SEMI-AUTOMATIC GALANGAL CLENING MACHINE

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to test the galangal cleaning machine for reducing the problems caused by current cleaning method that requires human labor to wash and long cleaning duration, and for water saving. The research used a 1/4 hp motor with a rotational speed of 1450 rpm to generate the power. The 0.5 hp water pump was used to circulate water for cleaning, while the Flat Fan Spray Nozzle at 60-degree spray was used for spraying the soil fragments attached to the galangal, and the washing sieve will help to sift the soil attached to the galangal heads. The research reveals that the optimum value of this galangal cleaning machine for the cleanest was 5 Kgs of galangal at 120 seconds. The difference before and after cleaning was at 0.9 Kg or at 18%. On comparing the cleaning machine and human cleaning, it was found that cleaning 300 kilograms of galangal by using the cleaning machine took 90.8 minute shorter time than using human labor. The galangal cleaning machine had lower water consumption than cleaning by human labor at 3.02 Baht. The number of workers in cleaning galangal with the cleaning machine was fewer than using human labor at 1 person, but the cleaning machine consumed higher electricity than using human labor at 8.83 Baht. According to the results of the research, a payback period was 6 months.