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ABSTRACT
Shea butter is very economical in the world for the multiple uses it performs in food, cosmetics, and medical purposes and it contains biofuel for various applications, The abundance of resources of Shea butter in the country is under-utilized. Traditional methods have limitations in processing shea butter for domestic and export purposes. The aim is to construct and test a shea butter processing plant by designing and fabricating an improved plant that combines various processes into a single machine for quality and productivity at a good rate and efficiency. Material considerations were based on the availability of material, cost, condition of work, and amenability in the fabrication process, Mild steel was selected in the fabrication both in bench work and machining shafts and pulleys for transmission systems. The method of bench operation was followed for the construction The fabrication was completed without the design construction of a dryer, which would attract other fabrication such as a conveyor to feed the dried nuts to other systems of the plant. Boiling water was prepared from outside the boiler. The factors in the tests were the mass of raw shea nuts sent for the process, the time taken in the process, and the mass of butter yield. Two rounds of tests were conducted, with the first test processing 2kg of nuts in 3 hours, yielding about 150 percent, and the second test using 2kg of a different nut, in 2 hours yielding 200 percent, obtaining 4000 grams of butter. The same masses of nuts at 2kg were used for the two tests. The second test yields a better amount of butter. This was understood from the species of the tree and the moisture content of the nut.
Keywords: Construction, Processing, Shea nuts, Shea butter
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