Moisture Dependent Engineering Properties of Wild Apricot (prunus armeniaca L.) Pits

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca. L) is an important stone fruit grown abundantly in the temperate climate. Traditionally, the fruit stone (pit), leftover part of fruit after utilizing apricot flesh, contains the apricot kernel. These kernels are currently being explored for the oil extraction purpose. Therefore, postharvest management and processing of the apricot pit are imperative along with its process mechanization. Manual decortication of apricot pit is tedious and laborious task. Hence, a small‐scale apricot pit decorticator machine was developed to mitigate all these issues. The machine works on the principle of breaking the pit by impact and compression forces produced by reciprocating piston. Performance of the decorticator was evaluated using dry wild apricot pits. The independent variables, namely, crankshaft speed (60–100 rpm), moisture content (8.5–16.5% wb), feed per stroke (10–18 g/stroke), and impact clearance (0–2 mm) were selected for testing of the decorticator. Decortication efficiency and broken kernel percentage were obtained in the range of 67.25–77.49% and 8.97–30.17%, respectively. The best performance of the decorticator for maximum decortication efficiency with minimum percentage of broken kernels were found to be at 85 rpm crankshaft speed, 15% (wb) moisture content, 18 g/stroke feed per stroke, and 0.8 mm impact clearance. Pay‐back period of the decorticator was found to be 0.48 years. Practical applications Apricot kernel present in pit is very fragile because of its softness and friability. Hence, it is very difficult to remove the outside husk mechanically without crushing or breaking the inside kernel. There is very high value of whole and quality kernels in dry fruits, confectioneries, medicine, and cosmetics. Various traditional methods are very tedious, laborious and uneconomical to the farmers and result in low quality unhygienic products. Therefore, a mechanized apricot pit decorticator working on the principle of impact and compression forces has been developed to solve the problem. The machine can decorticate pits easily with maximum decortication efficiency, minimum brokens, and reduced drudgery. The developed decorticator has potential for commercial production of kernels. It will increase the commercial application of kernels in dry fruits, confectionery, medicines, cosmetics, and further value additions.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and testing of apricot (Prunus armeniaca. L) pit decorticator

Kate

Lohani

Shahi

2018

“…The bulk density of grape berries was measured by measuring the weight of grape berries filled in a measuring cylinder of known volume. It was calculated using following formula (Kate, Shahi, Sarkar, Lohani, & Jadhav, 2014; Mohsenin, 1986),

Bulk density ((), \frac{kg}{m^{3}}) goodbreak= \frac{Weight of grape berries ((), kg)}{Volume occupied in cylinder ((), {normalm}^{3})} .

…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and performance evaluation of grape debunching machine for production of raisins and stemless table grapes

Pawar

Giri

Sharma

2021

Chemical pretreatment before drying is a practice in raisin making which has many limitations and use of chemical shall be discouraged. A new process is being developed with physical pretreatment. The process requires intact grape berries for further processing. Therefore, a grape debunching machine has been developed for separation of intact berries from the bunch. The machine consists of central rotor with helical fingers. The rotor assembly is surrounded by perforated trough through which the detached berries drop. The performance of the machine was evaluated with “Thompson Seedless” table grape for debunching efficiency and damage to berries. The rotor speed (80–120 rpm) and concave clearance (5–25 mm) were selected as independent parameters. The debunching efficiency and percentage of damaged berry were in the range of 77.17–98.73% and 5.75–11.82%, respectively. The maximum debunching efficiency (94.33%) and minimum berry damage (7.10%) was obtained at rotor speed of 100 rpm and concave clearance of 15 mm. The capacity of grape debunching machine was found to be 145.2–150.2 kg/hr for different grape varieties, namely Thompson Seedless, Manik Chaman, and Fantasy Seedless. The developed machine will be useful in production of raisins without use of chemicals and stemless table grapes. Practical applications The conventional process of raisin making involves intensive use of chemicals right from dipping of harvested grape bunch in a solution of ethyl oleate (1.5%) and potassium carbonate (2.5%), intermittent sprays, and further use of booster and sulfur dioxide for color improvement. The intensive use of chemicals triggers the food safety issues. Furthermore, the process requires longer drying time, involves more number of unit operations, and fetches losses of grapes. To address these issues, an alternative chemical‐free process has been developed by the authors of this investigation for the production of raisins. This process requires the grape berries to be individualized before further processing which is tedious and time consuming if done manually. Therefore a grape de‐bunching machine has been developed for separation of intact grape berries which can be further processed into raisins at industrial scale without use of chemicals. The developed machines will find applications in the minimally processed/individual quick freezing (IQF) of table grapes for which there is an increasing market especially in super market.

“…During the measurement, weighted onion bulbs were filled into test cylinder (100 mL) and measured the volume occupied by them. The bulk density of the bulb was determined as suggested by Kate, Shahi, Sarkar, Lohani, & Jadhav, .

Bulk density ((), kg / m^{3}) = \frac{Weight of the onion bulbs ((), kg)}{volume occupied in cylinder ((), {normalm}^{3})}

…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airflow resistance and pressure drop behavior in different conditions of bulk‐stored onion and its dynamic modeling

Kate

Chakraborty

Pawar

et al. 2019

The knowledge of airflow resistance and distribution pattern in a highly porous-bed commodity like an onion is an important consideration in designing an appropriate ventilation system and for proper selection of fans. The resistance to airflow through bulk onions was determined at the airflow rates range of 0.04-1.0 m 3 /s.m 2 , bed depth of 0-100 cm, and scaled and descaled condition of onion at vertical and horizontal position of the onion stock. Three models (Shedd, Hukill and Ives, and Ergun) were investigated to describe pressure drop data of onion bulbs. The pressure drop through bulk onion was increased with an increase in airflow rate and bed depth.Also, pressure drop was 43.5 and 33.3% higher in scaled condition over the descaled condition of bulbs at the vertical and horizontal position of the column, respectively.Shedd model was found to more reliable among three models to describe airflow resistance in bulk of onion bulbs. Practical ApplicationsOnion is perishable vegetable consumed throughout the year. Being a seasonal crop and to fulfill the demand of consumers it must be stored for off seasonal use. Storage of the onion bulbs at ambient and modified environment condition is the most commonly used methods in a tropical climate. But there were huge postharvest losses mainly in the form of physiological weight loss, sprouting, and decay and considerable loss in nutritional qualities. Properly designed aeration, ventilation, and fumigation system is the only way to reduce such losses. Therefore, the understanding of dynamic behavior of applied ventilation and fumigation with its distribution pattern in a highly porous commodity like an onion is a preliminary requirement for the proper design of storage system. Different model based approach to understand flow dynamics could be used in the dimensional design of a storage system in a tropical climate.