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Jun 19, 2026Keywords:
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Investigating the impact of process variables on dehulling energy demand of African breadfruit seeds: A response surface optimization
Abstract
Processing African breadfruit (Treculia Africana) seeds efficiently and sustainably presents substantial possibilities for addressing food security issues in sub-Saharan Africa; yet, the high energy requirement of dehulling constitutes a major impediment to unleashing its full capabilities. This work examines the influence of process variables on the dehulling energy (Qd) requirement of African breadfruit seeds. The experiment was designed using the Box–Behnken Design tool of the Design Expert Statistical software to explore the influences of varying process conditions of feed rates (2, 6, and 10 kg/h), moisture contents (7.25, 14.8, and 22.35% w.b), and operating speeds (8, 15, and 22 rpm) on the dehulling energy requirement, dehulling efficiency, seed damage rate, and throughput capacity via response surface methodology. To establish the optimal dehulling energy and conditions, numerical optimization was performed using a desirability index approach. The energy predictive model was developed with a high prediction accuracy (R2 = 0.9996) and validated by the statistical analysis of the experimental data and plots of normal % probability residuals and predicted vs. actual Qd. Experimental findings show that greater feed rates and machine speeds raise energy demand, and increasing moisture content substantially reduces it. The dehulling energy demand varied between 0.35≤ Qd ≤1.5 kW/h ranges. At varying process conditions, the dehulling efficiency, seed damage rate, and throughput capacity were found to be in the range of 78 to 93%, 4 to 18%, and 1.9 to 9.82 kg/h, respectively. Synergistic and antagonistic relationships between variables highlight the necessity of diligent optimization to strike an equilibrium between energy economy and seed quality amongst other response variables. At optimum dehulling settings of 4.68 kg/h, 15.38% w.b, and 14.51 rpm, the energy demand, dehulling efficiency, seed damage rate, and throughput capacity were found to be 0.73 kW/h, 72.7%, 0.67%, and 0.41 kg/h, respectively. These findings provide a basis for designing energy-efficient dehulling equipment, promoting eco-friendly and economically viable processing solutions for African breadfruit seeds.
