Confronted with problems associated with removing cocoa beans, methods, technologies and equipment have been developed and applied over the years. This paper comprehensively reviews the most effective method and technology to split cocoa pods and remove the beans. The working principle of the technique was explained with the cocoa pod opening mechanism, structures applicability and cost of the working method. The forces involved in opening cocoa pods are shearing, compressive, and impact depending on the machine type and the process used. The techniques applied in opening cocoa pods are grouped into traditional (manual) and improved (mechanised). The manual method of opening the cocoa pod is time-consuming and prone to accidents leading to injury to beans and farmers. The strength of the labour force available during harvest also affects the manual method. When cocoa beans are damaged, they deteriorate and are not appropriate for fermentation. The mechanised splitting has a high initial investment but very fast and reduced losses. Information gathered on cocoa pod mechanization shows that despite the countless efforts in developing various opening mechanisms. a high bean damage ratio and separation problems are still yet to be controlled. The current trends and techniques in cocoa pod opening mechanisms are also presented.
| Published in | American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 12, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15 |
| Page(s) | 185-194 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Cocoa Pods, Opening Mechanism, Machine Design, Cocoa
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APA Style
Randy, A., Asante, E. A., Bobobee, E. H. Y., Amano, G. K. (2024). Mechanised Removal of Cocoa Beans from the Pod and Strategies to Optimize the Technique: A Review. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 12(3), 185-194. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15
ACS Style
Randy, A.; Asante, E. A.; Bobobee, E. H. Y.; Amano, G. K. Mechanised Removal of Cocoa Beans from the Pod and Strategies to Optimize the Technique: A Review. Am. J. Agric. For. 2024, 12(3), 185-194. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15
AMA Style
Randy A, Asante EA, Bobobee EHY, Amano GK. Mechanised Removal of Cocoa Beans from the Pod and Strategies to Optimize the Technique: A Review. Am J Agric For. 2024;12(3):185-194. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15,
author = {Amuaku Randy and Eric Amoah Asante and E. H. Y. Bobobee and Godwin Kwasi Amano},
title = {Mechanised Removal of Cocoa Beans from the Pod and Strategies to Optimize the Technique: A Review
},
journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
volume = {12},
number = {3},
pages = {185-194},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20241203.15},
abstract = {Confronted with problems associated with removing cocoa beans, methods, technologies and equipment have been developed and applied over the years. This paper comprehensively reviews the most effective method and technology to split cocoa pods and remove the beans. The working principle of the technique was explained with the cocoa pod opening mechanism, structures applicability and cost of the working method. The forces involved in opening cocoa pods are shearing, compressive, and impact depending on the machine type and the process used. The techniques applied in opening cocoa pods are grouped into traditional (manual) and improved (mechanised). The manual method of opening the cocoa pod is time-consuming and prone to accidents leading to injury to beans and farmers. The strength of the labour force available during harvest also affects the manual method. When cocoa beans are damaged, they deteriorate and are not appropriate for fermentation. The mechanised splitting has a high initial investment but very fast and reduced losses. Information gathered on cocoa pod mechanization shows that despite the countless efforts in developing various opening mechanisms. a high bean damage ratio and separation problems are still yet to be controlled. The current trends and techniques in cocoa pod opening mechanisms are also presented.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Mechanised Removal of Cocoa Beans from the Pod and Strategies to Optimize the Technique: A Review AU - Amuaku Randy AU - Eric Amoah Asante AU - E. H. Y. Bobobee AU - Godwin Kwasi Amano Y1 - 2024/06/03 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15 DO - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15 T2 - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JF - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JO - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry SP - 185 EP - 194 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8591 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20241203.15 AB - Confronted with problems associated with removing cocoa beans, methods, technologies and equipment have been developed and applied over the years. This paper comprehensively reviews the most effective method and technology to split cocoa pods and remove the beans. The working principle of the technique was explained with the cocoa pod opening mechanism, structures applicability and cost of the working method. The forces involved in opening cocoa pods are shearing, compressive, and impact depending on the machine type and the process used. The techniques applied in opening cocoa pods are grouped into traditional (manual) and improved (mechanised). The manual method of opening the cocoa pod is time-consuming and prone to accidents leading to injury to beans and farmers. The strength of the labour force available during harvest also affects the manual method. When cocoa beans are damaged, they deteriorate and are not appropriate for fermentation. The mechanised splitting has a high initial investment but very fast and reduced losses. Information gathered on cocoa pod mechanization shows that despite the countless efforts in developing various opening mechanisms. a high bean damage ratio and separation problems are still yet to be controlled. The current trends and techniques in cocoa pod opening mechanisms are also presented. VL - 12 IS - 3 ER -
Department Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana
Department Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Department Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana
