“Moringa Oil Press”
Irina Vatamanu, S.B. ’18, mechanical engineering
Advisor: Christopher Lombardo, Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies in Engineering Sciences
The Boston Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders – USA (EWB) has been working with two small villages in Tanzania to develop moringa agriculture. Seeds from the moringa tree contain valuable oil that can be extracted and used for cosmetic purposes or for consumption. Vatamanu set out to develop an oil press that could be easily reconstructed in impoverished areas at a low cost. Her design incorporated a simple oil screw, enclosed by a metal pipe, which creates the necessary pressure for extraction. The press is powered by a hand crank, so it could be used widely in developing nations despite the available infrastructure, but it has the capability to be integrated with an electric motor.
“The biggest challenges of this project were understanding the oil extraction mechanism and identifying standard parts that could be utilized to build the machine. Standard parts were preferred over custom machined parts so that the villagers could service the machine themselves,” she said. “This thesis helped strengthen my prototyping and troubleshooting skills, which I know will be beneficial later on in my career. I also gained valuable machining knowledge and project management experience.”