears.
Postharvest Biology and Technology 40, 216220.

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Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (JAET), Volume 22 (No.1) March, 2014

FAO 1995. Fruit and fruits processing. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No.119. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
FDA 1998. Guidance for Industry - Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh
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Scott, J. M. 1981. Spray nozzle performance in cleaning food equipment. Trans. ASAE. 2 (3): 526-536.
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