KMEA Engineering College students build aquatic weed harvesting machine

KOCHI: A group of students from KMEA Engineering College, Edathala, near here, has ventured to save aquatic life from the menace of weeds and water hyacinths. As part of their last semester project, eight mechanical students have fabricated an aquatic weed harvesting machine. They were led by mechanical engineering professor Sabith Umer. The students are Muhammed Rashid, Muhammad Abdul Rahman, Mohammed Azharudhin, Mohammed Hafiz, Muhammed Safwan, P.N. Muhammed Nasruddeen, Ajith Kumar and A. Rahul. About 300 kg of weed can be collected from water bodies by the fabricated machine in an hour. In eight hours, the machine can collect 2.5 tonnes of weed or waste from a water body. Only six litres of petrol and one person are required to operate the machine.

“The major parts of the machine are its engine, barge and conveyor. A 100-cc two-wheeler’s petrol engine is used in the machine. Six cylinder-shaped plastic barrels are enclosed by a steel pipe framework. A platform is set on top of this framework using 12 mm thick plywood which forms the barge unit. The power from the engine is transmitted to the main shaft and to the sprocket which connects the chains to the gearbox and engine. On both sides of the shaft a link is offset and this link helps in the motion of the cutting blade which has spikes. This way weeds are harvested,” said Mr Sabith Umer. The machine costs Rs 90,000.