Energy Expended in Processing Gari (Cassava Flakes) Manihot esculenta Crantz,Using Three Levels of Mechanization

The effect of using mechanical equipment for the unit operations involved in gari (cassava flakes) processing on individual and total energy demands were studied. the data used to estimate energy demand were the quantity of cassava processed,time taken for each operation,number and gender of labour,method of processing,quantity,and source of energy. of the seven unit operations for gari production,one,three and five operations were mechanized in low,medium and high-level,respectively. garification (simultaneous cooking and dehydrating operation of gari) accounted for 97.38,97.70 and 47.39% of total energy consumption in low,medium and high levels of mechanization,respectively. total energy requirements for processing 100 kg of cassava root into gari were found to be 771.0 ± 83.71 mj for low-level mechanized factory,684.53 ± 26.98 mj and 73.97 ± 1.84 mj for medium and high-level mechanized factories,respectively. energy demand by all unit operations significantly differed (p<0.05) between low and high levels of mechanization.