Pedal this cycle to get oil worth the toil

How about a cycle that you can work out on and which doubles as an oil extractor. That is exactly what visitors got to see at the Krishi Mela. 

It is, perhaps, as good as a workout cycle that one finds at a fitness equipment store.The pedal-operated oil expeller was a key attraction, especially for children, at the agriculture fair. Seeds of the neem tree, honge tree (pongamia pinnata), groundnuts and dry coconut pieces can be put in through the funnel. The input is then crushed and oil is extracted.  

Nearly 15 per cent of the raw product that goes in as input comes out in the form of oil. While 55 per cent oil can be extracted using dry coconut, 40 per cent can be got by crushing groundnuts. 

“ Nearly, 1.5 kg of seeds can be crushed in an hour’s time,” Balakrishna Gowda, professor, Department of Forestry and Environmental Sciences of the University of Agriculture Sciences, explained. As one pedals, the oil comes out of a pipe in the front. The husk and other precipitates come out from the other side of the equipment. Balakrishna said that the cycle does not need power to run. 

This cycle costs Rs 12,000 and the seeds de-cordigator, which helps remove the husk, is priced at Rs 1,500. 

“The oil extracted will be very pure, if we use de-husked seeds,” Balakrishna explained.