Abstract

The fisheries industry plays a crucial role in providing a significant source of protein and livelihoods for millions of people worldwide. One of the key challenges in the fisheries sector is the preservation of fish, particularly in regions where refrigeration and electricity are limited or unreliable. Traditional fish smoking methods have been employed for centuries, but they often rely on a single source of heat, limiting their efficiency and versatility. To address these challenges, this work focuses on the design and fabrication of a Fish Kiln that harnesses dual sources of heat, namely charcoal and LPG, to improve the quality and efficiency of fish processing. The kiln consists of two chambers; the drying camber and the heating chamber. The drying chamber consist of two meshed trays for the fishes to be smoked and an oil pan collector that collects the fluids coming out of the fishes upon drying and serve as a protection of the flame from direct contact with the fishes as well as the preventing the burner and the charcoal from the oil spill. The distance between the trays was selected to be 12cm to give allowance for easy removal of trays as well as accommodate most sizes of fish to be dried. The heating chamber is separated from the drying chamber by the oil collector pan and consist of the gas burner and a charcoal tray. The smoking kiln was tested by using two different species of fish: Cat and Tilapia smoked to an average moisture content of 38.90% for charcoal and 46.13% for gas within an average period of 4 hours. The fish produced had a golden-brown color.

Key words: Fish kiln, drying and preservation.