Design, Fabrication and Performance Test of Ethanol Extractor From Cassava

ABSTRACTThe ethanol extractor was design, fabricated and its performance was evaluated. It comprises of two plastic containers (fermentation and separating tanks) each of which is 41.2 litters in capacity and a steam boiler of 10.6 liters in capacity which was mounted on an electric heater and the temperature was controlled by a thermostat. Aluminum pipe was used to connect the steam boiler by the top side in which gaseous ethanol flows to the water jacket of 15.3 liters in capacity to condense the ethanol to liquid which is collected at the bottom side of the water jacket. Thermometer was mounted on the steam boiler to read the temperature of the mixture inside the steam boiler. Continuous flow of water is ensured in the water jacket to enhance the rate of condensation. The performance test was carried out using four different feed rates of cassava starch at two different durations of extraction which include 500g, 1000g, 1500g and 2000g at 180minutes and 200minutes. Each one was replicated five times. The results showed that the quantity of alcoholic extracted depends on quantity of starch used. The high the quantity of cassava starch will lead to high durations of extraction that produced high volume of ethanol. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for the effect of feed rates and time on the efficiency of the machine confirms that these factors are important parameters that significantly affect the performance and the volume of ethanol extracted by the machine.