Portable disc granulator machine
List of Authors
  • M. F. S. H. Shahrul , M.N. Hafsa

Keyword
  • bio-organic fertilizer, disc granulator machine, granular shape fertilizer

Abstract
  • This work presents the design of a portable disc granulator machine to produce granule shape fertilizer from a powdered mixture. The industry demands granular fertilizer made from chemical substances due to the benefits that can be obtained compared to fine powder fertilizer. It has a longer lifespan of up to 9 months and a slow rate of nitrogen absorption from fertilizer because of its granular form. Granular fertilizers are easy to store and do not settle out over time, or salt out in cold weather. Fertilizer plays the role of a plant food element and is crucial to maintaining the health of plants for their growth. The pharmaceutical method is frequently used by farmers to create fertilizer in the form of granules which are wet granulation and dry granulation process. Wet granulation was employed in this project since it involves the addition of liquids like molasses or water. The portable disc granulator machine is designed to turn fertilizer into granule shapes, which are subsequently used as the product's base material. However, the fertilizer must be produced a uniform ±5 mm diameter of granular shape for bio-organic fertilizer. Solidification has been made to improve the fertilizer’s granular shape to create a consistent ±5 mm diameter in the disc that rotates automatically with an angle of 48°. A disc granulator machine should first be filled with bio-organic fertilizer. Then, use brown sugar solution or cornstarch to form a granule shape. The disc will be rotating at a speed of 11 to 15 rpm. To assess the machine's ability to create granules with a diameter of about 5 mm, evaluation, and analysis were performed using a vernier caliper. The result demonstrated that the machine could produce ±5 mm with a tolerance of 1 mm and uniformity will be constant.

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