Cost-Effective Cassava Processing: Case Study of Small-Scale Flash-Dryer Reengineering

Abstract

The development and scaling out of flash-dryer innovations for more efficient, small-scale production of high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) and starch is described. The diagnoses of cassava-processing SMEs (small and medium enterprises) revealed their energy expenditures for drying were considerably higher than those of large-scale industrial companies, which was mostly due to suboptimal design of flash-drying systems. As a result, small-scale production of cassava starch and HQCF often incurs high production costs, incompatible with market prices of final products. Taking stock of this situation, RTB scientists have developed several innovations to optimize energy efficiency and costs, including a longer drying pipe, reengineered heat exchanger, larger blower for higher air velocity, and a higher product/air ratio. This was based on numerical modelling to determine the key design features of energy-efficient flash dryers, followed by construction and demonstration of a pilot-scale prototype. As a result, improved small-scale flash dryers are now being scaled out to the private sector in various countries, using the Scaling Readiness framework and achieving 10–15% gains in productivity and incomes. A method for diagnosis of process efficiency is also described, to identify technical bottlenecks and to document and measure the outcomes and impacts during the implementation of scaling-out projects.

Appropriate Post-Harvest Technologies for Biofortified Crops Pro Enhanced Utilization, Value Addition, and Micronutrient Retention

“…The principle of flash drying is instant evaporation of free surface moisture from a wet material mixed with hot air. Wet particle material is passed through hot air or steam where the particles are dried almost immediately and the gas or steam temperature decreases due to heat transfer [102]. The wet material, either in paste or cake is pulverized into fines and increase the surface area, to hasten the drying process.…”

Politique d’import-substitution au blé et compétitivité des farines panifiables à base de manioc, banane plantain et patate douce au Cameroun

“…Le constat ci-dessus interpelle l'option stratégique d'utiliser les farines locales panifiables comme substitut à la farine de blé. Les diverses tentatives régionales dans cette voie se sont soldées par des échecs liés à une certaine hostilité de la filière classique (moulin, boulangerie), aux contraintes technologiques inhérentes à la faible soutenabilité des coûts énergétiques du séchage (Tran et al, 2022), à l'incertitude d'un approvisionnement régulier en farines locales panifiables, aux différentiels de coût entre la farine de blé et les farines locales et à l'ancrage des habitudes alimentaires des consommateurs dans les produits à base de farine de blé (pâtes alimentaires). Ce dernier argument est cependant controversé (Thiele et al, 2021).…”