Design and construction of a mechanized charcoal-fueled corn roaster

The economic situation in most developing countries has left farmers and processors operating at small scale and under unhygienic environment. The productivity is often too low to justify labour and time investment. With respect to the challenges particularly associated with roasting of corn, a roaster was designed, constructed and its performance evaluated. The mechanized charcoal fueled corn roaster consists of a frame, roasting unit, charcoal tray, air blowing unit and a power transmission system. The functional efficiency of the machine at different roasting temperatures of 100^oC, 130^oC and 150^oC ranged between 88% and 94%, while the roasting capacity and roasting time ranged between 40 and 54 fresh corns per hour in 22 and 30 min, respectively. The developed roaster can effectively address the need of rural dwellers as well as small and medium scale processors, which would subsequently contribute to economic empowerment and alleviation of food insecurity in areas where this food product is frequently consumed.