Thesis Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering University of Rizal System-Morong 2024

Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) has been found to produce pigments which contain the anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is a bioactive compound which has a lot of health benefits such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, prevention in cardiovascular diseases, and potential for pharmaceutical ingredients. In this study, it aimed to develop a machine which produces butterfly pea powder using supercritical fluid extraction and spray drying method, that aims to extract and powder bioactive compounds from butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea). The study was conducted at Ecoside Agricultural Farm located at Sta. Ines Road, Tanay, Rizal and fabricated at Novaliches, Quezon City by the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Students during the 1st semester and 2nd semester of the school year 2023-2024. The researchers designed and built a prototype of the supercritical fluid spray drying machine, it is composed of four main components, an extraction box chamber with controllers for temperature and pressure, where extraction of the liquid through the supercritical process is done. Then, thermal heat blower, that creates hot air that flows into the Spray Drying System through radial fans. The nozzle, positioned within the chamber, where it captures the atomized fluid. Last is the spray drying chamber, the part where drying occurs. The researchers utilized descriptive and developmental research methods. Upon trials, it evaluated the quality of the extracted and powdered butterfly pea powder (Clitoria ternate) from the developed supercritical fluid spray drying machine for butterfly pea (Clitoria ternate) in terms of appearance, moisture content, and product value. The developed supercritical fluid spray drying machine for butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) shows the machine's quality by evaluating the parameters used such as the machine's capacity, extraction rate and extraction yield. The evaluated result on the level of acceptability of the supercritical fluid spray drying machine, which is composed of six parameters including functional suitability, performance efficiency, usability, maintainability, and safety, has a weighted mean of 3.72. This numerical representation corresponds to a verbal interpretation of highly acceptable, suggesting that the machine not only meets but surpasses expectations across these critical dimensions. Such a favorable rating underscores the effectiveness and reliability of the machine in industrial applications. For the acceptability level of the research device, it was analyzed and observed by farmers and experts using a researcher-made questionnaire checklist as the main source of data. The researchers used purposive sampling to determine the respondents. Based on the results, evaluated by thirty-one (31) respondents composed of twenty (20) experts and eleven (11), the respondents highly accepted the machine in terms of functional suitability, performance efficiency, usability, reliability, maintainability, and safety. Based on these findings, the study concludes that the development of the supercritical fluid spray drying machine for butterfly pea can reduce the duration of extracting and drying the process of producing fine powder butterfly pea. The results showed that the butterfly pea powder produced by the machine reached the standards in terms of extracting, drying time, and moisture content. The machine efficiently operates within 30 minutes for the supercritical extraction process, this is the optimum working time to extract anthocyanin using the supercritical process. The spray drying process continues for 10 minutes resulting in a total of 40 minutes of process. The machine operates at a pressure range of 45 - 60 psi and at a working temperature of 160 Fahrenheit with a maximum of 180 Fahrenheit. The researchers recommended a further study to attain the huge volume of producing butterfly pea powder to produce a greater volume of output to be processed in a single batch and to explore to alternative sources of electricity.