Harvested tamarind fruits contains 25-30 per cent hull (shell).
For consumption the hull has to be removed. At present tamarind hulling is done using manual labourers.
After harvesting, the tamarind fruits are dried under sun and the hulling is mainly done by woman labourers by beating the fruits with a stick.
This process is time consuming and unhygienic. The problem is compounded as there are no huller machines available for hulling process.
The Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has developed a machine for this specific purpose.
The unit consists of feed hopper, beater assembly, sieve and outlets. The feed hopper is made of 20 gauge mild steel with a capacity of 2.5 kg.
The beater shaft is made of 25mm diameter and 1000mm long mild steel rod with 20 beaters. The shaft is mounted on ball bearing at both the ends.
A screw of 230 mm diameter is mounted on the shaft for a length of 600 mm. Power is transmitted by 1 hp single phase electric motor through a V belt and pulley.
The entire unit was mounted on m.s.angle 12x5 mm stand. Feed rate can be varied using an adjustable gate provided at the entry point of the huller.
Operating speed can be varied by changing the pulley. At the end of the shaft the hulled fruits with some hulls fall on the weld mesh through which hulls pass through and the fruits collected at the end.
For a feed rate of 100 kg/h maximum hulling efficiency of 92.35 was obtained for a moisture content of 10 per cent.
The cost of the huller is Rs.9,800 and the cost of operation has been worked out to be Rs.1.0/kg while in manual method the hulling comes to Rs.2.50/kg. Those interested can contact the department at email: deancaekum@tnau.ac.in and phone: 0431- 3202300.
T.Pandiarajan & A. Tajuddin
Agricultural Engineering College andResearch Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityKumulur,Tiruchi
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Printable version | Aug 10, 2022 10:53:02 am | https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/huller-to-remove-outer-skin-from-tamarind-fruit/article3328577.ece