Diseño y construcción de un sistema de fermentación de cacao nacional para la asociación de agricultores Wiñak

Abstract

The present work consists on the design and construction of a cocoa fermentation system to the Wiñak farmers association located in Archidona (Ecuador). This system consists of two simple fermenters and two fermenters with internal paddles, each one can contain an amount of 150 kilograms of cocoa beans. At the beginning, an introduction about the cocoa market in Ecuador is made, focusing on the primary processing chain from harvest to the drying of the cocoa beans. All the necessary information about the problem of fermentation is collected and elaborate a design according to the requirements posed by the users. In order to build the fermenter, it is necessary selected the raw material, calculate components and select of standardized elements. In addition, economical detail is explained about the costs of the raw material, human power, assembly and transportation of the fermenters. Finally, a test protocol is carried out in order to evaluate the resistance of the fermenter walls, the thermal insulation of the wall thickness and the drainage system of the mucilage, these tests allow to guarantee the functionality of the fermenting machines.