CHAPTER VIII 



MACHINERY AND PLANT FOR COCONUT 

 FACTORIES 



A FACTORY for the treatment of the coco- 

 nut may contain plant for the production 

 of copra, coconut oil, oil cake, manure, fibre 

 fibre products, together with packing, plant, and 

 machinery, for making barrels, tins, etc. 

 The series of buildings might be : 



(1) Power house. 



(2) Nut store and splitting house. 



(3) Copra drying house. 



(4) Oil mill. 



(5) Oil store and packing plant. 



(6) Fibre mill. 



(7) Tin and barrel-making plant. 



These buildings might be further subdivided 

 or associated, for economy in power transmission, 

 and transport of materials. 



Splitting the Nut. The simplest method of 

 splitting the nut consists in striking it upon 

 a vertical steel spike fixed on a post, but in 

 up-to-date mills the nuts are fed by hand or 

 conveyor into a splitting machine consisting 

 of three disc knives with reversed ratchet teeth 





