PCA develops coco husk decorticating machine

A decorticating machine that can process coconut husk into coconut fiber and dust has been developed by government agricultural engineers.

The device was designed by DA-Philippine Coconut Authority-Zamboanga Research Center (PCA-ZRC) in Zamboanga City. The pilot test was done at the PCA-ZRC Multipurpose Cooperative in San Ramon, Zamboanga City.

Luisito Peñamora and Gerardo Santos of PCA-ZRC reported the machine’s features and capabilities at a symposium organized by the Western Mindanao Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESMARRDEC), one of the 14 PCARRD-coordinated government regional R&D consortia.

The decorticator, Peñamora and Santos said, can produce 800 kg of dried fiber and 1.5 tons of coir dust per day.

It can be operated continuously by only two persons for seven hours per day for 240 days a year.

In the study, the machine processed 1,920,000 pieces of coconut husks. The recovery of coir fiber was 40 percent of the total weight of the husks and 60 percent of that of the dust.

Based on the product qualification protocol establishied by PCA and the DA-Fiber Industry Development Agency (FIDA), the coir fiber produced was class CH-3 of mixed fiber, which is acceptable in the market, as reported by PCARRD’s Ofelia Domingo.

A net income of P466,399 could be gained in the first year of operation assuming that all products are sold.

Fiber and dusts per kilogram can be sold at P5 and P1.50, respectively. China has high demand for coconut fibers.

Costing P160,000, the decorticator is applicable in small-scale commercial production of coconut fiber and dust. – Rudy A. Fernandez