University of Nigeria Research Publications

NWANKWOJIKE, Bethrand Nduka

Aut

hor

PG/MENG/02/33067

Title

Application of Optimization Technique To

Maximize the Revenue of Palm Oil Mills( A Case study of Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm

Research (NIFOR) Oil Mill.

Facu

lty

Engineering

Dep

artm

ent

Mechanical Engineering

Dat

e March, 2004

Sign

atur

e

APPLICATION OF OPTIMIZATION

.._ TECHNIQUE TO MAXIMIZE THE

REVENUE OF PALM OIL MILLS

A CASE STUDY 0 F NlGERIAN INSTlTUTE FOR OIL

PALM RESEARCH (NIFOR) OIL MILL

'..

NWANKWOJKE BETHRAND NDUKA PG/M. ENG/O2/33 06 7

I l.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANTCAL ENGINEERING

... UNIVERSITY OF N1G ElUA NSUKKA

MARCH 2004

CERTIFICATION PAGE

This is to certifL that the research project was carried out by

1 NWANKWOJIKE, BETHRAND 'NDUKA (PG/M,ENG/02/33067) of

depai-tifient of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria Nsukka, under

the supervision of Dr. 0. Onuba and is hereby admitted as having partially

satisfied the requirements for the award of Masters degree in Mechanical

Engineering (industrial Engineering and management) of the university

I-IEAD OF DEPARTMENT ,

I ............................. EXTERNAL EXAMINER

I

DEDICATION PAGE

To God be the glory.

This work is dedicated tomy'rnother late' Mrs. Roseline Uzoagbala

Nwankwojike (1955-1994) whose heart desire is fulfilled in this work

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I shall always be gratefbl and indebted to my project supervisor Dr. 0.

Onuba for his invaluable guidance, helping hands and ever willing at any

time and place to give necessary encouragement and useful advice that made

this work very successfi.d.

I am also grateful to Engr. S.A. Ugwu (Head of Department of

Mechanical Engineering), Dr. S.O. Enibe, Mr. S.C. Nwanya, Miss Justina

Chidimma Eze, Miss. Endurance Ogboso, Miss. Njideka Sara Orjiene and

I.

many who have helped at various stages in the investigation and writing of

this project.

My gratitude goes to my dear father Mr. Romanus Nwakwojike, my

brothers Friday, Amobi, Chidiebere and Anayo for their concern towards my

academic pursuit.

My thanks are due ;o all the staff of NIFOR oil mill Division of

Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research Benin City and the management of

other factories visited during data collection.

Lastly 'l wish to thank everyone who contributed in any way towards

my academic progress and is only Almighty God that can reward them to

their own satisfaction.

TABLE OF, CONTENTS

Con tents Page

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: Literature Review

Chapter Three: Methodology i

Chapter four: Data Presentatioii and Analysis

4.1 Experimental milling of the oil palm h i t bunches----------------- 73

4.2 orm mu la ti on of linear optimization model for palm oil mills------78

4.3 Analysis of the opinions of palm oil mill factory workers on

perceived needs for effective output of the palm oil mill venture-88

..+.

Chapter Five: Summary, C o ~ l c l ~ r s i o ~ ~ and Recon~mendation

vii

Table 2.1 'The contents of durable fire bricks used in palm oil mill factory------- 6 6

Table 4.1 Records of: experimental mil ling of oil palm fruits----------------- 73

. 'Table 4.2 Percentage analysis of dura records-------------------------------- 74

Table 4.3 Percentage analysis of tenera records------------------------------- 75

t #

Table 4.4 Percentage a~lalysis of pisifera records------------------------------ 76

Table 4.5 ]'rice of oil pallll products---------------- ----' ........................ 77

Table 4.6 Revenue per unit mass of dura and tenrera bunches milled------77

Table 4.7 Llescription of the various item questions of the interview--- 88

Table 4.8 Percentage analysis of palm oil mill worl<ers opinions to the

..._ item questions of the interview according to their levels of need-92

'Table 4.9 Perceiltage analysis of the palm oil inills idle time effects

F I G . 4. I : Vcl-y I I ~ L I C ~ I nwtled proli le plok ol'thc entirc palm oil mill

ABSTRACT

'I'he study applied linear programming technique and other decision

malting tools such measures of central tendency and dispersion, graph and so

: on to tind out what the entrepreneurs of palin oil mills require to n~aximize

revenue and minimize cost of production in their palm oil mill factories. 111

this study, data was collected by mealls of experimental processing of a

given mass of each of the fruit types, direct observation of the operation of

the mill unitslmacl~ines and interview conducted for selected palm oil inills

factory s tdf and customers of the venture. The secondary data source,

which includes the past production records, the daily nlaintenance

recordslhistory ol'the plants units and the mill plants manual were used to

confirm the accuracy of the experimental data. The data generated were '": processed using average, percentile, tables, chart, and graphs. The processed

data were analyzed using linear programming technique with the fruit types,

the dura, tenera and pisifera forming the clecision variables. The ratio of .

2:3:0 for dura, tenerq ancl pisil'esa respectively was found in this stydy as the

combining ratio of the thrce oil palm fiuit types in a processing fi-uit

aggregate (mixture of dura, tcnera and pisifera fr~iits) for optimum revenue

derivation froni the use of palm oil i l ~ i l l in the processing of oil palm fruits. I. The study also provides sufficient process parameters, and cxplanation

(obtained liom the mill factory praclical experience) on various unit

"- operations and maintenance of the mill units. I n addition the work

1-econ~mencls an altermtive source of fuel for operating the mills steam boiler

from the palm wastes such as shell, fibre and empty fruit bunches to

substitute the use of fire wood and diesel which cause high cost of

production in this sector.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTlON OF THE STUDY

Prior to mid eighties, Nigeria was the world's largest producer and

exporter of palm products such as palm oil and palm lternel. This was

possible through the active participation of farmers, who were encouraged

by the favourable prospects of the sector.

I-Iowcver i n recent time the output and exportation rate of palm

psoclucts in Nigeria is dwinclling. The decreasing rate of oil palm products

output in the country is caused by increased domestic coi~suinption due to

rapid population growthand limited investments in large scale processing of

oil palm fruits . 'rhe direct eSf'ect of this limited investment in large scale

processing of oil pa1111 fruits is the excessive waste of unprocessed raw fruits

due to inadequate processing facilities to process them.

.According to Hartley ( 1 977), investors are scarecl away from this processing

sector due to s l o ~ i rate of the sectors returns thereby talting longtime for the

scctor to break even, when compared with other production and co~n~nercial

sectors.

Processing involves the conversion of raw products to other acceptable

forms of' procluctssince many raw products cannot be used effectively if

they are not proccssed. This is true of palm fiuits, wl~ich cannot be put to

use effectively unless they were processed to other inox useful products

such as palm oil and palm lternel. 'l'he Iternel yields palm lternel oil (P.K.0)

and palm lter~lel cake (P.1C.C). I'rocessing improves the use of raw products

and enhances the sales of the I-csulting products i n large scale (Bor 1990).

'I'lm-elixe the processing of palm fruits is very important in the marketing of

the resulting products, because an efficient and efrective processing

technique will increase thc quantity and improve the quality of the palm

products available [or both consumption and export at a reduced price.

Altho~igh studies on oil palm fruits processing methods are not new in

Nigeria, most ol'thc previoi~s work3 limit their Focus on the efficiency of the '. .

three major methocls of processing palm fruits. The methods are

(i) 1 ,ocal or 1.nanua1 i~~ethod.

. .,(ii) I-land press neth hod.

(iii) Lmge-scale Factory mill method.

'l'he previous studies established that the use of factory mill method is more

efficient lor the li-uit processing tlian others, because the other two methods

are laboriow and time consu~ning.

varying nnt~lre of the three palm fruit varieties and the varying effects of the

mill units on thein was observed to affect the quality of the products derived

t.om them. The fruits are dura, tenera and pisifera. Pisifera gives low grade

of palm oil and no kernel when processed because its shelless kernel are

crushed on pressing giving a mixture of kernel oil and palm oil that cannot

be separated. This ugly phenomenon is less when dura and tenera are

processed. T~ILIS, empirical data from ihe mill effects on various fruit types

is required when seeltillg for solution to the problem of poor product quality

that characterised the recent mills

'i;urthermore, thc propertics of the various palm fruits types showed that dura

has high Iternel and sliell content, while tenera has high inesocarp (palm oil

and fibres) contents. Because of this varying quantities of palm oil and

kernel output of the palin fruit types and the need for the shell and fibre for

operating the mills steam boilers, the operators of the mill ventures face the

problem of choosing the h i t typc to be processed in order to obtain

optimum.pn)lit when tlic prod~lcts are sold. The fruit type to be processed I

(Or ~oinbiiiation 01. them) must give enough palm wastes (shells and fibre

for the steam boikr without excess.

In addition the oil extraction rate of the recent mills was found to ,be, les

than the designed rate of 98% due to high libre content that characterisc

most of the fsuits processed in them recently. According to Gebr. Strock

(1 990), fibre content of any fioit aggregate ondergoing processing in the mill

ii inversely proportional to the rate of oil extraction of the mill. Also the nut

content oS a palm Sruits mixture affects the life of the digester arms and the

entire mills performance.

'I'hc mqjor intention of this project work is to investigate all the

relevant constraints militating against the performance of the palm oil inills

and determination of the en~pirical data based on the constraints. This will

enable the use ol' an appropriate optimization technique (linear prograinining '.. .

tccliniques) to cleter~nine tllc ratio or each h i t type (dura, tenera and

pisifera) that is required in any processing aggregate (mixture of the fruit

types) to obtain an optimum revenue from the use of the palm oil mill. Also

thc work will provide sufficient practical data on various units of operations

of the ~nill and i t? maintei~ance covered from the factory point of view, to

serve as guides Tor mill engineers and managers to prevent frequent

bseakdown that characterisecl the recent mills in Nigeria. This will increase

tire overall profit margin of thc mill enterprise, which will in turn encourage

investment in the large scale palm fruit processing sector.

1.2 PROBLEM ANALYSIS

The major problems facing the operators of large scale palm oil mill

in Nigeria include the following;

i. High cost of the mill equipment, which makes it difficult for the

operators to purchase new parts for the replacement of damaged and

ineffective ones (old units). This also limits their ability to procure

new mill plants that would have helped in the task of processing the

abundant raw palm fruits in this country. The high cost of the mill

plant is due to surplus (unused) capacities in some mill units' design.

. . 11. Poor qualities of products processed from the mill. This leads to low

price of these products which cause, inability of the mills returns to

justifL its high cost. The low grade of mill output is caused by

inadequate maintenance of the plant units to their specific process

parameters as a result of inadequate practical data and lay down

procedures and parameters covered' from the factory point of view for

both corrective and preventive maintenance of the mill plant.

iii. High daily cost of operating the mill leading to high production cost

of the mill products when compared with the cost of products

processed using other methods, making it difficult for the mill

products to compete favourably in the market with the products of the

other methods. The excessive use of firewood as the sole source of

fuel for operating the mills steam boiler which constitutes over 80%

percent of the daily mill expenditure is one of the major cause of the

high production cost of the mill products.

iv. The varying properties of the three different types of palm fruits, (the

dura, tenera and pisifera) namely, the varying mesocarp and kernel

content of each of the fruit type, varying quality of the products

obtained when each type is processed individually, the varying effect

of the fruit types on the life of the mill units and on the oil extraction

efficiency of the mill. In addition to the different prices of unit

quantity of palm oil and palm kernel. The above factors have

imposed the task of choosing the palm fruits type (s) or a combination

of them that will give optimum benefit when processed. The task is

whether to engage in the processing of high kernel content fruits or

high palm oil content ones or both.

This work applied linear programming method, guided by other

decision making techniques and practical experience on the mill

process to formulate and solve a palm oil mill model whose solution

8

: r ~ t l o~licr rclntctl tlata will of'f'cr satisfying s01~1tio1i to the above ~nc~itioned

of. hctory ~nanagcmcnt and could I x anticipated. 'I'licrcforc, the operators of

I . 1ktcrrni1l:ltiw o f c~npiric.:ll tlat:l lx~scd on the co~~straints limiting the

pcrli~~*~n,i~lcc of' tlic pal111 oil ~liills md tlic cvali~ati~n of the revenue

ot~tlxlt of' tlic systc~ll in rcl:itio~i to the tlmc different palm fruit typks.

. . I . I;or~iit~lntio~l ant1 solvirlg ol' a lillcar 131-ogra~nrning model ol' the palm

oil ~ i~ i l l s rising tlic cliipirical h t n tlctcr~uincd.

iii. Determination of practical parameters for future modification of the

mill design and for establishing future palm plantations.

v. Provision of sufficient explanation to process parameters of the

various units of the mill and their maintenance requirements to guide

the mill engineers in the prevention of the mill breakdown, poor

quality of the mills output and in the evaluation of the plants

performance.

vi. To establish an alternate source of he1 for the systems steam boiler to

substitute the use of firewood in mills.

vii. To encourage investment in the oil palm enterprise and the use of

large scale palm oil mills for the processing of palm fruits to reduce

excessive waste of unprocessed fruits in Nigeria .

1.4 RELEVENT RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Some research questions are very pertinent to this study, knowing

fully well that every production system has an objective and sequence of

operation. One will be interested in asking the following questions.

i. What type of palm fruits is the mill designed to process (pisifera,

tenera or dura)?

I . . 11. If the mill is designed to process all the fruit types. How do properties

of each fruit type affects the mill units, the quality and quantity of the

products as well as the revenue derived from the sale of the mill

outputs?

iii. Which of the identified effects (in number (ii)) above requires

encouragement relative to the fruit types?

iv. which of the fruit type will give the maximum benefit when

v. Can the mill give good quality of products that can compete favorably

with products of other methods?

vi. How does good maintecance culture helps to improve the mill

performance. ?

vii. Can we use any other economical fuel source in the mill other than

firewood? I

Others such as the effects of good management policies, workers

motivation and supervision, raw material supply and product demands

on the entire systems performance are minor questions.

1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This work will encourage investment in large scale processing of oil

palm fruits using a mechanized palm oil mill as well as investment in

the palm business through the provision of sufficient data and

explanations to various process parameters covered from practical

mill experience which will be useful to mill engineers and managers

in minimizing the effects of various factors that militate against the

smooth operation of the palm oil mill plant. The data will also be

useful for design modification of future mills so as to reduce their

cost, which will enhance easy procurement of the mill equipment at a

reduced price in future. They will also be important for the planning

of the oil palm species contents of the future oil palm plantations in

other to comply with the fruit types to be recommended for optimum

I

benefit in the sector, and'also enhance reduction in the production cost

of mill products as well as increasing the profit margin of the venture

(mill plant). The increase in the number of palm oil mills in this

country will increase the quantities of palm oil and palm kernel

products available in this country for both consumption and export,

since there will be enough facilities to process the abundant palm

fruits in this nation without excessive wastes

1.6 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY I

This work covered all areas of operation in NIFOR oil mill division of

Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (MFOR), Benin City in Edo

State of Nigeria. Also related informatioddata obtained from the

Production and Research Engineering Divisions of the same institute

on the MFOR Small Scale Processing Equipment (SSPE) and other

Palm oil mill factories visited during the study were also considered in

the work to diversify the study. , , I.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This research project would have been better than as it is now, but

lack of reading materials militated against this work because only few of the

reading materials required for this work, in almost all the libraries visited

during the initial period of data collection could be obtained.

1.8 DEFINITION OF T E ~ S

I 1. Revenue: Income derived from the'sale of the mill products

2. F.F.B: Fresh fruit bunches that is palm heads or stalk of palm head

containing riped fruits

3. Palm Nut: A depericarped palm fruits

4. Palm Kernels: The seed inside the palm nut (This is soft and edible)

5. P.K.0: Palm kernel oil-oil extracted from palm kernel

P.K.C: Palm kernel cake:- A chaff remains after oil has been

extracted from the kernel

NIFOR: Nigerian Institutes for Oil Palm Research

- - Equal to

> - Greater than or equal to

< - Less than or equal to

Si : Slack or surplus variable

Shell : A hard covering of the kernel seed

Model: An assembly of linear programming equations

Datalparameter: Characteristic or determined features or facts that

are certain from which solutions are drawn.

Oil Palm: The palm tree, which yields the fruits

Mesocarp: The outer most edible covering of the palm fruit which

contains the dil cells and fibre

Optimum: Maximum.

Aggregate: Mixture of dura, tenera and pisifera fiuits or any two of

'them being processed in the palm oil mill

Respondent:- For the purpose of research, it means all the members

of target population of the study interviewed

WorkshopISeminar: Short courses organised for workers to help them

update their skill

cbl'licicl~t alltl c~co~~olllic:~l \\:I\ lilt. tlic ~ i l a x i ~ ~ l r ~ n l Imi~Iit of ~ll;iill~i~l~l. ' 1 ' 1 1 ~

c~l~gi~lcc~.s rises \ ; I I ' ~ O ~ I S sys~eiililt'ic l i l \ \ i ~ i111tl thcorics developed by the

scicrltists to li~ltl boliitio~is to p;~rtic~il;rr prol~lcm(s). 1'1lginecrs approach to

~ ~ ~ * o b l c ~ ~ ~ - s o l i ~ t i o i ~ Iws atl\~a~lc.ccl to tllc cxtci~t that succcss often depend on

tllcir ahil i (\: to tlcal ~ v i t l ~ Ix)tll cco~~o~li ic aid physical i'actors of the problem

co~lcc~mxl. I ~ C ~ ; I I W 111;111~ cvlyii~c~cring ~JI-OC'CSSCS 01' rccclit tinic requircs

.c;c)rl~plc~x tlccisioi~s i l l ~ l lci l (Icsiyi, co~is~~.rietio~~, opc1-;1tiot1 and maintenance.

( l l c l ~ R C I I I I I I ~ ;111d OII\\II~\;I IOOS). 111 I';ICI to CIIOOSC a111ong alternative uses

of ~.cso~i~.cc~. s~il'licicnt ~cbcll~~ic;rl ;111t1 cco11o111ic linowlcdgc 01' thc project to

\vl~icll tllc I-csorll-ccs arc lo he allocalctl i s very essential. Ikgineers select

I 0 1 ' i I I ~ I I : i I i c i o ~ i I I I o r s i i i o ~ i . This makes

I 0 7 ) . I 1g\\,t1 S.A.(2003) said Illat i l l 1.ccc11t practice the technique is

incar

used

I IlCill'

profit. They are usually represented by symbols such as alphabetical

letters.

(c). Constraints: These are limitations placed on the achievement of the

objective. In selecting values for the decision variables the decision-

maker is faced with certain restrictions or limits which cannot be

violated or altered. These may involve limits on resources such as

raw materials, labour time, machine time, storage time, legal or

constitutional requirements such asproduct standards, supply terms,

work period and ' safety standard. Other limitation includes

technological requirements such as components, product size,

machine rest periods, materiaYproduct idle periods and others based

on forecasts policies such as customers orders, materials safety stock

and product safety stock. I

(d). Parameters: They are fixed values attached to the decision variables

that speci@ the impact each unit of the decision variable will have on

the objective function as well as on any constraint in which they

appear.

(e) Linear Relationship: This speaks of the impact of each decision

variable on the objective function and on each constraints in which it

appear and requires that it must be linear.

(f). Divisibility: This concerns potential values, which may be decimals

but could be rounded off to the closest number.

(g). Certainty: This involves the parameters (Numerical values) stated in

both the objective function and constraint, which must remain the way

they are stated.

(h). Non-Negativity Requirements: This is to say that only positive

values and zero are' allowed for variables. The negative values are

unrealistic and therefore are not considered in the determination

profit , resources or cost.

2.2-2 CHARACTERISTICS OF LINEAR OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS I

A linear optimization problem can be an allocation problem, a

transport problem or an assignment problem. Generally all linear

programming problems go with the following characteristics:

(a). The problem must be limited or constrained and these constraints are

capable of being expressed in quantitative terms.

(b). There must be choices or variation in the magnitude of parameters

used.

(c). Variables must be related to constraints in a linear manner

(d). There must be an objective function required to be optimized, which

must be related to the variables in a linear manner.

cli l'li.rctlt \ i i l t ~ c s o I' t lic. tlccisio~i variables on thc objective, which may

li~rict ion a11d tlic C O I I S ~ r;~i~lts i l l :I standard lincar programming [ormat.

I I ~ S I i I . AIloc:~liori 171-oblc'rils can bc solved by graphical

;~~lal!w:s ol' tlic ~iloclcls solr~lio~l \ \ , Iwi clcsir-ccl. Iri firidi~ig solution to linear

( i i ) . 'I'llc r i ~ l l t Il:lnd side of' a n cqu:ltio~l can always bc lnadc non-negative

Oy ~ilrrltiplyirlg both sitlcs hy -I . 'I'llat is to say that the right side of

(iv) . Also tllc clircction ol 'm i11cc.luaiity is rcvcrscd wllcn it is niultiplied by - -

cocf'ficicnf 01' tllc c y a t imls 01' t l ~ 1llodc1 (ill stiiildd hrm) will be formed.

'I'llis first or initial matrix is d a ~ ~ e t ~ Iirst or initial fcasible tableau. This

rcsulti~lg matrix is solvctl using C;ni~ssi;tn elimination iterative method until

all llic i~idcx ~iu~ilbcrs (!lot i~lclutlcd in tlic co~~stant column) are zcro or

~lcpl ivc. At this point ,111 opli~iial solution or the lnodel is obtaincd and the

tlw 1rst11t i~ig opt i t ~ i a l 111:itrix. 'I'llc sclisitivity analysis of tllc nod el solution

G I I I also be cilr~ictl out algebraically by this ~nctliod if desired.

I

2.3 THE OIL PALM

Oil palm is an indigenous forest trees of West African Origin. The

plant is ubiquitous as a natural grove and belongs to the family of palmae

(C.W.S. Hartley 1967). In its natural grove the tree attains a height of 15

metres to 18 metres, although improved species are shorter.

Rain requirement of 150cm to 200cin per annuin, temperature of not

less than 25' C, good sunshine and a loamy to light clay soil are factors I

necessary for the plant growth and good production (Onwubuya 1997)

Nearly all the parts of the plant have some applications, the root is

medicinal, and the bunk is good for housing, bridge construction, fuel

(firewood) and the juice tapped from it constitute the palm wine. The leaves

are used for roofing and broom making while the fruits constitutes the main

source of the three basic commercial products derived from the plant. The

i palm oil and palm kernel oil forms the 'basic raw materials for industries

such as soap, detergent making, margarine, candle, cosmetic, pharmaceutical

industries and so on. The palm oil also constitutes a basic part of our foods

and diets while the kernel cake is used for livestock feed production.

2.3-1 TYPES OF PALM FRUITS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

The oil palm tree (plant) bears fruits on maturity. The fiuits may be

red in colour with brown caps, green with black caps or red with black caps.

The individual fruit is a drupe, Its mesocarp (covered by thin layered

epicarp) contains oil cells which produce the palm oil. Under the mesocarp

lies a hard-shelled nut fiom which kernel is obtained on processing. The

kernel gives the palm kernel oil and cake on hrther process. The mesocarp

and kernel content of any palm fruit depends on its type. We have three

distinct types of oil palm fruits. There are dura, tenera and pisifera. There

are produced by the three species of oil palm plants.

(a) Dura: A dura fiuit is between 2cm .to 3.5cm in length with an average

weight of 4g and shell thickness range of 2mm to 8mrn. The fiuit

posses little or no fibre rings, low mesocarp and high kernel content

than tenera and pisifera. The fruits palm oil output is low when

compared with the other two species because its low mesocarp

content.

(b) Tenera: A typical tenera is about 3cm or less in length with average

weight of 2.5g and over 80 percent mesocarp content. They posses

about 0.5mm to 1.5mm shell thickness with fibre rings. This fruit

yields high quantity of palm oil and less kernel when processed.

(c). Pisifera: Pisifera is a shelless fruit with little or no kernel in it. Its

length is less than 2cm with high mesocarp content and fibre rings.

i s 1 - 1 1 i t ( I . \ 1 1 0 7 ' . Alicr harvesting, processing of i1 lo other

Processing and marketing of palm product is not new in Nigeria,

historical evidence proves the existence of it over a century ago. According

to Hartley (1997) a missionary hope waddle wrote about the main port of

Bonny in River State which was their main sect of palm oil and kernel trade

in 1846. I

The search for an effective and efficient method of processing fruit of

oil palm took a significant turn in Nigeria around 1830 when British colonial

government recognised that palm oil was a dependable raw material for soap

production in United Kingdom.

The processing of the raw palm fruits involves cooking or sterilization

of the fresh fruits, stripping of the fruits from their stalk or bunch, digestion

I o r pounding of the cooked fruits, extraction of crude palm oil from the

digested products, separation of kernel nuts and fibres, cracking of the kernel

nut and separation of shell and kernel. Other processes include the

clarification of the extracted crude oil to a more acceptable products and the

storage of the products. Presently we have three different methods of

processing palm fiuits.

There are traditional or local method, Hand press method and large scale

factory mill method. Each differs from one another in the sequence of the

processing operations due to different nature of facilities involved and the

extraction efficiency of them. The traditional or local method of processing

raw palm h i t s is laborious because all the processing operations are done

by manual means. Also the extraction efficiency of the method in very low.

The products obtained from processing of palm fruits locally usually retain

1 most of their natural qualities since they are never subjected to a serious

thermal operation. Over 65 percent of farmers in this country use this

method. The hand press method was later developed to reduce the crude

nature of the manual method. This method includes both hydraulic and crub

presses. The device used in this are constructed in a way that the cooked

fruits are placed in a cylinder of hot water under the action of beaters, the oil

and water subsequently run off through the sieves at the side and bottom of

I

the system and later separated, before clarification as in manual methods.

Although the extraction rate of the method ranked up to 65 percent it is still

characterised by some manuai operations of the local method.

The factory method is a large scale method of processing palm fruits

using palm oil mills which involves mechanical milling of the fruits from its

bunches to palm oil and kernel with little or no human interference because

the milling is a continuous flow process. The method can mill between 3

tones to 30 tones of fresh fruit bunches O;'.F.B) per hour depending on the

millrcapacity. The system has over 98 percent extraction rate and provides

over 95 percent of our industrial and domestic needs. Because of the heavy

capital involved in procuring palm oil mills, only' about 13 percent of our

farmers use it. Since the factory mill method is recommended for used

because of its efficiency, this work will use the linear programming tools to

make policies that will be adopted to enhance maximum output of the mills

to justifL their cost. The NIFOR Oil mill division of Nigeria Institute for Oil

Palm Research uses a palm oil mill plant of six (6) tons of FFB per hour I

milling capacity for the processing of the harvested palm fruits bunches from

the Institutes plantations

2.4 THE NIFOR OIL MILL

The Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) formerly

known as WAIFOR was established in 1930 with conducting findings on oil

palm plants (crops) and its products as her major area of operation.

Presently the institutes responsibility has been extended to research on other

palms such .as Raphia palm, Dead palm, Coconut palm and other ornamental

palm species. In addition NIFOR also conducts research on design and

fabrication of small scale palin fruit processing machines

The Institute is divided into departments that were subdivided into

divisions for effective management. The divisions include Account, Audit,

Agronomy, Agricultural economics and extension, Administrative,

. ,

Computer and Statistic, Chemistry, . Health, Maintenance Engineering,

Production and Oil mill divisions. . .

A director assisted by a deputy director and other assistant director's

heads the institute.

The Oil Mill division is under the production and sales department. Areas of

operation of this division includes processing of the harvested fresh fruit

bunches (FFB) of oil palm fruits, black soap and ash making, maintenance

of the mill machines and marketing of the processed product of the mill.

, The division forms the base for the experimental testing and evaluation of

research findings in the Institute using its mill plant and its accessories.

The Oil mill division is headed by a Production Engineer with overall

employment size of 15 professional and 35 non-professional staff. The

division is further subdivided into sections for effective supervision in the

mill factory. The sections include welding, mechanical, Electrical,

Administrative, quality control, store keepingRecording and sales. . ,

The NIFOR Palm Oil mill and other equipment/tools used for

maintenance quality control and soap production constitutes the major

resources of the division in addition to her human resources.

The palm oil mill plant is a continuous factory flow process that process

palm fruit bunches (FFB) to palm oil and kernel. The shell, fibre and empty

bunches are direct by-products of the process. The milling process occurs

with little human control as illustrated in the material (FFB) transformation

flow diagram of the palm oil mills below. Others such as the layout plan of

the mill plant and the schematic flow diagram of the palm oil inill shown in

Appendices A1 and A2 respectively will aid your understanding of the

' various units of operation of the NIFOR oil mill factory described below.

F I G - 2 - 2 : : RAW MA'I'EIUAL, (FFI$) TRANSFORMATION IN PALM

I I..oaling Resip > Calyx Lcaves and Dirt

Ash > Fruit (Secondary Product)

-1

Oil

Crr~dc Oil 1 1 IVcss cakc (Nut and Fibres) r 1

\(/~crccncd Oil , I ,~e t nuts V

Silo Drycr Walcr

--

'I Nut Cracker

Sludgc Crackcd Mixture

Ccnlri fugc M rackcd niixture M

Sludgc Optiotiiil Vibrating screen 1 \ /

Oil Rccovcrcd Polids 1 (scc. l'roducl)

1 Iigli tirade Oil (I'si~~~ary

'k Slrttlpc to drain or I;rtitl disposal

$hell/~ibre (fuel)

Kcrncl (I'ri~w~ry l'roduct) 1'0 Boiler

2.4-1 WEIGHING AND LOADING STATION

The raw materials (FFB) from the farm or plantation are received at

the weighing bridge station at the entrance of the factory premises where the

quantity of the input supplied can be measured. After measuring and

recording of the quantity of the raw material (FFB) supplied, it is then taken

to the loading ramplplatform. This ramp enables easy loading of the

bunches into the cages used for conveying the bunches to the sterilizer.

The highly treated cages for the fruit bunches are perforated all over

their bodies for easy penetration of steam into the fruit bunches contained in I

it during sterilization. The cages are supported on steel chassis in which

bogie rollers are attached for easy movement of the cages on the rail, which

extended from the ramps to the sterilizer. The motion of the cages from the

loading station in and out of the sterilizer vessel is effected by the use of an

1

electric motor driven gear and pulley system called capstan equipment with

the aid of nylon or marine rope and hooks. The weighing bridge is also used

for measuring quantities of mill products when sales are made in large scale.

Determination of the difference between the weight of raw materials or the

products plus its container and the weight of the empty container form the

base at which this weighing bridge operates. The FFB cage in NlFOR mill

is capable of containing 1.5 tones of fresh fruit bunches.

The following is the routine and corrective maintenance activities

required in keeping the facilities of loading and weighing station;

i. Regular and adequate lubrication of the cage bogie rollers, the rails

and the capstan gearbox with the manufacturers recommended

lubricants or its equivalent. This will assist in preventing excessive

wear of these facilities , ,

I

ii. Daily checking of the weighing bridge reliability using standard

weights.

iii. Protection of electric motors and other electrical cables in this section

from excessive water bath

iv. Welding of broken rails and thermal straightening of the bend ones as

well as replacing any one whose damage is beyond repair forms the

1 major corrective maintenance in this section. Others include recoiling s

of bui-nt electric motor coils and replacement. of others with new one if

their damage goes beyond repair and also replacement of burnt

electric cables.

2.4-2 STERILIZATION STATION

Sterilization is the process of cooking the fresh fruit (FFB) using a

continuous steam flow or by water bath. This forms the first stage of the

I process in the milling of fresh h i t bunches of oil palm using palm oil mill.

'I'llis is clone witlg a prcssrwc vcsscl callccl stcrilizer. The raw fruits bunches

(1;1;13) arc sterilized i l l ortlcr to

- Stop aciclification o f oil (F.17.A rcduccd).

- 17acilitatc thc scparatiotl and loosening of the fruits from their

b~~ticlics.

- I'rccondition tllc l i t l i t pcricarp for subsequent processing

operations (oil cxtractio~l).

- Obtain good cracking condition.

- I'recondition t l~c kcrnel nuts to minimize kernel breakage

during pressing.

'I'hcrcTorc inatlccpatc sterilization affccts the whole subseq~lent milling

proccsscs advcrscly.

'I'hc stcrilizer co~nn~only uscd in moticri~ factories is thc horizontal sterilizer

. because vertical sterilizers are laborious. The l~orizontal sterilizers used in

NI170R Oil mill division are provided with a pair of internal rails each to

ctial~lc casy motion of thc F1713 cages in and out of the container. Its

~ I . C S S I I ~ C rating is 3kgf/cm3 and operatcs satisfactorily at about 40 psi gauge

prcssurc (2.7~kgflcn1~) and at temperature range of 100°c to 120°c

maxilnuni. Tkwll of thc two sterilizers used has a capacity of containing

tlirce (3) cages ol' fruit bunches. The stcri lization period for normal bunches

1. Exhaust pipinghalve

2. Steam inlet pipinghalve. 2b. As valve for discharging condenses I.

along steam inlet pipe . . .

3. Pressure gauge

4. Steam valve for directing steam to the doors rubber seal to enable it

gum

5. Adjustable sterilizer door

Spreader sheet for even distribution of steam

Continuation of Boogies rail

Wedge

Condensate valve

By-pass valve

Cement coating

Wire gauze for reinforcement of cement coat

Grass wool (wool that can withstand high temps)

14. The steel metal vessel

15. Steam rubber seal in the door

16. Gaskets.

Capacity = 3 cages = 4500kg (4.5 tomes) of FFB, Holding capacity

(Cooking Time) = 50 min. - 7Omin. depending on the hardness of the bunch.

The sterilizer vessel is insulated to prevent excessive loss of heat during the I

cooking. This is done using a coating of grass wool followed by a net of

metal gauze reinforced cement (or ceramics) coating. The gaskets used in

the sterilizer vessels are abettor cods. The vessel is an alloy of steel that can

withstand high pressure.

The grass wool and the abettors packing used for insulating and prevention

of steam leaking in the sterilizer respectively are materials that can withstand

I high temperature (heat) without burning. '

The pipinglvalve arrangements of a horizontal sterilizer is relatively simple

consisting of one inlet, exhaust, condensate and a by-pass valve.

- The steam from the boiler are admitted into the sterilizer vessel

through the inlet valve via a reducing valve distributor or from the

exhaust of the steam alternator set.

- Spreader plate which runs practically across the sterilizer length under . ,

I

the inlet pipe spreads the steam evenly throughout the vessels to

prevent over cooking of bunches immediately under the aperture and

undue local erosion. I . - The exhaust pipinglvalve system is used for discharging of steam out

of the vessel when required and after sterilization

- The condensate valve is used to drain condensed water out of the

vessels bottom as a result of temperature reduction of steam particle

during the process for the prevention of uneven contraction of the

bottom part of the vessel resulting from relative condensation of steam

during the cooking. I

- The By-pass valve is usually partially open for most of the

sterilization period to allow continuous bleeding of

air/stearn/condensate mixture out of the vessel. This condition is

required for satisfactory sterilization result. 1

- The wedge at the end of the rail in the sterilizer is to prevent excess

motion of the loaded cages to in the vessel cover.

- The gauge is a safety,device that indicates pressure of the steam in the 1.

vessel at any time of the process.

Mode of Operating the Sterilizer

i. Drain all the condensed water at the bottom of the vessel.

ii. Lock all the valves.

iii. Load the vessel with the maximum number of cages it can hold.

iv. Close the vessels door and bleed . out , condensed water along the inlet

pipe using the small valves along the inlet pipe.

v. Unlock the inlet valve and bleed the air in the sterilizer by downward

displacement by opening the condensate and by-pass valves for about

30 seconds.

vi. After bleeding, lock the condensate and By-pass valves partially and

allow bunches to cook under continuous steam supply.

vii. Whenever the pressure increases above the rated value, open or

unlock the exhaust valve for excess steam release or lock the inlet

valve and then, unlock it again whenever the pressure restores to

normal. After Cooking:

viii. Lock.the inlet valve and the steam valve that supply steam to the v

sterilizer door to allow the vessels pressure to drop gradually for about

10 minutes.

I ix. Unlock the exhaust valve for about five minutes to bleed out excess

steam before unlocking the condensate and By-pass valve hlly for

draining of excess condensates. Note that opening of the last two

valves before the exhaust valves and allowing the vessels pressure to

build above the specified working pressure is severely dangerous.

x. Make sure that gauge indicates zero reading and that condensates

I are hlly drained before opening the vessels door for the cages

dispatching .

xi. Drain condensed water at the bottom of the vessel after use and

whenever it is not in used regularly, to avoid excessive corrosion of

the sterilizer. Servicing of valves and regular replacement of burnt

gasket in the vessel to avoid leaking of steam constitutes the common

routine maintenance activities in this unit. Others include welding of

broken rails and pipes, and the doubling of the sterilizers vessel

whenever its thickness reduces by more than 20mm to avoid accident.

2.4-3 STRIPPING

Stripping (or threshing) is the separation of the sterilized fruits

(together with associated calyx leaves) from the sterilized bunches stalks.

After which the fruits are conveyed to the oil extraction unit while the empty

stalk or bunch refuse are conveyed to the incinerator via the refuse bunch I

elevator.

Before stripping process, the sterilized fruit bunches (FFB) are

transported in their container (cages) using capstan equipment and an over

head crane which lifts the cages to a height above the sterilized bunch hopper

head crane which lifts the cages to a height above the sterilized bunch hopper

and empties the cages by tipping into the hopper while the cages are still

suspended from the hoist.

The threshing machine set up in the NIFOR Oil mill consist of a timed

beater arm stripper, a long cylindrical rotary drum stripper and a bottom

worm or screw feeder. The beater arm stripper is placed in between the

bunch hopper and the drum stripper to pre thresh the sterilized bunches

before feeding them to the drum stripper.

The beater arm stripper consists of a rotating shaft with curved

projections set at a fixed angel to the shaft and equidistantly spaced from one

another. The design and the position of this stripper enables it to perform its

pre-threshing function of dislodging the fruits in the sterilized bunches

passing across it from the bunch hopper to the main drum thresher

The horizontal cylindrical1 drum stripper (6.0m length and 2.lm

diameter) is made of a central shaft carrying spike bars to which the

cylindrical cage is attached The two ends of the shaft are supported on

bearing. The cylindrical cage of this device is made up of tee bars (T-bars)

running parallel to the axis of the cylinder. The bars are spaced to permit the

1 escape of the fmit nuts and close enough to prevent stalks from passing

between the space. The partially stripped bunches by the beater arm stripper

are fed continuously at the other end as the stripped while the empty stalk

passes out continuously at the other end as stripped fruits drops through the

drum spaces to the screw feeder at the bottom of the stripper.

The rate of the rotation of the drum is such to ensure that bunches of

normal size are lifted by the centrifugal force (assisted by the bars inside the

cage) to dislodged the fruits out of the stalks. The cycle is repeated for

many times leading to the removal of all fruits as the stalk gradually move

towards the end of the cage into the refuse bunch conveyor. This feeds them

into the inclined conveyor that finally transports them to the incinerator for

burning. The dislodged fiuits pass out through the cage spaces into the

screw or worm conveyor, which feeds the bucket elevator (fruit elevator).

The fiuit elevator transports the stripped fruits to the digester for digestion.

The rows of irregular spaced steel plates teeth at the outlets end of the cage

drum is to ensure that fiuits which escape removal from the bunch up to this

point are dislodged in the same manner as in the beater arm before disposal

of the empty Gunch.

Routine maintenance activities in this section include regular and

adequate lubrication of the gears and bearings with specified lubricants and

subsequent replacement of them when worm. Others include regular

reconditioning of the feeder worm to dimension for effective fruit removal,

replacement of weak pins and fasteners of the bucket-elevator and regular

removal of fibre-cake accumulated on the drum cage and other parts of the

stripper.

2.4-4 DIGESTION

After stripping of bunches, the sterilized h i t s together with

accompanying calyx leaves must be reheated and the pericarp of the fruits

removed from the nuts and prepared for pressing. This is done using a steam

kettle provided with stirring arms called digester. The stirring arm of the

digester is also called digester am.

The Palm oil mill digester is a steam-jacket vessel in which the stripped

fruits is stirred and reheated to make them suitable for pressing. The

digester has a vertical rotating shaft to which the stirring arms are attached.

They stir and rub the fruits to seperate the pericarp from the nuts and at the

same time opens as much oil cells as possible. The digester is always kept

full as the digested fruit is drawn out continuously or intermittently fiom the

bottom of the vessel by continuous flow of freshly stripped fruit at equal rate

fiom the fruit elevator conveyor into the kettle. This is essential for good

digestion of the fruits, since it helps to ensure maximum holding time and I

maximum stirring 1 rubbing (depericarping) effect per revolution of the

I rotating arms on the fruits. Inadequate digestion increases oil loss to fibre

and can be noticed if the press cake contains undigested pericarps and when

some undigested pericarps are found attached to uncracked nuts. The four

pairs of long stirring arms of the digester and its smooth sleeved wall

prevent the accumulation of dry fibres on the wall of the digester. This

maintains the rate of heat transfer to the digester contents from the vessels

steam jacket I

The digester arms are set at fixed angles to the horizontal to give

individual fruit an up and, down movement as the arms sweeps by, causing

the rubbing of the fruits against one another as the digested fruits moves

downward to the bottom of the digester. The normal speed of rotation of the

digester arm is approximately 26 r.p.m.

Sufficient heat must be supplied in the form of steam to raise the

temperature of the digested &its close to 100°C at the bottom outlet for I

effective oil instruction and to minimise breaking of nuts during pressing by

increasing the elasticity of the nuts. Bottom perforation of the vessel helps

to drain oils f o h e d during digestion to increase the rubbing friction during

the process.. This increases the efficiency of the digestion process.

The digester used in this factory has a holding capacity of 60 minutes.

It has a diameter of 1.2m and height of 2.7m. When the space

occupied by the shaft and stirring arms is considered the volume of fruits the

vessel can contain will remain about 2550 litres (2.52m3) out of the total

volume of 2.75 cubic metre of the vessel. This vessel holds a maximum of

4.2 tons of digested fruits. In practice the digestion time is less than 60

minutes.

I Lubrication of the gearbox, i d bearings regularly with the

manufacturers specified lubricants and regular replacement o f damaged

digester sleeves and arms are common maintenance activities in the digester.

Others include reconditioning of worn digester arms and shafi using a hard

facing manganese-silicon electrode and cleaning of the digester shoots

regularly for easy flow of materials into the vessel. The diagram of the

digester described above is shown below.

F I G . 2 . 4 : . A DIAGItAM OF I)lGKS'I'E1Ul'l~ESS FEEDER

Cicnr box

I llleclric ro to r drive

Steam Jacket

Digesters sllaft

Digesters arm

2.4-5 OIL EXTRACTION AND CLARIFICATION

The extraction of crude palm oil fiom the digested palm h i t s in the

NIFOR mill is by pressing using a mechanical driven semi-continuous

hydraulic press machine. Clarification is a process by which the extracted

crude oil is cooked or refined to remove impurities and water in it. This will

make the product suitable for storage and use. I

The Press Machine

The continuous feeding of digested h i t s fiom the digester to the

press machine is by the means of a vertical chute connecting the digested

fruits hopper and the digester.

In the hydraulic press, the digested h i t is pressed in a press cage by

the means of a hydraulic ram of diameter 250mm. The press cage diameter

is 540rnm with thickness of 4Omm and a perforated body through which the

crude oil is expelled during p;essing. Each of the perforations is 2mm in

diameter for one quarter of the cage thickness and 4mrn in diameter for the

outer three-quarters of their remaining cage thickness. They are drilled in

lines with 12.5mm spacing between adjacent holes. To ensure that the press

cake formed during pressing is divided into convenient portions for easy

handling by the press machine, five steel dividing plates are usually

positioned in between the cages during pressing. During the pressing, the

digested cake flows into the press cage td fill its volume whenever the press

ram does not obstruct its passage. In this process the ram descends from the

above as the press cone closed the cages bottom to subject the fruits in the

press cage to pressure (70kgf7cm2) to expel the crude oil out of the digested

cake. The ram continues its downward movement as this cake breaker cone

descends inward to force out part of the pressed cake. The ram ascends to its

starting position automatically, once it reaches its lowest downward point to

allow more digested fruits into the press cage. The cone at the same time

moves outward to expel the whole pressed cake of the cycle. The pressed oil

oozes out to the crude oil tank through the cage perforations and the crude

oil funnel. The crude oil is stored temporally in the crude oil tank before

pumping to the clarification room for further process.

Lubrication of the press gearbox with the manufacturers specified t

gear oil or its equivalent, regular changing of slacked belts and regular

gauging of hydraulic systems oil form the routine maintenance activities in

the press machine. Others such as welding of broken shafts or their

replacement with new shafts when damaged beyond repair and the

reconditioning of press worm and cages constitutes the common corrective

maintenance in this unit

<--- Extracted crudc Oil to Crr~tlc Oil 'l'n~ik

Ilytlranlic or Oil A 2

Ilydraulic or Oil

FIG-2.6: . II~CONDITIONING l'AIIAMICr'TEHS O F SCREW

WORMS,

Mi11 tliti~ct~sion 5mm

(61)) PRESS WORMS AND CAGES Mi11 Din~~ieter 4ma1

I O I ~ I I I I Max, 12intn

52

I

Note that the conditioning of worms is done when the dimension of the

screw is reduced to the indicated minimum dimension (in figures above)

using any hard facing electrode. While the whole worm and cages are

changed (or replaced) when their body thickness reduce to minimum

dimensions indicated in the diagrams above. This will prevent excessive

leaking of nuts and fibres to the crude oil tank.

I The Clarifier

Clarification, which involves cleaning and drying of crude palm oil to a

suitable clean product, is performed using a continuous settling flow tank or

clarifier and a vacuum dehydrator.

The impurities and large portion of water present in the crude oil are

removed in the clarifier. This involves settling out of solid particles and

water (sludge) at the bottom of the vessel with the less dense clear oil

I forming the upper layer. The speed of settling of these particle in a clarifier

is proportional to

- Square of the particles diameter

- The difference between the densities of the settling particles and the

- medium through which they are settling (oil) and also inversely

proportional to the viscosity of the medium (Gebre Stroke 1991).

Since the viscosity of a medium reduces with temperature increase,

the speed of settling increases with temperature. Therefore a high

temperature range of 85OC to 100°C is required for effective performance of

the clarifier and good clarification results. In the continuous settling clarifier

used in this factory, the seperation of the diluted crude oil into clean oil and

sludge is automatic and continuous. The dilution of crude oil is usually 100

percent (with water) or more. The diluted crude oil enters the clarification

tank through a pipe at the top, which is lowered approximately half way

down the tank. An over flow pipe near the top of the tank is used to drain

the seperated oil out of the tank. Also the sludge pipe is used for continuous *

draining of the seperated sludge out of the vessels through its bottom. After

clarification, the separated oil containing over 0.5 percent of water are dried

to around 0.08 percent moisture content using vacuum dehydrator to make it I

suitable for storage.

Note that the clarifier is a steam jacket vessel. This enables the

continuous supply of steam to the system and also for uniform. heat

distribution to all parts of the tank to ensure uniform cooking of the oil in the

vessel. The diagram of the clarifier and its steam circulation network is

shown below.

FIG. 2 . 7 ( a ) LONGITUDINAL SECI'lON OF A CL,AlillW!X

r-------- I ! Crudcoil

From lllc press

The conlir~uous < Sclllirrg lank

Cl ude Oil - Iloppcr

The major maintenance required in the clarification station include repair1

replacement of damaged valves and pumps in the unit and regular

adjustment of the relative height of the sludge take off and clean palm oil

overflow pipes to avoid high oil content of the discharged sludge.

2.4-6 NUTIFIBRE SEPERATION

I When digested h i t is pressed to extract oil, a cake made up of nuts

and fibre is produced. The composition of this cake varies considerably,

depending on the type of fruit processed. This cake fiom the press machine

is a compacted wet mass that must be broken before separation of the fibre

and the nut is possible. The complete separation of fibre and nut is achieved

using a cake breaker conveyor and a nut/fibre separator

Cake breaker Conveyor:

The loosing and pre-drying of the compacted wet cake fiom the press I

machine is achieved using a cake breaker conveyor. This system is also

used to dry the cake, (particularly the fibre) before feeding it to the nut/fibre

separator. The conveyor is a steam jacket trough type with a rotating shaft

fitted with paddles; at an angle to the horizontal for slow forward movement

of the cake in the trough and to provide uniform distribution of heat required

for effective drying of the cake. The diameter of the conveyor trough used in I

the NIFOR mill is 60cm and the speed of rotation of the paddle is 75 r.p.m.

' The movement of the paddle breaks the compacted fibre-nut cake and

provides a forward movement that feeds the loosed cake to the NutIFibre

separator.

NutfFibre Separator:

The NutLFibre separator used is a vertical column type. The top of the

column is connected to the fibre cyclone via a duct. Inserted at the close

bend end of the duct is a fan, which sucks air through the open end of the . ,

1.

column and blows it along the duct to the fibre cyclone. The fibre is

seperated from the nut by. this air sucking process. The fan provides an air

sucking velocity of 7.1 metres per second in the column.

The fibre passes through the sucking fan to the cyclone while the nuts

falls through the bottom of the separating column directly into a screw

conveyor. The separated nuts are conveyed through a rotating screen to

remove dusts, small stone and'broken kernels before transporting them to the

nut silo where the nuts will be reheated before cracking.

Protection of the fan blades from excessive wear by depositing runs of

hard welding electrode metal on the blades and replacement of old fan

blades and casing constitutes the maintenance works in this unit.

2.4-7 KERNEL EXTRACTION

After separation of fibres and nuts, the fibres finds their way to the I

steam boilers fbmace, while the nuts are conveyed to the nut silos where

they are conditioned for cracking. The nut conditioning, cracking, removal

and recycling of uncracked nuts and the separation of the shell from the

kernel constitutes the kernel extraction process. Others include drying and

bagging of the extracted kernel.

(a) Nut Conditioning (Nut Silo):

This involves drying of the nut sufficiently to loose the kernels from j

the shell and then cool them before cracking of them. This is achieved using

a steam jacket nut silo. The nuts are fed continuously into the silo at the top

and removed continuously from the bottom at the same rate so that the level

of nuts remains fairly constant in the vessel throughout the milling process.

The capacity of nut silo used ~ ~ ' M F O R mill is 30 tons of palm nuts per day

(1250 tons per hour).

(b) Nut Cracking (Cracker):

The cracking of the nut is facilitated using vertical throw nutcracker. The

rotor of this cracker is attached to a horizontal shaft, which rotates at a speed

of 1300 r.p.m. The stator ring has a diameter of 71cm and lies in a vertical

plane. The feeding of the nuts in the cracker is directed at the centre of the

rotor via a chute and pass out along four channels in the rotor. They strike

the stator at points round the circumference but due to the method of feed 1

the striking tends to concentrate at one point. ,The cracker used has a

capacity of cracking one ton of nuts per hour with efficiency of 96 percent.

Separation of uncracked nuts from the cracked mixture is achieved using

cracked mixture screen. The separated nuts (uncracked) are later recycled to

the cracker.

(c) Kernellshell Separation (Hydrocyclone):

I The seperation of wet kernel from its shell in a cracked mixture is by

the use of Hydrocyclone separator.

A hydrocyclone is a cylindrical cone bottomed vessel with a critical

size aparture at its bottom. The upper part of the cylinder is closed by a

horizontal plate, through which a short length of pipe known as the

adjustable height overflow tube passed. The cylinder extends upwards above

this plate and this section of it is closed by a piece of plate. Below the two

horizontal plates is an inlet pipe that enters the cylinder tangentially. Also an

exist pipe situated near the top of the cylinder forms part of the system. The

hydrocyclone imparts circular motion to the fluid by means of a tangential

centrifugal force and after a helical racing, the fluid find its way out through

the bottom of the cyclone. The fluid used in the hydrocyclone is water.

During the kernellshell seperation, the mixture of shell and kernel is placed

in a bath of water connected to a pump. This is to enable the water charged I

with shell and kernel to be pumped into the cyclone causing downward

movement of the shell pieces (being denser than kernels) to the bottom of

the cyclone. The larger part of the water together with most of the kernels

after taking part in an initial downward circular movement gradually move

upward towards the center of the cylinder and leaves the hydrocyclone via

the over flow tube and exist pipe. The shape of the kernel also contributes to

its upward movement in the cyclone. After this the shell fraction passing

downward is again pumped by another pump to a second cyclone called

shell cyclone to distinguish it from the first one which is called kernel

cyclone. The two cyclones are adjacent with a perforated partition between

them to allow equal water level in them. The shell passes out of the shell

cyclone through its coned bottom aparture. It is then discarded or used as

the boiler he1 after dewatering of it over a screen. Maintenance requirement . ,

of the Hydrocyclone includes;

1. Regular adjustment of the overflow tube heights to compensate for the '

effects of wears in the cone outlets and the pump rotor.

2. Reconditioning (or replacement where necessary) of the perforations

in the perforated partition between the cyclones regularly to prevent

kernels passage through it to the shell fraction in shell cyclone

(d) Kernel drying (Silo Dryer):

Apart from external moisture on t'he surface of kernel seperated in the

hydrocyclone, there is internal moisture amounting up to 20% of the

kernel weight inside them. This moisture is difficult to remove, as it

must first diffuse outwards to the surface before it can evaporate. This

drying is done using a continuous kernel silo dryer. In this dryer, the

wet kernel from the hydrocyclone is fed continuously at the top while

dried kernels are removed similarly fkom the bottom at the same rate.

Drying is achieved by continuous blowing of warm air current

through the kernels in the silo using in fan. Drying of kernels to 7% .

moisture content is necessary for good storage condition of the kernel

to avoid mucor growth within the kernel when stored and this silo

provides this service in the mill.

The detail arrangement of the kernel processing machines described

above in a palm oil mill is shown below.

I 2 . : l A l A 1 A l A A N M N ' OF KERNEL

ICX'I I<AC"l' ION 1'1 , A N T I

L Wcl nuls livnr lhe tihrc/n~~t scpxator

- --- -- - -

N l I I ( ' o n d i ~ i o ~ ~ i ~ y (Nut Silo)

-- -- - -- - - I_- 1

l illcracked Nut

--

I<cl.nc.l I )I.) illy (Kclncl Silo)

2.4-8 ENERGY GENERATION IN THE MILL

The milling of oil palm fruits process requires energy in the form of

heat for the extraction process and also i~ the form of electrical energy for

operating the mill machines in the mill factory. The steam boiler

generates this energy using the process wastes. The boiler produces steam

which is used for operating the steam alternator set and for the milling

processing.

The fuel used by the boiler is supposed to be palm waste such as fibre

and shell with little quantity of firewood to initiate combustion process in its

' furnace, but recently the used of firewood dominate. The boiler used in the

NIFOR mill has a capacity of producing 2500kg of steam per hour with a

working temperature of 20S°C and pressure of 1 8 0 ~ 1 c m ~ . *

The boiler consists of a furnace for combustion of fuel to produce heat

needed for the steam production. The furnace is made up of firebricks,

which withstands high temperature without excessive dilapidation and the

fire rods, which separates the burning he1 (palm wastes or firewood) and the . ,

I

burnt ash. The adjustable furnace doors in the roof and front of the furnace

is used for feeding fuel to the furnace and for removing of the ash from the

furnace respectively.

Another essential part of the boiler is the pressure vessel. 'I'he vesscl

is insulated with grass wool coated with ccranlics to prevcnt exccssive loss

of heat from thc system. It is nlacle up of flame or boilcr tubes, which

extends from the furnace through tllc vessel to tllc smoke box. The mode

heat transl'er from the furnace through thc tubes to thc watcr contained in the

vcsscl is by conductio~l and convection. 'I'hc safety provisions in the boiler

vessel are the pressure gauge a~ld thcr~nometers for pressure and temperature

regulation in thc unit respectively and the black alarm which indicates

excessive loss of water below fire levcl in vessel. Others include the safety

valvc that regulates the pressure of the steam in the vessel and the manhole

door entrance into the boiler during inspection and maintenance. The blind

flange is a provision reserved for connecting the system to any other unit

where steam may be needed outside thc mill or to any othcr unit that cannot

be fcccl through the main steam valve.. The condcnsatc valve is for draining , ,

condensed water out of the vessel to avoid cxcessive corrosion and

un~lecessary reduction on the system te~nperature during operation. The

smoke produced in the system is handled with the aid of the smoke box and

1'01- ( I r ~ r r i l ~ i I i ty ol' h i let- t lie olwntors or firemen 111ust observe the

. . I I'risurc that tlic \vatc'~- Ic\:c'l i n tlic \lcsscl did riot fall below the fire

I c \ ~ l i~iclic;~tc.d i l l tlic r i l l i t I)! ~-cgr~lar gauging of' \vater in the vessel.

l'liis is to prcvciit corrosiori ol'tlic' slccl vessel and the flame tubes.

iv. 'I'lle Ii~.chricIts liw covcri~ig tlic li~rnacc roof must be a durable type to

~lio~~i(lctl li.0111 aggregate ratio tlisplaycil in tablc 2.1 below have been

tcstcil autl c :o~ li I-liictl to' I,c cl~~r:~l,lc and ccononi ical. Thus, the

/

~ m ~ w s s , tlll-or~gl~ I,iolocgical cligcstion ol'tllc slidgc extracts using an efficient (.

1. Furnace door. 21. Blind flange.

1

2. Fire rods.

3. Fire bricks.

4. Boiler tubes.

5. The check valve.

6. Black alarm

7. Steam outlet valve.

8. Manhole door.

9. Safetyvalve.

10. Feeding valve (water inlets).

1 1. Smoke box.

12. Chimney.

1 3. Manhole door of the chimney.

14. Drain valve.

1 5. Belasting load support.

16. Furnace.

17. Cement coating.

1 8. Wire gauze.

19. Grass wool.

20. Steel (Pressure) Vessel.

CHAPTER . THREE ,

METHODOLOGY

3.0. PREAMBLE The intention of this chapter is to discuss the procedures used for data

collection and analysis in this study. This will be discussed in detail under

the following headings:

1. Research Instruments.

ii. Methods of data analysis.

3.1. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS:

The research instruments used for data collection in this study comes

under two major groups. There are Primary and Secondary Instruments.

(a). Primary Instruments:

This involves all the primary sources of data, which include the following

i. Experimental milling of the oil palm h i t bunches (FFB).

. . 11. The opinion of the palm oil mill workers on the various item questions

of the interview conducted for them on the perceived needs for

effective performance of both human and material resources in the

palm oil mill factory.

The experimental milling test involves the processing of given

quantities of each of the three oil palm fruits types from bunch to palm oil,

kernel, shell, fibre and empty bunch using MFOR oil mill factory. After

each process, each of the products obtained were measured and recorded . .

I _

according to the fruit types. -. . * - - .

In addition, data obtained from the milling of the combined fruit

aggregate and the interview conducted for the factory workers were used to

confirm the precision of the test result.

(b). Secondary Instruments: I

The Secondary source of data includes the following:

i. Production records of the NIFOR oil mill factory.

. . 11. The palm oil mill plant manual.

The data deduced from the production records of NIFOR oil mill and

the factory plant manual were also used to confirm the certainty of the data

obtained from the milling experiment and the workers response to the

I .interview questions.

3.2 METHODS OF DATA'ANALYSIS

The data gathered were analysed using the following

i. Averages.

. . 1 1 . Percentages.

iii. Tables.

iv. GraphsJCharts.

v. Linear programming technique.

The percentage of the products obtained fiom the experimental

milling relative to the processed fresh h i t s bunches (FFB) and their average

percentage ratios for each fruit type were computed fiom the experimental

data. Also determined from the experimental data is the products' ratio . 8 ' .relative to unit quantity of the fruit bunches. This was used along with the

data on the selling price of the mill products to construct palm oil mill linear

programming model. This optimization model was evaluated by simplex

method using a computer aided program written by the researcher in q-basic

language which he also used for sensitivity analysis of the model and for

testing of the result in other palm oil mills. The choice of the language used

in the program is because q-basic is users fiiendly and the most commonly

used computer language in Nigeria.

Tables and graphs were also used extensively to display the 1

f

percentage profiles of the mill workers opinion on the item questions of the

interview conducted for them according to their perceived levels of need.

Although fifty-one (51) workers were sampled only twenty (20) were

allowed to respond to each item question because no worker can express

opinions to all the twenty-six (26) item questions of the study due to

educational qualification, experience, areas of specialization, age and sex

barriers.

'I'l~c data ohtaincti li-om tllc cxpcri~llcntal milling of tlic fresh fruit

;~c.cortIi~ig to tlic f r i ~ i t typcs ant1 a~lalyzcd usi~ig average, pcrcentnges and

clucstions of' t l~c intcrvic~v co~ltl~~ctctl for somc of tlicm were also

annlyzcd nccordi~lg to thc ~wccivcd lcvcls of' nced usi~ig percentages

displayctl on a table mid plots on gl-apl~s. Othcr seconclnl-y data such as tlie

~llnrkc~ pricc o S palm products, tllc procluction constraint records of

NII;OI< oil mill fiilctory \vcrc eqt~a'lly a~lalyzcd and displayed in this

cllaplcl~.

111 adtlitio~~, a li~icar ~ m g r a ~ ~ i ~ i i i n g ~iiodcl for Palm oil mills rcvenue

~llaximizatio~i was constrktcd ming the ratios cletermincd from the data

collcctctl as ~llajor pramctcrs, wllilc tlic h i i t types (dura and tenera)

1i)rmcd tlic niajor clecision val-iablc tlsccl in li)r~nulation of tlie model.

'I'lic s'olutiol~ ol'tllc ~llodcl was oht~lilicd itsi~ig il co~iipi~ter program

\vrittc~l by tllc rcsexcllcr i l l q-basic Intiguagc. 'I'hc program, its flowchart

:wcl tllc algoritlial of l-iuini~g i t W C ~ C d ~ t i \ i l ~ d in Appendix B to enhance

t I ~ ~ t r s t a c l i n 0[' any intot-cstctl rcadcr.

74

'I'A131,lC 4.2: '1'1115 PI5I~<'EN'l'A(';li ANA1,YSIS OF IIATA OI31'IANED FROM THE

- . -. - - -. -.

Milling I<cs~rli (KG) Aver;lge Percentage

TABLE 4.4: PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS OF DATA

OBTIANED FROM THE EXPERIMENTAL MILLING

OF PISIFERA BUNCHES.

From table .4.4, it is clear that processing of pisifera is not

- ecoi~omical because an average pisifera bunch contains 75% empty

bunch, which has little or econoinic value. In addition the palm oil

obtained from the milling of pisifera fiuit is a low grade palm oil called

Technical Palin oil (T.P.O.) because pisifera lternel are crushed during

pressing giving a mixture of Palm oil and lternel oil which cannot be

scpnratccl i n tllc pt.occss. 111 aclclition. attwipts to process Pisifera bunches

Ily otlicr ~ i i c t l ~ I s (Ma~lua l a ~ d I land ~wcss) yield similar results showing

that ion o f lllc p~-cscnt r l ~ ~ t l ~ o d s call p.occss the f'ruit succcssf~~lly. Again

TA131,K 4.5: T 1 1 1 5 S151,l,IN(; I'I<ICk: OF IJNlrl' MASS OF PALM 0 1 I,

A N D l<EItNF,l,.

4.2 CONSTRUCTION OF THE LINEAR PROGRAMMING

MODEL OF PALM OIL MILLS.

Since the growing and processing of pisifera fixits is not economical, the

I researcher considered dura and tenera as his major decision variables in

the construction of the linear programming model for the revenue

maximization in the palm oil mills. The detail of the procedure followed

in construction of the model is presented below.

4.2-1 DEFINITION OF DECISION VARIABLES

The decision variables are:

XI = The quantity (in kilogram) of Fresh fruit bunches of dura

processed per hour.

X2 = The quantity (in kilogram) of Fresh fruit bunches of tenera

processed per hour.

4.2-2 DEFINITION OF TUE OBJECTIVE FUNCTION I

The objective function is revenue maximization. From table 7 above the

revenue derived from lkg of dura and tenera bunches are N37.36 and

S38.38 respectively. Therefore the objective hnction Z = 3736x1 +

38.38X2 .Thus it is stated as,

Maximize Z = 37.36X1 + 38.38X2

4.2-3 DEFINITION OF THE CONSTRAINTS

The objective function defined above is subjected to the following

constraints. Note that the constraint inequalities and equation presented

hclow i s constr~~c(ccl using cl;, ta li.oln tahlcs K q and otl~crs stated against

. a .

W. '1'1 I E ItlClWSIC UUNCI I CONVKYOII. (Inclined

1Slcvn tor)

'I'hc c:~pacily of' ctnpty l)unch or ~vfiisc clcvator is 1.8tons(1800kg) of

'1;1:13 pcr I m w . Wc arc awrw li-om trlblcs in section 4.1 that dura \yields

vii. 'I'll I< C'AKIC l ~ l < l ~ A l < l ~ l < CONVICYOI<

'I'liis systcni Iias a capacity 0 1 ' C ~ I I V C Y ~ I I ~ (or flow rntc 00 2400kg of

'I'llc capacity or this separator is 20001cg of dried prcssed cake per hour. It

i s also k I I O W I ~ that t lie cake I~t~caltcr, conveyor rctiuces the pressed cake

111ass by 10% ;~l'ter pre-dryitig. l ' l~cre~orc the constraints is stated as

'I'hc n u t silo Iii~s a I~o ld i~~g capacity of 30000kg (301otis) of nuts per day

( 12501<g/I1ou1.) a d durn yields 39.3% 0 1 ' nuts wliilc tenera givcs 13.2% of

I

tlic nuts \vlicli ~~~occssccl scparatcly. 'l'lic constraints is then statcd as

'k cracltcrs cajjxity is 1 toti (1000kg) or dried liuts per hour. The nuts

li-otii tllc nut silo arc dricd to 9% of weight before feeding it on the

cracltcr liw ~naxiliiuni cracking cfficict~cy. 'I'hus thc constraints is stated

'I'l~c Iloltling or flow ratc ol'tllc silo clrycr is 500kg of dried kernels per

Ilor11- mtl the Itcrtlcl is ~.ccli~cccl by 13% of' its wight after drying

'l'llc capacity oftllc clnrilicr is 350Okg ofcr~t fc oil per hour. 'I'he crude oil .

'l'lltis tllc constrainfs is stalccf:

0.489X 1- 0.602X2 5 3500

... M I L VACrlJllM I)ItYI<I<'S CAI'ACITY CONS?'ltAIN'I'

'l'liis unit has a capacity of drying, I tons (1000kg) 01'relincd palm oil per

Ilour. 'l'lnrs the clcan oil flow ralc constraillt in this unit is stated below.

'I'his ~,unlp has a capacity of putnpirig 2500kg of sludge per hour. Tllus

tllc constraint is sl:\tcci;

0.298X 1 -1- 0.367X2 _< 2500

xv. 1SN ICI<C;Y C; 1CNICI<A'I'ION AND LI'I'ILISA'I'ION IN 'TI-IE MILL

It was statcd carlicr tltat tllc c~~crgy required for thc milling process and

li,r operating tllc mill ~nachii~cs (Electrical cnergy) is required to be

I generated in the mill through its boiler which produces the steam used for

operating the alternators as well as other milling process.

The steam boiler is capable of producing 2500kg of steam per hour

with energy requirement of 8.35 x lo6 kJ per hour. Having known that

this energy should be generated using palm waste, which includes the

empty bunch, the fibre and the shell. The limitation on the milling process

due to energy requirement and its generation in the factory is as follows,

given the specific heat content of shell, fibre and empty bunches as

2 l9OOKJ / kg, 20900 KJIkg and 21 000 KJIkg respectively.

Thus the constraint is stated as

The equality sign indicates that the means of producing the energy (fibre,

shell and empty bunches) are all wastes which has little or no commercial

value and therefore exciss of them are not required. Also any quantity

less than the above will lead to shortage of the fuel required which in turn

will cause reduction in the energy output of the system that is equally

undesirable.

4.2-4 THE SUMM-ARY OF THE PALM OIL MILLS REVENUE

MAXIMIZATION MODEL.

The summary statements of the linear optimization model of the palm oil

mill assembled in a linear programming format is as follows:

Maximize Z = 37.36X1 + 38.38 X2

Subject to:

XI+ X2 < 6000 , ,

-

1.15X1+ 1.15X2 ,<go00

0.35X1 + 0.4X2 5 1800

0.65X1 + 0.6X2 14200

0.72X1 + 0.66X2 5 4200

0.318X1 + 0.391X2 5 1800

0.459X1 + 0365x2 5 2400

4.2-5 SOLUTION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE PALM OIL

MILL LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODEL

(a). THE MODEL IN A CANONICAL (STANDARD) FORM

Maximize Z - 37.36X1 + 38.38 x2+ OS1 + OS2+ oS3+ OS4+ OSs+ OS6+ OS7+ OSs+ OSg+ Oslo+ OSll + OS12+ OS13+ oS14 =0.000

Subject to:

Note: Si (i = l,2---- 14) = slack variables.

(b). INITIAL SIMPLEX TABLEAU OF THE MODEL(Basic solution)

1.000 1.000 1.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0,000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0,000 0.000 6000

1.150 1.150 0.000 1.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 WOO

0.350 0.4000.0000.000 1.000 0.000 0.0000.0000.0000.0000.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 1800

0,650 0.600 0,000 0,000 0,000 1.000 0.000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,000 4200

(c) . FIRST ITERATIVE SIMPLEX TABLEAU OF THE MODEL (Second

feasible solution)

(d). THE OPTIMAL SIMPLEX TABLEAU OF THJ? MODEL

(Optimal solution)

(e). INTERPRETATION OF THE MODELS OPTIMAL SOLUTION . ,

This optimal solution indicated that l903.163kg of dura fruits bunches

And 2867.88kg tenera bunches are required in an oil palm fruit aggregate

for optimal revenue of N173699.50 to be derived from the use of palm

oil mill in the processing of the fruit. In other words the dura and tenera

must be combined or mixed in the ratio of 1903.163 : 2867.880 (which is

approximately a ratio 2 : 3) in all oil palm fruits proccssed using palm oil

mill in order to achieve maximum revenue and minimum running cost in

the palm oil mill factory.

, , I h is is t lol lc ~ i s i ~ i g l~ ,c~.cc~ i ( ; igc~, displayct l i n a table and graphs to enable

I I I I \ i c to~- i rs ro1icc1.11111g ot l lcr ~-cquircnlents for o p t i m u m

I)ocs I':11111 Oil klill 111anag~I"s ; I C ; I ~ C I ~ ~ C ' 1)ackgrounct and modes of

cflcclivc control a id ~ ~ ~ n a g c t l l c ~ l t O K tllc mill I'actory.

'1'0 obtain any pcrlnissioii from high autlioritics in the factory before

making use of tools and other facilities in the factory.

!;I-c.c Ilanils i l l thc controlling and rlsi~ig of resources in the factory for

lbr cfTectivc tiiaintcnaticc atid opcration ofthe mill.

ill-scrvicc Iraining to upclate your skill and tliat of other workers.

- - - - - -- - - - - a - - --

Atlcq~inlc i~icclilivcs like pro~iiotio~is and increase in allowance.

'1'0 bc arlncd with llic rcclrrircd safely ltils for your effective performance

;11iiI to avoid ilcci(lc11t.

- - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - -- - -- -. - - - -.

'1'0 I,c ilisurcd agaillst factory Iiazartls.

- . - -- - - - - - -- - - - - ---- -. -- - - - -- - --

11'11tl i111l):lct of file :~tloptctl r~~:~ir~fcrl:incc policy on tlic rcvcnuc profilc

liw cf'fcctivc rcp:~ir nncl servicing of tlic mill units wlien h e .

ant1 ccrtairl misco~lccptions t h a t arisc fiom tlic work and on the possiblc

caliscs of'thc fault to avoid fi~lurc occiwrcncc wlwe possible.

'1'0 I x C I I C O I I I . ; I ~ C C ~ to rcatl plant manuals and otllcr handbooks on thc

any c~~~crgct icy when hclp is not im~ncdiatcly available.

I~nportcd mill parts to locally f'ah~.icntcd ones for the replacement of worr

A wcll cqi~ippcd spare parts storc in your factory, which will contair

The ordering and delivery of spare parts for maintenance in the mills to

be when needed to prevent excess inventory cost.

Impact of other factors on the mills output profile.

DO YOU PREFERNEED-:

Diesel generating set to steam operating gen. set (in cooperated in the

mill during installation) for generating electrical energy used in the mill

factory.

Fresh h i t bunches harvested from wild palm plants or plantation that are

not adequately maintained.

Processing of dura tc tenera bunches or vices versa.

More trucks for conveying h i t s bunches form the farm to the mill to

avoid delay and scarcity of the mill input (FFB).

Firewood as the only reliable fuel for operating the steam boiler to palm

wastes (such as empty bunches, shell and fibres).

Additional mills or increase in the capacity of your present mill to enable

your process all your h i t s when due.

I n addition, 100% of' tlic scsponrtents agreed that the use of

iircwootl aid gci)csatitig sets (WII~CII use dicscl or petrol) in the mills are

not ticcclcd at all bccnusc of'tticir advcrse eficct on the expected returns

fsom h e tiiills. 'l'iiis equally applied to thc use or wild fruit bunches from

all uiltiiai~itairictl plaiitatioil. Vinally 50% of t l~c rcspondents are in very

1i111cli llced or incrcasc iti tlic capacity of tlwir mills where possible or

atltlitior~ai iiiills to mcct up with cffcctive proccssiiig of the raw fruits

4.3-1 MAJOR CAUSES OF DOWN TIME IN THE PALM OIL MILL FACTORY During the interview conducted for the workers in the palm oil mill

' I ' l~c data is on inajor causcs of idlc time and ef'fect in hourly down

tinic of' tile pdrll oil mill. Accolvlirig to t.cspondents the ~iiajor causes of

itllc hoirss oi' llrrriim atid mill scsoul-ces in thc palm oil mill factories

In this study the idle hours of NIFOR Oil Mill in the year 2000 was

organised and used as a specimen to show the effect these factors

mentioned above i.13 the palm oil mill factory. The data are analysed

below according to the above listed causes using percentages, table and a

graph for easy survey of the effects (idle time in hours) of these factors at

glance by the reader.

TABLE 4.9:NIFOR OIL MILL IDLE TIME IN THE YEAR 2000

RIAIN'I'ENANC:

E (HOURS)

LACK OF

(1-IOlJ IIS) (HOlJRS)

LACK

0 li

WA'I'ER

(1101JIIS)

JAN -

FEB. 3 2

APRIL.

MAY

J U N E (72--

DRC.

3TAL

CAUSES OF DOWN TIME

, ,

1 i. . 1

I It is quite clear from table I0 and graph 4 Ihnt lack of fiesh fruit bunches causes , . .

the highcst idle tiinc of 53.57% ill t l~c pahn oi! mill factory. According to the I 1

respondents this is caused by limited nurnbcr of trucks available for conveying

the raw material (FFR) frpm . . the plantation to the mill premises. Thus provision

of marc truclts for transportaiion of the fruit bunches to the mill is required.

'Time consumed during maintenancc cspccinlly shut down maintenance caused

37.2% ol' tllc rnills anw;ll idle time. 'I'his suggcstcd that provision of

atlcquatc rnaintcn;~~icc Iilcilitics and rcgr11:ir preventive nlaintenance

sllould bc atloptccl i n (llc mill factory to reducc this cffect.

I ,;~clc of liretvood a t ~ l tlicscl sllowcd a sum total of 6.58% of mill

tlow~l liilic. Sillcc the usc ol' thcsc co~i~niotlitics in tlic ~iiillitig process is

not ~lcctlcd at d l , it slic~~ltl bc avoidcd to rcduce down time in the inill

I;lctol.y.

1,aclc of watcr cmscrl 2.67% of total idlc tirnc, the respondents to

illis said that sourcc ol'walcr is 11ot likely tllc major probleni of the mills

Iwt tllc li-cq~rcnt failurc of jmnps, pipcs and other means of conveying the

water to tllc mill.

4.4 IIISCIIISSION

'I'l~c :)in1 of this scctiou is to discuss and interpret the results

ol)t:liricd lion1 thc data ~ l c l o t lw ill Sort nation collected and clnalysed in

tlic ~ r c v i o ~ s scctioi\s ofillis project.

I t i s clcady scc11 liwn t l~c ctitir-c investigation that for the derivation

of optini~tnl h c f i t s (cost t i~ i~~i~niza t io~i atld 11rol3 maximization) from

tllc rlsc ol'palm oil mill in thc pl-occssing of oil palrii fruit, that the fruit

:~ggrcgatc proccssctl should contain the dwa, teticra and pisifera bunches

(fiuit) in illc ratio of 2:3:O. 111 addition to this, adequate maintenance of

tllc mill n d l i ~ l c s and olllcr ~~roccssing acccssorics, rcgular and adequate

plai~laliorl ~l~:~in~cnailce, changc from the usc of firewood to palm wastes

as fuel in the mill and effective motivation of the factory workers through

incentives are equally required. These and others form the major sub

headings of our discussion in this section.

i. The Ratio of the Oil Fruit Types in a Fruit Aggregate to be

processed in palm oil mill for optimum benefit

The result obtained fiom the optimal solution of the palm oil

factory mill model indicated that dura and tenera h i t s should be mixed

(combined) in the ratio of 2:3 for maximum revenue (and cost

minimization) derivation fiom the use of palm oil mills. This ratio

indicated that pisifera is not needed in any processing fruit aggregate

because fiom our investigation the fruit can not be processed and any

attempt to include it in a ratio causes low grade of products extracted

fiom such a ratio. This agreed with our earlier information that pisifera

fruit kernel are crushed during the milling process giving a mixture of ,

kernel oil and palm oil which cannot be separated by simple method.

When h i t s of dura and tenera are processed in this ratio, it brings

the fibre and nut content of the digested and pressed cake to equilibrium.

This helps to achieve high oil extraction rate of over 98% and minimum

kernel breakage of less than 2% in the mill. The effective recovery of

kernel and palm oil in this process increaset the revenue derived since the

two constitutes the major commercial products of this venture.

Anotlicr good sidc of tllis ratio is that it provides enough palm

\vastcs (lvitll l i t 1 lc cxccss) fi)r tlic operation of tlic mills steams boiler.

'I'llis crlablcs unintcrruptctl productio~l 01' stcam for both processing and

h r opcratillg of tllc clcctric gcnct-ating sct i n the mill factory. The use of

~ ~ i i l ~ l l wastcs climi~latcs tlw (IO\VII lime a110 ovcr 80% C X C C S S ~ V ~ mill

cxpc~itlitul-c associated witli lllc usc of lirctvood atld dicscl. ?'his demands

111:it rut111.c pla~itation slioi~ltl Ix plil~mcd to contain tlic dura and tenera

I plants in thc ratio of 2:3. Whilc pisifera should be for brceding purpose

only bccarrsc any plantation \vllicIi contain up to 5% of pisifera plant is

uneconomical since over 98% of the plant populace are sterile.

ii. Adequatc Mainteriaucc of tlic mill

' I Iic I T S L I I I ol '1l1~ i~ivcsligatio~l slio\vccl tllat C V ~ ~ C I ~ tllc mill rnnchincs

ar-c. atlctli~atcl y ~ll:ii~i~:ii~lccl (1)otli ~ I T V C H ~ ~ V C and col-rcctive) in accordance

\vitli tllc ~li:inrrhctrlrcrs rcco~lilllclltlatioli and guided by other

1>a1.;unctc1-/i1lIi)r111atic111 prbvided i l l section 2.4 of this work that the

wccssivc l>~~caI<~lo\v~i wliicli clwactcriscd tllc prcscnt mills will bc a thing

of tlic past. 'I'llis will sctli~cc thc idlc ti~ilc in tlic mill factory as well as

cxccssivc wnstc of p~wlucts i l l tllc system. 111 addition this cnsures good

qrl:iJity of' proclr~ct ~~soccssccl in tlic mill bccausc the cffccts of the inill

r~liits on tllc li.uits will 1101 dcviatcs fionl tlic cxpectetl effect.

iii. Adequate Maintenance of the Oil Palm Plantation

Since total quality control starts from the inputs, the need for

adequate maintenance of the oil palm plantation should not be over

looked when the issue of maximum performance of the venture is raised

because poor quality of input will always leads to poor output irrespective

of the condition of the mill used. Adequate maintenance of the plantation

which include regular fertilization,

and other agricultural measures are

weeding, proper drainage, irrigation

required for good health and growth

of the oil palm plants and regular supply of good quality of their bunches

to the mill. This reduces the deviation of the individual fruit bunch from

their species properties. For instance inadequate plantations maintenance

has leads to duras of low kernel content and negligible mesocarp and

teneras of little mesocarp and kernel content which adversely affect the

output profile expected from such a fruit. f

iv. Workers Motivation

The investigation indicated that all the workers in the palm oil mill

factories are in very much need of seminars, workshops and in-service

training to up date their skill for better performance in the factory. In

most of the factories visited, the plant manual and other hand books on

the mill systems are not available to the workers and those workers who

are very old in the job do not find the use some modern tools easy. This

is the. main reason while the workers need the development of such

essential skill necessary for the improvement of their strategies and

tactics for quick and effective maintenance of the plant to reduce idle

time in the factory. The workers opinions shows that they require

increase in their allowance promotion, insurance policy against the

factory hazards and other cash bonus from their to employer to perform

their duty effectively.

v. Technical-Oriented mill managers

The uncooperative attitude of some mill managers militates against

the effective performance of palm oil mill factories and their human

resources. Of course 58.30% of the workers who participated in this

interview indicated that mill manager who are not science/technically

oriented do not cooperate well with the technicians in the factory. This

set of managers will even want the technicians to always obtain

permissions from the mill authorities before making use of the factories

workshop, spare parts and so on. However 80% of the respondents

indicated that they do not have any need for such permission. Therefore

technicians in palm oil mill factories need free hands in the controlling

and using of the mill facilities for effective and timely performance of

their duty to avoid excessive down time in the factory.

4.4-1 FINDINGS

During the course of this study the following findings were- made: -

iv.

vi.

vii.

viii.

In the entire palm oil mill factories visited the use of firewood as

the major fuel for operating the palm oil mills steam boiler

dominates the use of palm wastes.

All the palm oil mills visited uses diesel generating sets for the

generating electrical energy used for operating the factories

machines instead of the in built steam turbine driving generating

set in the mills.

Effluent treatment station for effective microbiological digestion of

sludge (produced in the milling process) to biogas (fuel) is absent

in all the mills visited.

Incinerator where the empty bunch(s) is discarded (wasted) by

burning them to ash without any use of the heat energy produced

during the burning constitutes part of the mills visited (Waste of

useful heat energy). ,

Inadequate motivation of palm oil mill factory workers was also

observed and this reduces their effective performance in their job.

The use of inexperienced causal workers is highly pronounced in

all the mills visited.

Non-technical oriented managers head more than 80% of palm

oil mill factories visited during study.

Inadequate maintenance of palm plantations and the mill plant

characterised all the industries visited. This was identified as the

major cause of low grade of the products produced in the palm oil

mills.

4.4-2 IMPLICATION

The implication of the results of this study include the following

1. The palm oil mills need the provision of raw fruit input which

should contain dura and tenera. fruits in the ratio of 2:3 and most of

the mills visited operate with high tenera content fruits while others

process high dura content input. This adversely effects the

extraction rate of the mills, volume of palm wastes available for

operating the steam boiler and life of the digester unit. Therefore

government, communities and individual should endeavour to

establish future oil palm plantations that will contain dura and

tenera plants in the ratio of 2:3.

2. The allowance paid to palm oil mill factory workers should be re-

examined and increased to make the workers affected happy to

perform their work diligently and effectively.

3. Since mill managers who are technically inclined (preferable

engineers) cooperate with workers more than those who are not

inclined in this area, authorities concerned should gradually change

to making those who read technical sciences managers of the mill

factories, otherwise, the federal governments effort in pursuit of

increased palm products output of the nation will be fruitless.

4. The use of inexperienced causal workers for operating and

maintaining the mill machines are undesirable since this discourage

specialization, which in turn increases the rate of accident and

breakdown in the palm oil mill, factories.

5 . ,The excessive use of firewood and diesel generator in the mill

factory cause high cost of production in the venture and therefore

should be avoided.

6. The burning of the empty bunches in the incinerator is not

desirable in the mills since the heat energy produced is lost and is

never use for other purpose in and outside the mill. Therefore for

.effective utilisation of this waste, it should be conveyed to the

boiler furnace so that the energy produced will be effectively used t

in the boiler for steam making.

7. Again the absent of efficient sludge treatment station in all the

mills causes loss of energy which should have been generated from

sludge and harmful disposal of this waste to the environment.

Thus the development of this sector in the palm oil mills should be

encouraged to increase the energy potential of the mill system.

CHAPTER FIVE , ,

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 SUMMARY

The study is an application of optimization technique to maximize the

revenue of palm oil mills using NIFOR oil mill as a case study. The work

identified limited number of investor in the large scale processing of palm

fruits using palm oil mills as the major cause of the decreasing rate of

Nigeria's palm products output recently. This is because of inadequate

processing mills to process the abundant raw oil palm fruits in this country

which causes excessive loss of unprocessed fruits annually in this nation. It

was further identified that investors are scared away from this large scale

processing sector due to slow rate of returns of the sector, thereby taking

long-time for the sector to break even. This was as a result of some factors ,

that hinders the smooth operation of the mills. The study identified the

factor as high cost of production in the mill as a result of high daily cost of /

operating the mill system, poor quality of oil and kernel processed in the i mill, high cost of maintenance in the venture due to insufficient explanation

of the process and maintenance parameter to the operators of the mills and

high cost of procuring the mill and its accessories. In the cause of this work.

It was observed that over eighty percent (80%) of the daily expenses in the

I palm oil mill factory is spent for procuring firewood (fuel) for the operation

of the mills steam boiler. Inadequate maintenance of the plant machines

which causes deviation from the expected effect of the mill units on the

fruits was also identified as a major cause of poor quality of the mill

products. Others factors which militate against maximum profit output of

the venture include low oil extraction rate of the recent mills due to improper

mixture of the fruit aggregates processed in them, lack of maintenance of the

plantation, inadequate motivation of workers and so on. Although NIFOR

oil mill was used as the projects case study, related information obtained

from other factories such as Okomu palm Plc, Risom palm limited and

Adapalm limited were used to confirm the precision of the experimental data

obtained from NIFOR mill and to diversity the study.

In this work data were collected by two major means which include

the primary instrument and secondary instruments. The primary source of

data involves the experimental processing of given mass of each of the fiuit

types, direct participation in the milling of the combined fruits types and the I workers opinion to various item questions of the interview conducted for

them during the study on the perceived needs for effective performance of

the mill venture. The secondary data sources include previous production

records, maintenance history records and the mill plant manual. The

secondary data collected were mainly used to confirm the precision of the

primary data. The data generated was analyzed using averages, percentiles,

tables, graphs, charts, linear programming method and a computer program

(writing .in q-basic language). The h i t types dura, tenera and pisifera

formed the major decision variables. A linear optimization model for palm

oil mills generated was solved by simplex method while the computer , 5

program is used to test sensitivity of the model (optimal solution). In t'he

literature, various milling processes were explained, sufficient and practical

parameters for the operation and maintenance of the units were also

provided as a guide for the operators of the mill machines for effective

prevention of excessive idle time and accidents in the mill factory.

The result of the study indicated that for optimum profit (minimum

cost maximum revenue) derivation from the use of palm oil mills in the large , a

1

scale processing of the oil palm fruits that the dura and tenera bunches

should be combined in a ratio of 2:3 respectively. This will enable us to

achieve the necessary equilibrium content of the fibre and nut in the digester

and press volume for effective operation of the units and for high oil

extraction rate. In addition, this ratio will help to provide enough shell, fibre

and empty bunches without much excess for the operation of the mills steam

boiler, in order to eliminate the use ofsfirewood and diesel in the mill which

cause over 80% of the mills expenditure. The study also indicated that

pisifera is not needed in the fruit ratio since the presence of the fruit in a

processing ratio causes low quality of oil output because the pisifera kernels

are crushed during pressing giving a mixture of palm oil and kernel oil

I which can not be separated by simple method. Also indicated is adequate

preventive maintenance culture in the mill factory to reduce idle time and

high cost associated with excessive shutdown maintenance that characterised

the sector. Adequate care of oil palm plantations through regular

fertilization, weeding and other important agriculture measures to ensure

good quality and regular supply of the inputs (FFB) to the mill and effective

motivation of workers through incentives, provision of safety devices, , ,

insurance against factory harzard and cash bonus were also required for

effective revenue output of palm oil mills. Provision of credit facilities, I

input subsidiary and tax alleviation to the oil palm farmers by government

was also indicated to encourage participation in the sector

It is established from the results of this work that for maximum , ,

revenue derivation from the use of palm oil mills in the processing of oil

palm fruits that the fruit aggregate processed should contain the dura and

tenera fruits in the ratio of 2:3 without pisifera because the presence of the

pisifera in a processed aggregate causes low grade of oil output. Also

advocated is the establishment of future plantations that will contain dura

I and tenera plant species in the same'ratio while pisifera should be used for

cross breeding purpose only since over 98% ofthe entire pisifera plants are

sterile and any plantation which contains up to 5% of the plant species is

uneconomical.

Also established in the study is a good and regular preventive and

maintenance policies to reduce high cost of maintenance and idle time

associated with excessive breakdown of machines that characterised palm oil

mills recently. In addition adequate care of the oil palm plantation though

effective fertilization, weeding and other agricultural practices is also

required to ensure regular supply of good quality of the fresh fruit bunches

. (FFB) input to the mill.

Furthermore, the use of palm wastes (which includes the shell, the

fibre and the empty bunches) as fuel in the mills to ensure uninterrupted

production of steam is very much needed to eliminate the use of firewood 1

and diesel in the palm oil mill factory. This will reduce the cost of

production in this sector by eighty percent (80%).

i The work equally showed that adequate

112

motivation of workers

increases their effective performance in the factory. Again the investigation

indicated that technical-oriented managers cooperate well with palm oil mill

workers than managers traiqed in other areas, and also this encourages the

performance of the workers which in turn improves the efficiency and life of

the mill system and its output.

The study also advocated for the exclusion of incinerator in the mill f

design because the heat energy produced by burning empty bunches in it is

never used anywhere both in and outside the mill., This waste of energy is

undesirable in modem technology.

5.3 RECOMMENDATION !- . ,

The research work is on the application of optimization technique to . . .

maximize revenue of palm oil mills and also to minimize relative cost of

production in this sector. Based on the results of data collected and analysed

and other findings in this study. The following are recommended

1. It is quite clear now and well established that all processing palm

fruits aggregate ,must contain dura and tenera fruits in the ratio of 2:3

for optimum benefits from the use of palm oil mills. .

2. Also recommended is the establishment of future oil palm plantations

that will contain 40% and 60% of dura and tenera plant species

t

respectively. This will ensure fwture supply of fiuits input to the mill

that will reflect the milling ratio of 2:3 for dura and tenera fruits

. , I mentioned above.

3. The researcher strongly advocates that pisifera plant species should be

cultivated for breeding purpose only.

4. In addition, adequate and regular preventive maintenance of the mill

facilities is equally recoininended to reduce high cost and excessive

idle time associated with shut down maintenance in the mill factories.

5. Adequate maintenance of oil palm plantations through regular . ,

fertilization, weeding and other agricultural measures is very much

needed to ensure regular supply of high quality fiuits to palin oil

mills.

6. Effective utilization of 2alm wastes such as empty bunches, shells and

fibre is strongly reconimended as fuel for steam production in other to

reduce high cost of production associated with the use of firewood

and diesel in the mill factory. . , i', 7. Exclusion of the incinerator in the mill design and the introduction of

a conveyor into the system for transporting the empty bunches fiom

the stripping unit to the boiler where the energy produced by burning

them will be effectively used for steam making is very much needed

in the mills.

8. The researcher also advocates for the development of effluent (sludge)

treatment station in all palm oil mills. This will facilitate effective

digestion of the sludge waste to biogas (fuel) and enable unharmful

disposal of the waste to the environment.

9. Furthermore, the study recommends that all palm oil mill managers

should be university graduates whose academic background are

technical-biased. This is because those managers who are not

technical inclined are always very jealous of the factory workers and

also suppresses them to the extent that these technicians live in

perpetual fear of them.

10. Adequate incentives like increase in allowance paid to the workers in

the palm oil mill factory, promotions and insurance against factory

hazards from the employers is also advocated for effective

performance the mill workers.

I 1 1 . Also the work recommends strohgly that government should facilitate

investment in the large scale processing of palm fruits using palm oil

mills through provision of credits facilities, input subsidiary and tax

alleviation to investors in the oil palm business to enable then1

establish more palm oil mills in this nation. This will enable effective

processing of the nations abundant oil palm fruits, thereby creating

employment for the nations populace and diversifying the nations

economy.

5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

with regards to the results and limitations of this project the

researcher wished to suggest similar studies into the following areas.

1 . An investigation into the efficiency of palm oil mill factories in 1 .

Nigeria. This will be an eye opener to palm oil mill entrepreneurs on

the effects of idle time in the venture.

2. A study on the effective utilization of the organic fraction of palm oil

mill sludge wastes for he1 and other purposes.

3. An investigation into the applications of palm kernel shell distillates.

. ,

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APPENDICES

CONTENTS PAGE

APPENDIX A

A 1. The layout diagram of palm oil mill factory---------------------------- 123

A2. The schematic flow diagram of palm oil mill factory----------------- 124

A3. The layout diagram of the recommended palm oil mill model------ 125

A4. List of palm oil mill factories visited during the study--------------- 126

A5. Distribution of worker sampled according to their qualifications--- 127

APPENDIX B . .

B 1. The algorithm of the computer program-------------------------------- 128

B2. The programs flowchart--------------------------------------------------- 130

B3. The palm oil mills revenue maximization program-------------- 131-142

FFB

LO

AD

ING

PL

AT

FOR

M

AP

PE

ND

IX A

\

FA

CT

OR

Y.

C E

NT

RA

NC

E

GA

TE

I FR

UIT

I

I BUNCH

I

INC

INER

ATO

R

PRO

CE

SSING

PIT

1

I----- I

I SHE

LL

I

HO

PPER 1

STE

EL

PER

FOR

AT

ED

FFB ST

ER

ILISE

R

// I

n

CL

AR

IFICA

TIO

N

EN

GIN

E R

OO

M

BO

ILE

R H

OU

SE I I1

WA

TER TO

WER

WITH T

AN

K

OIL PU

MPE

D TO-

SAL

ES T

AN

K

I W

aste Water

AP

PE

ND

IX A

3. T

HE

LA

YO

UT

DIA

GR

AM

OF

TH

E R

EC

OM

ME

ND

ED

PA

LM

-

OIL

MIL

L M

OD

EL

FA

CT

OR

Y (Incinerator excluded)

FRU

IT

BU

NC

H

HO

PPER

PIT

TRESH

ING

ST

AT

ION

- - - - - - - -

OIL

EXTR

AC

TION

ST

AT

ION

(Press and digester) --------

KER

NEL

PRO

CESSIN

G

STA

TIO

N

I----- I

I SHELL

I H

OPPER

I I [----A

I----- I

SHELL

I 1 H

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I [----A

CLA

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ATIO

N

WA

TER PU

MP

OIL PU

MPE

D T

F

1

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HO

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3

OU

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THE L

c

I PR

EMISES

II , w

astk Water

L R

EFU

G

BU

NC

H (T

ransporting the stripped C

ON

VE

YO

R

bunches to the boiler furnace)

WA

TER TO

WER

W

ITH TANK

APPENDIX A4. LIST OF PALM OIL MILL FACTORIES SAMPLEDNISITED DURING THE STUDY

1. NIFOR OIL MILL FACTORY:- - - - - The case study Oil Mill Division, Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) Benin City Edo State. Nigeria

2. NIFOR SMALL SCALE PROCESSING EQUIPMENT WORKSHOP (A Mini Palm Oil Mill Factory for Testing of Small scale Processing Equipment(SSPE) fabricated in NIFOR) Production and Research Engineering Division Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research Benin City Edo State. Nigeria

3. RISOM PALM MILL Risoin Palm Nigeria Limited Ubima River State Nigeria

4. ADAPALM MILL Adapalm Nigeria Limited Ohaji Imo State Nigeria ,

5 . OKOMU PALM OIL MILL FACTORY I Okomu palm PIC

Okomu Edo State Nigeria

6. PALM KERNEL PROCESSING MILL Brother Ken Ago-allied Industries Limited Owerri Imo State Nigeria.

APPENDIX A5. DISTRIBUTION OF WORKERS SAMPLED ACCORDING TO THEIR QUALIFICATIONS

QUALIFICATION , ,

B.Sc, B. Eng and equivalent

NUMBER OF WORKERS

M.Sc, M.Eng. and equivalent 5

S.S.C.E & TCII and equivalent 7

H.N.D.

Craft men (SSCE with Trade test ,Certificate)

3

1 CraFt men (FSLC with Trade test Certificate)

Total , , 51

APPENDIX B1. THE ALGORITHM OF THE PROGRAM

The algorithm steps are as follows:

Step 1. Start the program in Q-basic

Describe the number of decision variable in the equation

Write the number of constraints in the equation.

Add slack variables.

Express the equation in canonical form.

Develop the basic variables

Make the heading variables in the simplex tableaux

Input the objective function, max Z =. . . .

Enter the coefficient of the variables.

Enter the rhs after the slack variables

Enter the ratio after rhs .

Are all inputs correct at this point? If yes

Develop the simplex tableaux else go to step 2

Develop the slack variable coefficient

~ i s i l a ~ the simplex tableaux on the screen

Is the optimal solution positive? if yes

Stop and end if

Else

18. Find the entering and leaving variables in the Simplex

Tableaux.

19. Develop the another simplex tableaux on the screen . ,

I. 20. If optimal solution reached

21. Stop

22. Else go to step 19

23. Print rhs

end

[APPWDIXI TIIE CO~PUTER PRO CRAM^ 131

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I!ASV$ ( I ) = L E F T $ ( P S , I . ) + RIGH'S$ ( P $ , 1 ) NKX'I' J

' I)EVEL,OPING TlIE T O P HEADING VARIABLES I N T H E S I M P L E X TABLEAUX I I E A D S ( 1 ) =: " Z " . ,

FQR I = 1 T O DEC I I E A I . I $ ( I .i- 1) = D E C V $ ( I ) NPXT I : FOR J = 1 T O CON: HEAD$ ( D E C -1. 1 + J) = BASV$ ( 1 + R ) : NEX'I' J

Yl.:%Y . CL,S (:OLIOIZ 11: P R I N T : P R I N T : P R I N T "THE O B J E C T I V E FUNCTTON MAXIMISE Z =I'

, K$ = "ENTER THE C O E F F I C I E N T o!? THE V A R I A B L E f 1 : F = L E N ( K $ ) : J = 2 COLOR 1 3 : FOR I = 1 TO DEC LOCATE 5 + J, 6 : P R I N T K$; lo l1 ; DECV$ ( I ) ; " I N THE O B J . FUNCTION: "

J = J + 2 NEXT I COLOR 1 0 : J = 2 1.'011 I = 1 'ro DEC

LOCA'rE J + 5 , 1: -I 3 2 : I N P U T MAT1 J = J + 2

NEXT I [1)YL1%: CLS : SCREEN 0.

COL,OI7 1 4 , 0 : LOCATE 2 , 1 0 : P R I N T " T H I S AREA DEALS WI'I'H THE CONSTRIANTS" 1,OCATE 4 , 15 : P R I N T "THE FORMAT X l + X 2 + S l + S 2 . . . + S N <= RHS" TI,$ = S T R I N G S ( 3 , C H R $ ( 3 ) ) + " " + S T R I N G S ( 3 , C H R S ( 2 1 9 ) ) D$ = "ENTER C O E F F I C I E N T O F THE VARIABLE"

V l I8:W PRIM'T G 'YO 2 4 132 i2C)1< 1 = 1 '1'0 CON: C L S : COLOR 1 0 : LOCATE 6 , 25 : P R I N T "CONSTRIANT" ; I ),'OR &'I = 1 1'0 UEC

COLOR 1 2 : LOCATE 7 -1. K, 8 : P R I N T D$; DECV$ (J) Nl?X'I ' J 1:OR I< = 1 1'0 DEC

COLOR 1 0 : LOCATE 7 + IC, 4 6 : I N P U T . MXT2 ( I , K) ,I<KXrl ' K

COLOR 11: LOCATE 7 + DEC + 1, 8 : P R I N T "ENTER T H E R H S VALUE A F T E R < = " COLOlZ 1.3 : LOCATE 7 t DEC + 1 , 38 : I N P U T Rl IS

NEX'l' I COLCII? 1 5 : P R I N T : P R I N T : I N P U T " I S A L L CORRECT AT T H I S P O I N T ? ( Y / N ) " , 13s - U C A S E $ ( D $ ) .IF D$ = " Y " THEN G O T 0 DYE2 V.[EW P R I N T : G O T 0 I D Y E Z

i )YE:% : ' DIXVELoOPING THE S I l d P L E X MATRIX TABLEAUX S I M L ' I j E X ( l . , 1.) = I lWR I = 2 T O DEC + 1 : S l M P L E X ( 1 , I ) = - (MAT1 ( I - 1 ) ) : NEXT I r m x I = 2 TO B V : FOR ,J = 2 TO DEC -1. 1 : : l i ~ l l ' l , l ~ ~ X ( I , ,J) = P l A ' I 2 ( 1 - 1, J - 1) N1,;XT ,J : NKXr1' I

' r)I~:VI~:IOF'II\IG THE SLACK VARIABLE C O E F F I C I E N T , I i 1 1.'01: I = 1 T O AV: S I M P L E X ( I , DBC + 1 F J) = 1 , I =: J + 1: NEX'I' 1

,.'JTPIL)ISPI.rAY M IVALUE

W ( I R K [NCSIMPLEX 1)l S'L'ADLEAUX L: 1 ,s

':I J I < IU; ~wirr I JJ !'I< ! N'I' : P R I N T TAB ( 7 5 ) ; " F P R THE SIMPLEX MAXIMIZATION PROBLEM W I T H O B J . FUNCTION"

J = 1 5 r'i.lLOR lo: P R I N T TAB ( 2 ) ; "MAXIMISE %=" ; t.'OI( I = 1 TO LIEC COLOR 1 5 : T R S = S T R $ (MAT1 ( I ) ) + DECV$ ( I ) 11.' 1 = DEC THEN P R I N T ' I ' A B ( J ) ; TR$; T A R ( J + 7 ) ; : GOTO P I K R E I'RiN?' TAL3(J ) ; T R S ; T A B ( J + 7 ) ; " + " ; d = ,J + 9 NEXT I

I?I KRE: COLOIZ 1.4 : P R I N T : P R I N T TAB (10) ; " Z " ; Rk1S2 (1) COI,01? 1 5 : P R I N T : P R I N T " PR0I)UCE : 'I P l l l N T : k'OR T = I T O DEC: FOR J = 2 T O RV L r: nEcv$ ( I ) = BASVS ( J) THEN L'1!1 b!'r ' r A n (10) ; DOCV$ ( I ) ; TAB (29) ; R1192 (J) ; " P R O F I T U N I T S " l,:Nl) I F iNI<;<'l' ,-I : l\IKX'T I l < N ) SUL?

SUI3 ONEEN'I'RY " l ' l i IS PROGRAM F I N D S TIiE ENTRY VARIARLE AND THE LEAVING VARIAFTAF: ' 11,' Tl lE MATRIX HAS ONLY ONE ENTRY

LCN'L'RY = P S ( 1 )

1,'OIi I ' = 2 'To R V : l i A l ' I O ( 1 - 1) = RIIS ( 1 ) / S I M P L E X ( I , ENTRY) R . h C ( J - I) = RATIO(I - 1 ) : NEXT 1

1:OR I = I. T O BV - 2 : FOR J = I + 1 TO BV - 1 1 F RAC: ( I ) c = RAC (J) TIIEN GOT0 PE:NFOLD

I ~ E M F U I ~ D : NEXT J : NEXT I FOI< I = 2 T O BV

Lr: I < A C ( l ) = R A T I O ( ] : - 1) TIiEN UEAVlNG = 1 l3ii:;VS (1) = IIEADS (EN'SRY) I,:NIl I I;' : NEXT :I : P l V O T = SIMPTIEX (TAEAVING, ENTRY)

l,:PJI) :.;lJH

SU!3 TKNTRY 1 Jb 'TI! [ S S U R I'INDS 'THE EN'I'RY AND 1'HE L E A V l N G V A R I A B L E S WITH. T H E I R C O R E S P O N D I N G P iil.:I)IM RA'1'102 ( B V - 1 ) , I W C 2 ( B V - 1 )

!Wl< 1 - 2 T O B V : R A T I O ( 1 - 1 ) = R H S ( 1 ) / , S I M P L E X ( I , P S ( 1 ) ) I - 1) = IIATIO(I - 1)

iO\ ' I ' l t j2 (1 - I ) = R H S (I) / S I M P L , G X ( I , PS (2.)) : RAC2 ( I - 1 ) = R A T 1 0 2 ( I - 1 ) : N E X T \.:OR I = 1 7 '0 DV - 2 : F O R J = I + 1 T O '13V - 1 I v RAC ( r ) < = mca ( J ) THEN GOTO PENOLDY SWAP RAC (1) , RAC (J)

Y : X F R A C 2 (I) <= R A C 2 ( J ) T H E N G O T 0 P E N F O L D Y S W A P R A C 2 ( I ) , R A C 2 ( J )

I'i~:PII'OI,DY: NISXT J : NEXT I Pi l l41 = R A C ( 1 ) : M I N 2 = R A C 2 ( 1 ) 11: i d l N 1 c M I N 2 ?'HEN

1::N'I'RY -; P S ( 1 ) !.'OR '1 - 2 T O BV

I I > R A c ( ~ ) = K A T I O ( 1 - 1 ) THEM L,l.:I\VING = 1 I\ti\%VS (1 ' ) = I jEADS (ENTRT) I,3N1) T I ' : NEX'I' 1 l.:Nl) 11;'

11: M1M2 < M I N I . 'I'llEN EEI'I'RY 2: P S ( 2 )

' 1;OR I = 2 T O B V I F R A C 2 ( 1 ) = R ~ T % 0 2 ( 1 - 1) T H E N ' '

' 1 , E A V I N G = 1 I3ASV$ ( :t ) = I-IEADS ( E N T R Y END TF: NEXT I E N D 1 F

I ) r V O T = S I M P L E X ( L , E A V I N C , E N T R Y ) i<+ll,l SUli

. ' :I 1 1 3 'l'l Il?I<N'I'RY 1 31 ' I ' l l 1'; I'AI(?' 'I 'IIIES 'I'O FIND TtIE ENTRY AND LEAVIMG POSI'I'ION 1N TIlE SIMPLEX TALILEA i<lll)lM Ib'iTIO2 (BV - I ) , RAC2 (BV - 1) , R A ~ 1 d 3 (BV - I ) , RAC3 (RV - 1 ) . 517<(1j,~ . 1,'i)R I1 = 2 TO EV: R A T I O ( I - 1) = R I I S ( 1 ) / s I M P L E x ( I , P S ( 1 ) )

I < A V ( I - 1) = R R T I O ( 1 - 1) I<A' ImlO% ( I - 1 ) = R l l S ( 1 ) / S I M P L E X ( 1 , P S ( 2 ) ).: RAC2 ( I - I ) = RATIO^ ( 1 - 1) I Z A ' I ' J . ~ ~ ( S - I ) - RI-IS(1) / S I M P L E X ( 1 , P S ( 3 ) ) : K A C 3 ( I - 1 ) = R A T I O ~ ( S - 1 ) 14 I;:XT I

I;OI? 1 - 1 TO RV - 2 : FOR J = I TO RV - 1 I 17 rmc: ( r ) C = RAC ( J ) THEN GOTO PENTY SWAP IIAC ( I ) , RAC ( J )

PIWI'Y : I F RAC2 ( I ) c = RAC2 ( J ) THEN GOT0 PGFOLDTY SWAP KAC2 ( I ) , KAC2 ( J )

L I W I ' ' Y : I F RAC3 ( I ) <= RAC3 ( J ) TIlliN GOT0 .'rRECK I SWAP RAC3 ( I ) , RAC3 (J)

rmrxx : NEXT J : NEXT I M I N l = R A C ( 1 ) : MIN2 = R A C 2 ( 1 ) : MIN3 = RAC3 (1)

J l K ( 1 ) = MTN1: J I K ( 2 ) = M I N 2 : J I K ( 3 ) = MIN3 l.'OIZ 1. = I TO 2 : FOR J = I + 1 TO 3 11,' J T l < ( I ) < = J I K ( J ) THEN GOT0 T A S S I T ' '

SWAP J I K ( I ) , J I K ( J ) ' I : N E X T J : N E X T I : M I N = J I K 9 1 0 .

I P 'MIN - M I N l THEN ' r<NmsKY 2 P S (I.)

FOR I - 2 'I'O BV TF R A C ( L ) = R A ? ' I O ( I - 1 ) THEN LEAVING = I RASVS ( I ) = HEADS (EN'PRY) END I F : NEXT I I:ND T F

1 I: I41 N = RAC2 ( 1.) THEN !<PITRY = P S ( 2 ) . ,

~ , ' O R I = 2 TO nv I F KAC2 ( I . ) = RATIO2 ( I - I ) TIIEN LEAVING = I BASVS ( I ) = HEADS (ENTRY) END I F : NEXT I E:ND I F

I F MTN = R A C 3 ( 1 ) THEN ENTRY = P S ( 3 ) . ,

I FOR I = 2 TO BV . ,

' I F KAC3 (1) = RATIO3 (I - 1) THEN LEAVING = I BASVS ( I ) = FIEADS (ENTRY) END I F : NEXT I END 11.' q

P I V o T = SIMPLEX (LEAVING, ENTRY) l,:NI) S U U

c;Ul< 'I'I?,L<EN'I'RY 138 "I'II 1 S PART 1'KIlCS 'l'0 F I N D 'SHE ENTRY AND LEAVlMG P O S I T I O N 1 M 'I'IIE S I M P L E X ~ ' A ~ ~ I J E A I(RI)I M R A T I O 2 (BV - 1.) , RAC2 (BV - 1 ) , R A T I O 3 (BV - 1 ) , RAC3 (RV - 1 ) , J I K !? \ IWI? r - 2 TO B V : RATIO( I - 1 ) = K H S ( I : ) / S I M P L E X ( I , P S ( I . ) )

I:,\.(:(I - I.) = t w r r . o ( x - 1 ) l l r , ' l . l ~ j 2 ( 1 - . I . ) = R I I S ( 1 ) / S I M P L G X ( 1 , P S ( 2 ) ) : K A C 2 ( I - 1 ) = R A T I O 2 ( 1 - 1 ) l : / ~ ? ' J 0 3 ( 1 - I ) = I < H S ( I ) / S I M P L E X ( 1 , L'S(3)) : I I A C 3 ( I - 1) = R A T I O ~ ( I - 1 ) N1':XrI' I'

I.'OI( I - 1 'SO 13V - 2 : I'OR J = I '1'0 UV - I. l 1: JlAc: ( 1 ) c. = IU\C ( J ) 'I'IIGN GOTO PKNY

;b?r\L1 I ? A C ( I ) , R A C ( J ) I'J4:NY : i F I<AC2 ( I ) <= RAC2 ( J ) I'HEN G O T 0 PI$FOLDY

SWAP RAC2 ( I ) , RAC2 ( J ) l : , l Y : 1F RAC3 ( I ) < = 1 m C 3 (J) THEN G O T 0 RECK

SWAP RAC3 ( I ) , I W C 3 (J) I<KrK ; NEXT J : NEXT I

M I N l = R A C ( 1 ) : M I N 2 = RAC2 (1) : M I N 3 = RAC3 ( 1 ) < l , T I < ( 1 ) = M I N I : J I K ( 2 ) = M I N 2 : J I R ( 3 ) =. M I N 3 k ' 0 R .L = 1 TO 2 : FOR J = I + 1 'SO 3 IF' JTK(1) <= J I K ( J ) THEN G O T 0 A S S I T :;NAP J L I < ( I ) , J I K ( J )

I'~$;Y r 'l ' : NEXT J : NKXT I : M I N = J I K 9 1 0 '

11.1 M l I J - M.CN1 TlIAPJ EN'I'RY = PS ( 1 )

l,'(lI< I - 2 T O BV I17 KAC(1) = R A ' r I O ( I - 1) THEN

1,EAV'INC: = I BASV$ ( I ) = HEADS (ENTRY)

I END, I F : NEXT I END I F . .

I F M I N = RAC2 ( 1 ) THEN ra:ru"Y - PS ( 2 )

L:OI< I = 2 T O BV 1F R A C 2 ( 1 ) = R A T I O Z ( 1 - 1 ) THEN 1,GAVING = I liASV$ ( I ) = HEADS (ENTRY) EN11 I F : NEXT I KNLI I F

I F MIN = RAC3 ( 1 ) THEN ENTRY = P S ( 3 )

I FOR I = 2 T O BV CF R A C 3 ( 1 ) = R A T I O ~ ( I - 1 ) THEN L,EAVING = I i3ASVS ( I ) = HEAD$ (ENTRY) L,:NT) I F : NEXT I EN11 1F

, r1vo.r. = SIMPLEX (LEAVING, E N T ~ Y ) I,:NT) SUB . .

I A'I' '1'11 IS P O I N T OPTIMAL SOLUTION IS CHECKED FOI< I - 1 'TO ACROS 'I'OPI<C ( 1 ) = TABLEAUX (1, I ) : NEXT I ~ ' 0 1 1 E = 1 T O ACROS - 1: FOR J = I -+ 1 T O ACROS TF T O P E C ( 1 ) c= T O P E C ( J ) THEN G O T 0 IPREDDY

. . SWAP TOPEC ( I ) , T O P E C ( J ) I F ' I I I ~ > ~ ~ Y : NEXT J : NEXT I

I ) - SGN (TOPEC ( I ) ) 11' 1) - - I THEN C'01.,01? 1 % : P1;INT : P R I N T TAB ( 1 0 ) ; "OPTIMAL SOLU'I'ION NOT YET ATTAINED" (?OLL)K 1 1 : P R I N T TAB ( 7 ) ; "DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE SOLVING FOR OP'I'IMAL SOL!IJ'I'J

('OI,Oi< 1 5 : PI11N'I' : P R I N T I' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P R E S S ANY KEY TO CONTINUE" l)AX$ = 1'NPUrI'$ ( I ) . ,

I I<IL'- ? l ~ ~ ' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ G 'I'l-IE TABLEAUX VALUES A S S I M P L E X VALUES. I*.'OIZ T - 1 T O R V 1.'01l J = I T O ACROS S LMPLEX ( I , J ) = TABLEAUX ( I , J ) NEXT J R l i S ( T . ) = R H S Z ( 1 ) NI*:Xrl' T

K I ,Sl< c'cj1,OR 1.2 : P R I N T : P R I N T TAB ( 2 0 ) ; "OPTIMAL SOLUTION IS W T A I N E D . "

l<E PORrl' , l<Idl) , ,

l*:Nl) I P' 11;' Il'rtj = " Y " 'l'tlEN END

PI I VALUE bJORKINGSIMPLEX 111 STAR LEAUX

I 1,' I I ' l ' $ = " N" TIiEN I::I\JD I F l < ~ l N ( . I ,:: ICNI) !.;[ID

' : I ) ] ! CllVALtUE 140 "I'IILS PART O F TI IE PROGRAM F I N D S THE ENI'RY AND LEAVING V A R I A B L E S I N TI IE S I M P L E X

FOR I = 1 '1'0 ACROS 'I'OPEC (I) - S I M P L E X (1, I ) : NEXT I [.'OR I = 1 '1'0 ACROS - 1: FOR J = I + 1 T O ACROS .I F TOPEC ( I ) <= TOPEC (J) THEN G O T 0 FREDDY SWAP 'I'OPEC ( I ) , TOPEC ( J )

I,'I<I.:l)DY: NICX'Y J : NEXT I ]*:'I -: 0 : FOR 1 = 1 T O ACKOS [I7 .':'lblPI,EX (1, I ) = TOI 'EC(1) TI-IEN

y 1 ' - . I.:#J* .+ 1 . ,

ps (']<'l') .=- 1 I.:NII r r: NLXT I 1 1 : b.;'lS = 1 THEN ONEICNTRY r~~l,sl~,;.rI~ 12'T = 2 rl'I-lr<N 'l'I<Nrl'RY EILJL.:I F E'I' = 3 'r1lEtrl T I l l < I ~ ~ N ~ I ' I ~ Y l.:I ,sE C I ,S

.';CRE:E:N 9 (:OI,OR 1 5 , 8 COLOR 10 : LOCATE 1 0 , 1 6 : P R I N T "PROGRAM D E S I N G E D FOR A MAXIMUM OF THREE EN COLOR 1 5 : LOCATE 1 2 , 1 9 : P R I N T "ENTRY V A R I A B L E S ARE MORE THAN THREE(^) I '

COLOR 14 : LOCAl'E 1 4 , 2 3 : P R I N T "THEREFORE PROGRAM I S SUSPENDED" COI,OR 15 END I F

::!Ill I.iOI.:l(lN(;SIMPL,lCX ' '1'11 1 !< /\RAE SOLVES 1'1IE S I M P L E X TABLEAUX

I J I < l N'S : P R I N T l,'Ol< .I = 1 TO BV YOi? J = 1 TO ACROS I F ' 1 = LEAVING THEN G O T 0 BEN I'f\I?L,EAUX ( I , .I) = S I M P L E X ( I , J ) - ( S I M P L E X ( L E A V I N G , J ) * S I M P L E X ( I , ENTRY) ) / I'OL,OR 1 2 : PIX I N T "TABLEAUX ( " ; I ; " , " ; IT ; " ) " ; " = " , . S I M P L G X ( I , J); " II

C'OI.OR 1 0 : L'KINT "= " , . TABLIZAUX ( I , J) : GO'l10 YUZ LI1:N :

'SABI,E7\rJX ( I , J ) = S I M P L E X ( I , J ) / P I V O T , J; l l ) l l . " = I t . C'Ol,Oli 1 :.' : P R I N T "TABLEAUX ( " ; I ; " , " . , S I M P L E X ( 1 , J ) ; " / " ; P I V O T CO1,OR 1 0 : P R I N T " = ' ; T A R L E A U X ( I , J ) "

YUZ: NKX'I' J 1 1 4 ' 1 - IJEAVIMG THEN

!<!I>;:? (I) = RHS (1) / P I V O T ( ' 0 1 ,O?R 1 5 : P R I N T " R H S 2 ( 'I ; I ; 'I) =" , . R I I S ( 1 ) ; "/'I; P I V O T ('01,OK 14 : P R I N T " = " ; R H S 2 (I) (;0'1'0 NETY I~'N1) IF l<F lS2 (1 ) = RIIS(T) - ( R I I S ( L E A V 1 N G ) * S I M P L E X ( 1 , ENTRY) / ( P I V O T ) )

, RIIS ( I ) ; " - ( " ; RHS ( L E A V I N G ) ; I' * " ; S I M P L E X ( L (:Ol,OR 1 5 : P R I N T " R I l S 2 ( " ; I ; ")='I. C'OLUR 7 4 : P R I N T "="; R H S 2 ( I )

N I X " : SLEEI' 1 : NEXT I 1?1\71) SUU

. . . SUB S I M I I l S P L A Y 142

.. . , ? ,:..

, .., ' D I S P L A Y I N G TiIE SIHPLI:X 'I'ADLEAIJX I .

C L S SCREEN 9 COL017 14, 0 i.,l:NI% (190, 3 0 ) - ( 4 4 5 , 3 0 ) , 13