Abstract

The process of making plantain flour from plantain (Musa paradisiaca), which is mostly consumed in the tropical region, can be time-consuming. Through the years, various methods of processing the plantain pulps into flour have been devised, each having its own limitations and advantages. Although there is an existing market for the design and production of plantain processing plant, proper drying, one of the most important stages in the production of plantain flour to remove moisture from plantain pulps (sliced or particulate), still remains a challenge to effective food processing plants. The performance evaluation of an effective dryer that will dry and allow the movement of dried plantain pulps to the next machine in a plantain process plant and its suitability to the food industrial applications was carried out in this study. The volume of the drying drum was estimated to be 0.03 m3. The capacity of the dryer is the amount of plantain the drying drum can contain per batch. 29 kg of plantain pulps was dried at a temperature of 70°C for 27 to 29 minutes. The efficiency of the machine was evaluated to be 72.7% by estimating the moisture removal rate from the plantain in comparison with the power consumption rate. The rotary dryer was developed by Dr. Olutomilola of the department mechanical engineering, Federal University of Technology Akure. The dryer was modified and its overall drying efficiency was optimized by +18.01%.