Case study of recurrent failure of worm screws in locally fabricated palm kernel oil extractors

Abstract

Worm Screws in palm kernel oil screw press have been found to fail often and usually require constant replacement. The failure rate is also more with locally fabricated worm screws which usually need to be replaced after about 4 – 5 batches of inlet capacity of palm kernels have been processed. This causes downtime in the machine’s operations and the wear of the worm screw deposits metal particles in the extracted oil which should be avoided at all costs as palm kernel oil is usually refined for food and cosmetic use amongst others. The method currently used for the local fabrication has been discussed and recommendations have been made that could result in better useful life of the locally fabricated worm screw. The limitation preventing Nigerian Engineers from fabricating the worm screws with best engineering practices are also discussed.