De-pulping and Seed Separation from Tumba (Citrullus colocynthis) Fruit

摘要

Tumba (Citrullus colocynthis) contains spongy pulp in which seeds are embedded unevenly. Seeds contain about 26% fats and 13% protein. The process of seed separation is highly time consuming and labour intensive. Two weeks are required to separate its seeds with traditional methods. The developed prototype, for separating tumba seeds, mainly consists of chopper, de-pulping screw, barrel assembly and seed separation unit. The de-pulping screw and barrel assembly was divided in two sections i.e. conveying (feeding zone) and compression sections (de-pulping zone). The performance of developed machine was evaluated at different screw speed in the range of 40-100 rpm. Maximum pulp removal efficiency of 78.1% was achieved with screw speed of 60 rpm. Seed separation from the pulp was carried out by adding different chemicals. Use of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide produced seed separation up to 99%.