• 2026-05-08
• O.A. Oladeji, O.H. Abere, B.A. Iyaomolere
• Volume 2, Issue 1

Abstract

Effective energy utilization and economic analysis of production processes is essential for reducing processing cost, conserving energy and reducing environmental impact in food processing industries. Energy consumption pattern, economic feasibility and glycemic index of maize flour produced through fermentation and tempering were evaluated. Twelve kilogram of maize grain were processed under close laboratory supervision as laboratory sample, with six kilogram allocated to each method. Fermentation involved a 48 hours period while tempering included adjusting the moisture content to 25%, with both methods followed by heat treatment, milling and packaging. The laboratory sample was used as benchmark for scaling up to 50 kg for pilot production. The glycemic index of the product from both methods were analyzed. The glycemic index (GI) values of products from both methods fall within the low-GI acceptable category with values 42.45% and 42.90% for tempering and fermentation process respectively. The investigation into the energy use pattern revealed that tempering is more energy-efficient, consuming 810001.2MJ compared to 900001.2MJ for fermentation over an 8 working hours production. The economic analysis done on pilot-scale operation revealed that both methods require similar fixed capital investments of N6.7473million, tempering yields higher profitability of N5.069 million net profit compared to fermentation with N4.19 million due to its greater production output. The findings suggest that tempering process is advantageous over fermentation in terms of energy efficiency and economic return for industrial production of maize flour suitable for health-conscious consumers.