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The 14th Thai Society of Agricultural Engineering International Conference, 12 - 13 May 2021

The 14th TSAE International Conference

12-13 May 2021

Available online at www.tsae.asia

Development of Coco Peat Brick Making Machine

Joy Quibuyen*, Ruel Peneyra, Marvin Cinena and Efren dela Cruz*

Graduate Student, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, College of Engineering, Central Luzon State
University, 3120 Philippines
*Corresponding author. Cp#: +63-997-469-2045; Email address:[email protected]

Abstract

Coco peat is another profitable material that can be derived from coconut husk other than
coconut husk. It is an excellent growing medium for various plants for it can hold water 8-9 times of its
volume. Only, its fluffy and very low density nature makes it impractical to handle, store and transport.
To address, coco peat brick making machine to densify the material was developed. Additionally, it can
be a business opportunity to coconut farmers for it increases the market value of the product. The
machine was evaluated in terms of capacity, brick quality and energy requirement as affected by
different level of compression pressure (10MPa, 15MPa and 20MPa). The highest capacity of the
machine was observed at lowest compressive pressure of 10MPa at 59bricks production per hour. As
compression pressure increases, the capacity decreases, i.e. lesser production using 15MPa compression
pressure (56 bricks/hr and 20MPa (51 bricks/hr). In terms of quality, evaluated by its durability to
withstand 1-m drop, only brick produced at 20MPa were qualified high quality at 96.57% retention.
Lower compressions (15MPa and 10MPa) produce brick of lower material retention with values of
85.72% and 76.50%, respectively. Hence, for high quality production, 20MPa is recommended, other
is for higher production, 10MPa would suffice. The machine was found economical at Php145,000
purchase price. The potential added income could reach Php735,547 annually. To breakeven the cost,
the machine should produce 4,320bricks/yr. The payback period of the machine requires 0.18 years at
46 working days at the given production capacity.

Keywords: Bricking Capacity, Brick Quality, Coco Peat, Energy Consumption

Introduction producer in the world. In terms of exports, the
Coco peat, coir dust or fiber dust is a by- country is the top exporter of coconut products
product in coconut husk decorticating process. It worldwide making it its top dollar earner among
consists of short spongy fibers and dusts that can other agricultural exports. Earnings from the
retain absorb and hold large volume of water of coconut industry ranked higher compared to other
about 8-9 times its weight which could help agricultural commodities. The major coconut
minimize the crop water deficit during El Nino industry wastes include coconut shell, coconut
period [1]. It is useful in enhancing the water husks and coconut coir dust. Approximately 500
reserves and eliminating the harmful chemicals million coconut trees in the Philippines produce
found in seedling and other ecological activities. tremendous amounts with biomass as 4.1 million
Low susceptibility to biodegradation and high tons of husk, 1.8 million tons of shell, and 4.5
porosity attribute of coco peat makes it highly million tons of leaf annually [3]. This is sourced
suitable in a potting medium for nursery seed nuts, out from the 3.3 million hectares of coconut lands
seedlings, hydroponics, horticulture and in the country. In 2011, Philippines export reach
agriculture. It also creates favorable soil structure low at 5,000 metric tons (MT) of coco peat as
when applied as mulch and supplies some compared to India and Sri Lanka with 400,000
nutrients in the soil; macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, MT and 82,000 MT. If only 30 percent of coconut
Mg, Cl, Na) and micronutrients (Zn, B, Fe, Mn, husks can be collected and processed from total
Cu) necessary for plant growth [2]. coconut production, about 562,000 MT of coco
The Philippines has the largest number of peat can be produced and the country will be able
coconut trees in the world and the second top

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to exceed India and could be the largest supplier sold at a higher value, thus, selling of coco peat in
of the commodity internationally [4]. brick form could be more competent and give
In coconut fiber extraction, coco peat additional income to farmers than the other way of
accumulates in coconut husk decorticating centers packaging.
forming hillock. Because it degrades very slowly, The study focused on the development,
it remains in the soil for a very long period of time. fabrication and evaluation of the fabricated coco
During rains, the salts from the hillocks of coco peat brick making machine. The machine was
peat lead to environmental pollution for both land designed the produce brick with a dimension of
and ground water pollution in the areas close to 20cmx10cm and evaluated using 3 different
the processing centers. compression pressure (10 MPa, 15 MPa and 20
Conversion of coconut waste into high value MPa). The coco peat used in all the tests done has
products, specifically, the coco peat, can be the same physical characteristics. The coco peat
translated into additional income of farmers. Yet, was sieved with 5mm wire mesh in reference to
despite of its huge economic potential, coconut the fine standard grade (Grade B) [7]. Then, it was
husk decorticating centers in provinces still do not dried down to 16 – 18% moisture content as
practice processing and production of packaged recommended [4] as the optimum moisture of the
coco peat because of lack of proper technologies coco peat prior to compaction.
to manufacture hi-grade coco peat [5]. Affordable The materials that were used in fabrication of the
machines that can be used by small-scale coconut machine were sourced out locally. Because of the
farmers for compacting processed coco peat is still limitation of available hydraulic parts, the only
not available in the local market. Large scale option was to buy the available electric hydraulic
machines for compacting coco peat with 0.65 to system with 30-ton capacity. Preliminary tests
1ton hour working capacity has price ranges from were done which determined the functionality of
Php850, 000 to Php1, 500, 000 which is the machine and the necessary adjustments
unaffordable for local coconut farmers or coconut needed to attain the set criteria of the machine.
husk processing center. Moreover, because of the The operations of the machine during the
low density and fluffy nature of the coco peat, it preliminary and final tests were done by 2
occupies considerable space that makes it persons. One for loading of coco peat in the
uneconomical to transport. Hence, compaction or hopper and collection of bricks and the other was
densification can be a practical solution in for loading of coco peat into the molding box,
handling coco peat. opening and closing the molding box and
The general objective of the study was to operating the control lever the hydraulic press.
develop a small – scale coco peat brick making The performance of the machine was assessed
machine. It specifically aimed to: based on capacity, brick quality and energy
1. design a hydraulic powered coco peat brick requirement as affected by compaction pressure.
making machine for small scale production;
2. fabricate the machine using local Materials and Methods
manufacturing technology; 2.1 Conceptualization of the study
3. evaluate the performance of the machine in The development of coco peat brick making
terms of capacity, coco peat brick quality and machine was conceptualized aiming to give value
energy requirement as affected by addition to the waste of coconut industry. Coconut
compaction pressure; husk is still widely considered as waste with
4. analyze the cost of using the machine. minimal or no economic value to the farmers.
The developed coco brick making machine Aside from coconut fiber extraction, coco peat is
when intervened in the traditional coconut waste another potential product that can be derived from
processing industry could be beneficial to coconut coconut husk. However, coconut decorticating
farmers and coconut decorticating center owners centers in the country do not process coco peat
in many aspects. Converting coco peat into into high value quality products, instead, they sold
compressed high density coco peat is more it as raw coco peat in the local market. After
practical and economical because it can make the preconditioning the coco peat, it is practical to
product lasts 1-2 years longer than a traditional increase the density for cost effective handling,
peat based grow bag [6]. The coco peat is also transportation and storage.
easier to handle, to transport and to store when Coco peat is an excellent growing medium for
processed than the low density, loose form coco various plants and a good replacement for
peat. Moreover, compacted coco peat could be

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sphagnum peat moss, rock wool and saw dust. of the calculations and in reference of the
Processing the coco peat into bricks would available size in the local market.
increase its market value giving business The coco peat brick making machine shown in
opportunity and additional income to coconut Figure 2 was composed of seven components: the
farmers. Thus, coco peat brick making machine hopper assembly, molding box, hydraulic system,
that could be used by coconut farmers to frame, mold cover, lock and molding block. The
compressed the preconditioned coco peat was sizes and material of the machine were based on
developed and evaluated. the calculations done and were verified by stress
Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of analysis which was presented after every
the study, to primarily address the objectives. description of each component.
Design concept was formed from reviewing the
benchmark information gathered and the existing
machines as reference in the design process and
calculations. Drafting of the design, bill of
materials and force calculations were done using
Solidworks software. The approved design was
then presented to the licensed manufacturer for
fabrication and was tested for functionality and for
necessary adjustments. The machine was
subjected to final test and evaluation when there
were no observed functionality problems. And,
the observed operating performance of the
machine was used in the calculation of costs of use
and viability. Figure 2. Coco Peat Brick Making Machine

Figure 3. Fabricated Coco Peat Brick Making

Machine

2.3.1 Hopper Assembly

The hopper design was a truncated pyramid. It
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework has two parts: the upper part and the lower part
and both functioned basically as temporarily
2.2 Design and fabrication of the coco peat brick holding for the coco peat material (Figure 4).
making machine The upper part was the topmost component of
The specification and sizes of the materials the machine where the coco peat was loaded prior
used for each component were based on the results to bricking. It was connected to the frame of the
of the calculations and in reference of the machine by bolts and nuts and flat bar which
available size in the local market. The approved allowed adjustment of the hopper in times of
design of the machine was then fabricated using repair or cleaning.
local manufacturing technology. The lower hopper was positioned just below
2.3 Design of Major Components the upper hopper. It functioned as delivering
The specification and sizes of the materials container of coco peat to the molding box by the
used for each component were based on the results action of drawing. It was constructed using metal

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plate framed with flat bar and equipped with volumetric capacity and power output of the
tubular steel bar welded horizontally that served motor pump was computed using the equations.
as handle. The handle bar was covered with rubber
for good grip and comfort of the operator. 2.3.4 Frame Assembly
Through sliding of the lower hopper, definite The frame is the component of the machine
volume of coco peat was transferred to the that holds all the components together (Figure 6).
molding box It is made of angular bars welded and connected
to build the designed structure.

Figure 4. Hopper Assembly

2.3.2 Molding Box

The molding box is where the loose coco peat
formed into bricks and its inside dimension
determined the size of the brick produced. It was Figure 6. Frame
constructed by welding four metal plates forming
rectangular tube where in the molding block 2.3.5 Mold Cover
moved up and down during compaction and The mold cover blocks the compression force
retraction. coming from the bottom. It was bolted to the
The dimension of the molding block on [7] in frame using stainless steel shaft. At the top of the
which the standard size of a coco peat brick mold cover was a steel pipe installed with ball
is10cmx20cmx5cm with a compaction ratio of 6:1 bearings that holds the steel shaft (Figure 7).
to 7:1. The compaction ratio dictated the height
dimension of the molding box (Figure 5).

Figure 7. Mold cover

2.3.6 Lock
The lock was constructed using metal plate, cut
and mounted vertically with its lower part bolted
to the base of the frame using stainless steel shaft.
Figure 5. Molding box The dent cut of the lock was where the shafting of
the cover positioned during compression as the
2.3.3 Electric Hydraulic System upward pressure transferred from the cover to the
The selection of the hydraulic system shafting and to the lock dent cut (Figure 8). The
implemented was dictated by the capacity and the dent was compensated with a rectangular piece of
required length of stroke to effect at least 25cm metal plate of same size welded at both sides.
displacement to ensure an equivalent of at least Unlocking is accomplished by pulling the lock for
7:1 compaction ratio. the shafting to roll alongside the C-like bended
The selection of cylinder capacity was determined square bar. And the molding box would be
by using Pascal’s principle of fluid pressure: After uncovered as the shaft reached the other end.
determining the size of the cylinder, the

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Figure 10. Drying curve of coco peat

Figure 8. Lock
The moisture content of 16% -18% was found
2.3.7 Molding Block to be attained in about 40 to 60 minutes of drying
The molding block was a rectangular solid part in full sunlight. The characteristic observed were;
that moved upward together with the piston rod to the color is brown not reddish brown nor light
transfer the compression force to the coco peat brown unlike when in higher or lower moisture, it
(Figure 9). It was connected to the piston rod by a could be formed into balls that easily
bolt and located at the bottom of the molding box disintegrates, fibers grows slowly, and both small
with 5mm thickness portion of it slightly and fine particles do not stick to the hand and
introduced in the interface. It was constructed particles feels brittle and light (Figure 11). The
using ASTM A36 metal plate and AISI 1010 shaft characteristics of other samples at different
of 25mmØ. moisture content were posted in Appendix Table
1 and images of samples were shown in Appendix
Figure 1.

Figure 9. Molding block

2.4 Test Materials

2.4.1 Moisture Content Determination
Due to the unavailability of moisture content Figure 11. Feel and touch method of coco peat
meter calibrated for coco peat, feel and touch
method and oven drying method was done to 2.5 Principle of Operation
determine the moisture content of the test material The operation of the machine begun as the
from drying process in the field. Ample amount of electric motor started. The coco peat was
coco peat was dried at 5cm thickness in full manually loaded into the hopper and transferred
sunlight for about 2 hours and mixing was done into the molding box through the lower sliding
every 10 minutes while samples were taken. The hopper. When the molding box was fully filled
characteristics of each sample were established by with coco peat, it was sealed and locked with the
feel and touch method. Then, samples were lock and mold cover. The piston rod was then
brought to the laboratory to determine its moisture extended using a control lever to compress the
content using oven drying method. coco peat. The pressure was monitored through a
Figure 10 shows the generated graph that pressure gage attached to the system. When the
displays the rate of moisture reduction per minute. pressure reached the desired level, the extension
The trend line model of the drying curve shows of the piston was halted and retraction begun. The
exponential decay equation y = 72.514x-0.373 with cover was lifted afterward by pulling the lock. The
R² = 0.9632. coco peat brick was then pushed out of the
molding chamber by another upward extension of
the piston. The process was repeated for the
succeeding bricks.
2.6 Performance Test and Evaluation

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The coco peat used in the evaluation was a fine dropping the brick at a height of 1 meter falling to
standard grade [6]. The material was at least six a concrete pavement. According to Latvian
months old, washed as required to decrease its salt Standards [8] compacted biomass with durability
content, sieved (5mm mesh) and dried down to of ≥ 95% is high quality while ,<90% is low
desired moisture content of 16% - 18%. quality,
The treatment factor used in the evaluation DU % = (Ma/Mb) x 100 (3)
were three different compression pressures where: DU% = mechanical durability, %
(10MPa, 15MPa and 20Mpa) on three replications Mb = mass of brick before test, g
each. The performance of the coco peat brick Ma = mass of brick after the test, g
making machine was evaluated in terms of its The gathered data were analyzed statistically
bricking capacity, energy consumption, and brick using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in
quality. Complete Randomized Design (CRD) and Least
2.6.1 Bricking Capacity Significant Design (LSD) was used for the
It is the number of bricks produced per unit comparison of treatments means [9].
time and was determined by monitoring the time
elapsed from the loading of the coco peat into the
hopper until certain number of bricks was Results and Discussion
produced or the number of bricks produced in a 3.1 Description of the machine.
fixed period of time. It was computed using The developed coco peat brick making
Equation 1. machine is a machine for compaction of loose
BC= Nb/ t (1) form of coco peat. It works in a batch-type
where: BC = bricking capacity operation where in one full loading of material in
(bricks/hr) the molding box would produce a single brick.
Nb = number of bricks The machine was composed of four major
t = time of operation(hr) components: hopper assembly, frame and
2.6.2 Energy Consumption molding box assembly, lock and cover assembly
The energy consumption is the reading on the and the electric hydraulic system and molding
clamp meter multiplied to the voltage supply of block assembly The machine was designed for 2
the single-phase connection and then was men operation, one for the loading of coco peat
multiplied to time of operation and determined by and getting and piling of the coco peat brick and
the following equation. the other for operating the control lever. The total
E = (AxV)xt (2) weight of the machine was approximately 150kgs.
where: E = energy consumption, The dimensions of the machine; overall height,
kW-hr weight and length are 1.70m, 0.6 and 0.6m
A = ampere reading, (Amp) respectively.
V = voltage connection, (V) 3.2 Performance of the machine
t = operating time, (hr) 3.2.1 Bricking capacity
The capacity of the machine is the ratio of total
2.6.3 Brick Quality number of bricks produced by the machine per
It was related to the durability of the brick. unit time. Table below presents the bricking
Durability is the ratio of mass of coco peat before capacity at various compression pressure
drop test and mass of coco peat after drop test. treatments.
Drop test of the brick was accomplished by

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Table1 Bricking capacity on various compression pressure, bricks/hr

REPLICATION

MPa 1 2 3 Mean

10 59 59 59 59 a

15 56 57 56 56 b

20 53 51 50 51 c

*Means of different letter are significantly different at 95% confidence interval

Resulting bricking capacities were highly 3.2.2 Brick Quality

significantly affected by the compression Quality of the bricks were scaled in terms
pressure as shown by the analysis of variance of durability. Durability was determined
in Appendix table 2 at 95% confidence based on European standards [8] formula for
interval. Pairwise comparison of means durability of compacted biomass.
showed that bricking capacities would have The quality of brick was based on to
significant difference for every difference in Latvian standards, high quality compacted
compaction pressure. biomass should retain at least ≥95% of its
Setting the compression pressure at 20MPa mass during the test, otherwise it is classified
require some time to reach adding up to the as low quality (<90%). In Table 2 shows
time required to form the brick. The added result of the test done on the quality of bricks
time resulted to lower capacity at highest produced using different compression
pressure and consequently, higher capacity at pressure.
lower compression pressure.

Table2 Brick Quality on various compression pressure, %

REPLICATION

MPa 1 2 3 Mean

10 74.35 76.69 78.46 76.50 c

15 86.77 86.31 84.09 85.72 b

20 96.21 9654 96.95 96.57 a

*Means of the different letter are significantly different at 95% confidence interval

Analysis of variances in Appendix table 3, deformation, thereby increasing interparticle

showed that the compression pressure has a contact.
significant effect on the durability of bricks at 5% 3.2.3 Energy Consumption
confidence interval. Comparison of means The energy consumption is the reading on the
showed that increase compaction pressure would clamp meter multiplied to the voltage supply of
bring increase in the quality of brick produced. the single-phase connection and then was
According to the study [10], higher pressure multiplied to time of operation. Table 4 presents
applied to biomass would force particles against the result of the calculated energy consumption of
each other and would undergo elastic and plastic the machine in different compression pressures.

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3.2.4 Cost Analysis To Dean Victorino T. Taylan, for the

The coco peat brick making machine costs encouragement and motivation to complete every
Php145,000.00. Operating the machine incurred activity in the program.
a total amount of Php232,762.92 annually. In To Dr. Marvin M. Cinense and Dr. Efren A.
order to breakeven the operation, a production of dela Cruz for their constructive comments and
4, 320 bricks per annum is required. The payback suggestions for the progress of the study.
period of owning the machine is 0.18 years or 46 To her adviser Engr. Ruel G. Peneyra, for the
working days. Conceding an annual production of support, guidance and invaluable inputs from the
91,350 bricks at a selling price of Php10.6/bricks. conceptualization of the machine up to the
Operating the machine would benefit amounting completion of the study.
to Php735,547.08 annually (Figure 12). To her friends for the support and assistance,
The study would not have been completed and
succeeded if not with their presence, and above
all;
The Author give thanks to God for the knowledge,
wisdom and strength and for all who accompany
her all the way. To God be the glory!

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 The 14th Thai Society of Agricultural Engineering International Conference, 12 - 13 May 2021

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