(TITLE)

IMPROVEMENT OF A PEDAL OPERATED PORTABLE SHELLING MACHINE FOR

CORN (Zea mays L.)

FRANK ADRIAN V. VILLANUEVA

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Nature and Importance of the Study
Corn (Zea maysL.) is a cereal crop that has been cultivated as a food crop since ancient
times. Itis native to Central and South America.It has a variety of usessuch as food
consumption,flour, oil, fuel in the form of ethanol or for livestock feed. The corn plant is an
efficient factory for converting large amounts of radiantenergy from the sun into a stable form of
chemical energy stored as cellulose, oil andstarch. It has proven to be a very versatile grain
(Davis.,2001).
Maize (corn) is one of the most important staple crops in the world. In Kenya, for
example, 45% of the population considers Ugali (maize meal) to be their survival food, making it
the most consumed food of the country. Maize also accounts for 43% of the Latin American diet.
In Asia, maize production is over 200 billion kilograms a year and it is expected that the total
maize production in developing countries will eventually overtake production in industrialized
countries(D-Lab Corn Sheller Background Copyright Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.Accessed on July 30, 2014).
In many developing nations, simple agricultural tasks can require huge amounts of labor
due to a lack of appropriate technology. One such task is shelling maize kernels from the cob for
storage purposes. Also in some rural areas of developing countries, the maize kernels are
removed from the cob by hand in a process called shelling. Shelling the annual maize harvest
by hand typically takes weeks and may pull children out of school, since processing food for
survival takes priority over education in subsistence farming households. The hardened, dry

maize can also be painful to shell and lead to hand injuries(D-Lab Corn Sheller Background
Copyright Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Accessed on July 30, 2014).
Another option is a simple tool that makes it possible to shell maize several times faster
than by hand. The device has the additional advantages of being robust, portable, transparent to
users and only a fraction of the cost of other alternatives commonly on the market. One of those
alternatives is the pedal operated Degraining /Shelling machine ( Marroquin et.al., 2010).
Objectives of the Study
The main objective of the study was to improve a pedal operated portable shelling
machine for corn. Specifically it aimed to:
1. Evaluate the technical performance of the pedal operated shelling machine such as the
shelling efficiency and the percent shelling recovery; and
2. Determine the economic performances of the pedal-operated corn sheller.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study focused only on the improvement of the pedal operated portable shelling
machine with the considerations on certain parameters such as operation and fabrication costs,
capacity of the pedal operated portable shelling machine, amount and quality of corn kernels
removed from the cob, and the efficiency of the machine.

Time and Place of the Study

This study will be conducted at the _______________, Department of Agricultural
Engineering, Visayas State University, Baybay City form _______ to ___________.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
CORN (Zea mays L.)
Maize (corn) is one of the most important staple crops in the world. In Kenya, for
example, 45% of the population considers Ugali (maize meal) to be their survival food, making it
the most consumed food of the country. Maize also accounts for 43% of the Latin American diet.
In Asia, maize production is over 200 billion kilograms a year and it is expected that the total
maize production in developing countries will eventually overtake production in industrialized
countries ((D-Lab Corn Sheller Background Copyright Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Accessed on July 30, 2014).
Threshing or Shelling
de Lucia et. al., (1994), threshing or shelling is the process of separating the grains, or the
shells in the case of groundnuts, from the portion of the plant that holds them. This separation,
done by hand or machine, is obtained by threshing, by friction or by shaking the products; the
difficulty of the process depends on the varieties grown, and on the moisture content and the
degree of maturity of the grain. Threshing or shelling operations follow the harvest and whatever
pre-drying of the crop is undertaken. These operations may be carried out in the field or on the
farm, by hand or with the help of animals or machines.
According to PAES 208: 2000. Agricultural Machinery: Power-Operated Corn Sheller
Specifications, for better understanding about the shelling process of corn, the following
important terminologies were defined:
a. corn cob- part of the ear corn where the kernels are attached.
b. corn ear- pistillate inflorescence of the plant Zea mays L., enclosed with a leaf-like
protective covering known as husk.

c. kernel-dry and indehiscent seed developed from the ovary of the ear corn.
d. kernel-ear corn ratio- ratio of the weight of the corn kernel present in the ear corn to
the weight of the ear corn
e. mechanically damaged kernels- kernels that were broken and/or scratched as a
result of shelling operation
f. net cracked kernel- difference between the percent cracked sample taken before and
after the shelling operation.
g. purity- ratio of the weight of clean corn kernels, to the total weight of unclean corn
kernels sample, expressed in percent.
h. scattering loss- ratio of the weight of corn kernels that fell out from the machine
during shelling operation to the weight of the total corn kernel input of the sheller,
expressed in percent
i. separation loss- ratio of the weight of corn kernels that come out of the shelling
chamber with the cobs at the cob outlet, to the weight of the total corn kernel input of
the sheller, expressed in percent
j. shelled kernels- whole and damaged corn kernels separated from the cob after
shelling
k. shelling efficiency- ratio of the weight of the shelled corn kernels collected at all
outlets, to the total corn kernel input of the sheller, expressed in percent
l. shelling recovery- ratio of the weight of the shelled corn kernels collected at the
main outlet, to the total weight of the corn kernel input of the sheller, expressed in
percent.

m. moisture content- amount of moisture in the kernel expressed as percentage of the

total weight of the sample, dry basis
Calculated as:
Moisture Content, % d.b. = [(Mo M1)/ M1] x 100
Where:
Mo = initial mass in grams of the test portion
M1 = mass in grams of the dry test portion
Moisture Content.
de Lucia et. al., (1994), the amount of moisture present in a corn plays a vital rule in
shelling process. The higher the moisture content, the lesser the possibilities of removing the
kernels from the corn cob and causing more damage to the corn. On the other hand, the lower
moisture content i.e., the corn is too dry will eventually cause the corn kernels to crack that will
result to increase in losses.
Manual Shelling of Corn
The easiest traditional system for shelling maize is to press the thumbs on the grains in
order to detach them from the ears. Another simple and common shelling method is to rub two
ears of maize against other. These methods require a lot of labor, however. It is calculated that a
worker can hand-shell only a few kilograms an hour (de Lucia et. al., 1994). Also in some rural
areas of developing countries, the maize kernels are removed from the cob by hand in a process
called shelling. Shelling the annual maize harvest by hand typically takes weeks and may pull
children out of school, since processing food for survival takes priority over education in
subsistence farming households. The hardened, dry maize can also be painful to shell and lead to

hand injuries (D-Lab Corn Sheller Background Copyright Massachusetts Institute of

Technology. Accessed on July 30, 2014).
Pedal Operated Degraining /Shelling machine
Another option is a simple tool that makes it possible to shell maize several times faster than
by hand. The device has the additional advantages of being robust, portable, transparent to users
and only a fraction of the cost of other alternatives commonly on the market. One of those
alternatives is the pedal operated Degraining /Shelling machine. Pedal power can be harnessed
for countless applications which would otherwise require electricity (which may not be
available) or hand power (which is far more effort). They can be built using locally available
materials and can be easily adapted to suit the needs of local people. They free the user from
rising energy costs, can be used anywhere, produce no pollution and provide healthy exercise.
The pedal motion is aided by a flywheelmade from a bicycle wheel weighted withconcrete.
The wheel itself is adapted to acceptdrive sprockets on both sides of thehub.The main frame is
made from steel and asection cut from an old bicycle frame incorporatesthe crankset. Derailleurs
keep the chain intension as well as providing a method to changegear.The machine is easy to
operate, easy to maintain andreasonably portable. It can be used anywhere by virtually anyone.
Its also a simple matter to switch from degraining to milling by unbolting one appliance
andattaching the other ( Marroquin et.al.,2010).
According to PAES 209:2000- Agricultural Machinery: Power-Operated Corn ShellerMethods of Tests. These are the Formulas Used for Calculations and Testing of the Corn Sheller.
1. Kernel-ear corn ratio (Re)
Re = Wk / We
where:

Wk is the weight of kernel, g

We is the weight of the ear corn, g
2. Capacity
a) Actual capacity (Ca), kg/h
Ca = Wc / To
where:
Wc is the weight of shelled kernel, kg
To is the duration of operation, h
b) Corrected capacity (CC), kg/h (at 100% purity, 20% moisture content)
Cc =

x P x Co

where:
Cc is the corrected capacity, kg/h
Co is the actual capacity, kg/h
MCo is the observed moisture content, %
MCm is the kernel moisture content, at 20%
P is the kernel purity, %
3. Purity (P), %
P=

x 100

where:
Wu is the weight of uncleaned kernel, g
WC is the weight of cleaned kernel, g

4. Separation Loss (S1)

a) Amount
Sl =
b) Percentage
Sl , % =
5. Unshelled Loss (U1)
a) Amount
Ul, kg =
b) Percentage
Ul , % =
6. Scattering loss (SC l), %
Ul , % =
7. Shelling Efficiency (Se) , %
Se ,% =
or

= 100% - Unshelled loss (%)

8. Shelling Recovery (Sr), %

Sr % =
9. Cracked kernel (Cg), %
Cg =
10. Mechanically damaged kernel (Dg), %
Dg =