PRODUCTION OF CASSAVA FLOUR USING TRADITIONAL PROCESSING METHOD AND MODERN PROCESSING METHOD. A RESEARCH PROJECT MATERIAL ON CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
ABSTRACT
The production of cassava flour by the method of traditional processing method (sun drying) and modern processing method (oven drying) was carried out using cassava sliced cubes or peeled cassava.
Indeed, the traditional Nigeria techniques of cassava flour production was studied with a view of achieving same product mechanically. Result of this studies show that the processing time can be much reduced if mechanized.
The effects of variations in the processing parameters on the productions were discussed. It was also observed that the percentage of moisture was highest in the sun drying at 18% followed by oven drying at 9%, this was due to the fact that the higher the moisture content, the longer the drying time. Also, while the optimum drying temperature varied for sun drying but it was 800c for oven drying process used respectively.
Based on the work, the colour of sun dried sample was brighter compared with mechanized sample. It is therefore recommended that for good production of cassava flour with good flour mixture, appearance and taste, the flour should be enriched with protein and vitamin additive to increase the nutritional values, thus improving the health of millions of Nigerians whose consumption of cassava flour are high in the areas of bread baking.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Cassava flour is the finer fraction obtained from a whole series of processing operations such as drying operation, milling operation, (sieving) operation.
The purest flour selected from the purest flour stream, released in the mill is often called patent flour, it ha slow mineral )or ash) content and is remarkably free from traces of impurities.
Cassava flour are of various types, namely, bread making flour, biscuit four, self raising flour.
Drying operation which is usually the final stage in most chemical manufacturing processes. It largely involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer, fluid flow, material handling. The significance of drying operations in chemical allied industries cannot be over-emphasized. Some of these include: to increase the shelf life of the material, to lesson the transport cost, space and weight requirement for easy packaging etc.
1.1 AIMS AMD OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH WORK
Since traditional Nigerian techniques of cassava flour production have been studied with a view to mechanizing the processes. The results of the this research work show that the processing, time can be much reduced if mechanized.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.