Development of Manually Operated Orange Peeling Device for Domestic Use

Abstract

Orange a very rich source of vitamin C is a perishable fruit that can only be stored unpreserved for few days before its biological degeneration. When processed to juice, the chemical preservatives that are usually added coupled with the contaminations by its back skin fluid instantly change its natural flavor. This has made many consumers to still prefer freshly peeled fruit to its processed juice. As a solution to laborious hand peeling process that is highly prone to injury due to the sharp tools used several devices have been developed for its peeling. Each of these has its own technical, economic and other shortcomings. This work designed and fabricated a manual orange peeling device with a capability of processing oranges for a domestic family household. The device incorporated a rotary handle through which power was introduced into the system, power screw, spur gear train mounted on a base and cutting blade that performed the peeling function. The fabricated device was operated and assessed to have a peeling efficiency of 97%, generated 2.6% over peeled and damaged oranges and a capacity to peel about 140 oranges per hour as compared to hand peeling that can produce 32 peeled oranges per hour. It is robust, simple to operate and maintain, had good aesthetics and light weight of 619g due to transparent light but strong plastics used to construct the frame and base.

Keywords: Orange, peeling, device, household, juice.