Development of a locust bean processing device

Abstract

A locust bean steaming, dehulling and separating machine was designed in this study by simulating the traditional processing operations. The machine consist of pressure cooking pot (as the cooking device) mounted on a separate stand and equipped with rocker- arm system to facilitate discharge of contents, a hopper made of mild steel sheet, the dehulling unit made of screwed shaft and abrasive barrel, a conical-shaped separating section equipped with paddles (made of aluminum material) and a standing frame to support the whole arrangement. The machine was evaluated by processing seed at cooking times of 30, 45, 60 and 90 min. The result indicated increase in dehulling efficiency with increase in cooking time from 30 to 60 min while it dropped at 90 min. The highest dehulling efficiency of 82% was obtained at cooking time of 60 min. The separation efficiency obtained at this optimal cooking time was 79%. © 2011 Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India).