Performance of Sorghum Polishing Machine Type of Three Level of Polisher Cylinders

Ana Nurhasanah^1*, Amran Sulaeman², Andi Nur Alam Syah¹ & Athoillah Azadi¹

¹Indonesian Center for Agricultural Engineering Research and Development, Indonesia
²Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia

Dr. Ana Nurhasanah, Indonesian Center for Agricultural Engineering Research and Development, Indonesia.

Keywords: Sorghum; Polisher Machine; Polisher Capacity; Sorghum Seed Quality

Abstract

Performance of the sorghum polishing machine was performed to determine the performance of the sorghum polishing machine as a whole. The need of polishing the sorghum seed is to reduce the tannin content which is mainly found in the outer skin of the pericarp layers. The high tannin content can reduce the protein digestibility and cause a constipation. Development of a sorghum polishing machine, type of three level of polisher cylinders, was carried out to improve the previous design of polisher. Previously, farmers re-fed the sorghum seeds into the polisher up to three times. This study develop a machine working in a single feed polishing mechanism. Previously in 2012 and 2016, the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Engineering Research and Development, Serpong developed an abrasive type of sorghum polishing machine with a repetitive feeding (upto 4 times), so the working capacity was low varied between 50-100kg/hour. This study aims to modify the polisher machine in order to improve the working capacity. The activities consisted of (i) Development a sorghum seed polisher using a main component of abrasive stone; (ii) Development a three level of polishing mechanism with a single feeding system; (iii) Modification of the screens rotation mechanism working in an opposite direction of the rotation of the abrasive stones. The good quality of the polished seed is shown by the appearance of a full shape and bright color. The performance tests shows that the output capacities were 100-150kg/hour with tannin content of 0.095% and 3-5% of broken seeds and whiteness of 45.77% with the appearance of whole grain shape and bright color.

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