S.H.

Akbari
Crop Process Engineering

Author
S.H. Akbari,
AAU, Anand
 Index
Lesson No Name Page No
Lesson 1 Scope and importance of food processing 4-7
Lesson 2 Methods and Principles of Food Processing (Part I) 8-10
Lesson 3 Methods and Principles of Food Processing (Part II) 11-14
Lesson 4 Processing of Farm Crops_ Processing of Cereals 15-29
Lesson 5 Processing of Farm Crops_ Processing of Pulses 30-32
Lesson 6 Methods of Milling of Pulses 33-37
Lesson 7 Processing of oil seeds 38-41
Lesson 8 Fruits and Vegetables Processing 42-51
Lesson 9 Processed Products from Fruits and Vegetables 52-67
Lesson 10 Meat and Meat Processing 68-71
Lesson 11 Poultry Meat and Egg Processing 72-74
Lesson 12 Fish Processing 75-79
Lesson 13 Principle of Size Reduction 80-85
Lesson 14 Energy and Power Requirement for Size Reduction 86-88
Lesson 15 Empirical laws of Size Reduction 89-92
Lesson 16 Size Reduction Equipments 93-99
Lesson 17 Theory Of Mixing 100-103
Lesson 18 Types of mixtures for dry and paste materials 104-110
Lesson 19 Mixture Quality_ Mixing Index and Rate 111-112
Lesson 20 Theory of Separation 113-120
Lesson 21 Type of Separators 121-123
Lesson 22 Capacity and effectiveness 124-127
Lesson 23 Screen Analysis 128-131
Lesson 24 Pneumatic separation 132-133
Lesson 25 Theory of Filtration 134-139
Lesson 26 Types and Rate of Filtration 140-143
Lesson 27 Types of Filters 144-147
Lesson 28 Pressure Drop 148-149
Lesson 29 Scope and Importance of Material Handling 150-152
Lesson 30 Belt Conveyor 153-155
Lesson 31 Bucket Elevator 156-160
Lesson 32 Screw Conveyor 161-164
Crop Process Engineering

Lesson 1. Scope and importance of food processing

1.0 Introduction
Indian agriculture is a way of life and it supports about 60 per cent of population
for their livelihood and contributes 17% of GDP in India. Engineering inputs are
vital for modernization of agriculture, agro-processing and rural living. It is
needed for development and optimal utilization of natural resources, appropriate
mechanism of unit operations of agriculture for increasing production,
productivity with reduced unit cost of production for greater profitability,
economic competitiveness and sustainability. Mechanism also imparts capacity
to the farmers to carry out farm operation with dignity, with ease and freedom
from drudgery, making the farming agreeable vocation for educated youth as
well. It helps the farmers to achieve timeliness and precisely mater and apply
costly input for better efficacy and efficiency, achieving higher productivity with
reduced application of inputs.
Agricultural produce and by-products are perishable in nature in varying degree
and their perishability gets exploited on the market floor compelling distress
sales orchestrated by factors of demand and supply, intervention of the faces of
marketing in the absence of matching post-harvest technology (PHT) and agro-
processing infrastructure. Agricultural Engineering inputs are also needed to
assure remunerative prices to the growers and a share in the value addition to the
growers through on-farm PHT and value addition to their produce and by-
products in order to strengthen their livelihood base landholdings are decreasing
for their socio-economic sustenance and assure minimum standards of living.

1.1 Food, Agriculture and Mechanization

Food is the first and the foremost requirement of the people for their survival. It provides
nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, fats minerals and vitamins. It involves cultivation
of field crops, horticulture, animal raising and aquaculture. Agriculture is practiced in two
phases.
i) the production agriculture and the goal is to get maximum productivity and
ii) post production agriculture where the major targets are prevention of loss and
value addition. Agriculture is practiced for self and/or trade.
1.2 Food Processing
Food processing operations includes many methods that are used to add value to the raw
food materials (including marine products, poultry and meat) which can be consumed by
human beings or animals. Raw food materials are transformed into edible products
processing and value addition. The operations involved in food processing are mainly
classified into two groups, viz., primary processing and secondary processing. This
provides employments to rural people including women and prevents capital drain from

rural to urban areas and thereby helps in narrowing down the economic disparity between
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Crop Process Engineering
rural to urban areas and thereby helps in narrowing down the economic disparity between
rural & urban population.
Primary processing relates to conversion of raw agricultural produce, milk, meat and fish
into a commodity that is fit for human consumption. It involves steps such as cleaning,
grading, sorting, packing, etc. Secondary and tertiary processing industries usually deal
with higher levels of processing where new or modified food products are manufactured.
1.3 Present status of Food Processing
To meet the current demand of food materials, the industrial food processing sector has
emerged. The food processing sector in the country is mainly handled by the unorganized
sectors. About, 42% of the output comes from the unorganized sector, 25% comes from
the organized sector and the rest of it comes from the small scale players. The small-scale
food processing sector is a major source of employment and adds value to crops by
processing. It is a major source of food in the human diet.
The small-scale food processing sector is, however, under increasing threat and
competition from the large manufacturers who, through economies of scale and better
presentation and marketing. Good packaging lies at the very heart of presentation and
thus customer appeal. It is an area of vital importance for small and medium food
manufacturers if they are going to continue to compete and expand. With food processing,
it is possible to maintain a nutritious and safe food supply for the millions of people that
inhabit both urban and rural areas. Improvement in processing efficiency, by increased
yield of usable product, is a tangible means of reducing food loss and increasing food
supply. Demand for increased convenience of food preparation in the home, institution
and restaurant has created a need from processing industries for food ingredients as well
as new food forms.
1.4 Importance of Food Processing
All the raw food materials are processed to improve their palatability, nutritional value
and shelf-life.
Foods are processed for five major reasons:
1) preservation for later consumption or sale to fetch better price
2) removal of inedible portions
3) destruction or removal of harmful substances
4) conversion to forms desired by the consumer and
5) subdivision into food ingredients.
Generally, the first - preservation for later consumption or sale – is the primary reason for
food processing.
Field crops, including grains, oilseeds, sugar crops and forages are major contributors of
the nutrients required by man either through direct consumption of the seed kernel or
isolated components as food, or through utilization of the plant and byproducts as feed in
the production of meat, poultry, milk, eggs and fish. Field crops also have major non-
food uses. However, in essentially all instances, harvested field crops must be processed
in some manner prior to utilization as food or feed or in industry so as to reduce their post
harvest losses A nation wise study on quantitative assessment of harvest and post harvest
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Crop Process Engineering
harvest losses. A nation-wise study on quantitative assessment of harvest and post harvest
losses for 46 agricultural produces in 106 randomly selected districts was carried out by
Central Institute of Post Harvest Institute (CIPHET) and found the results as given in
Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Per cent of losses estimated for major

produces

Fruits &
Cereals Pulses Oilseeds Milk Fisheries Meat Poultry
Vegetables
3.9 – 4.3-
6.0 5.8-18.0 0.8 2.9 2.3 3.7
6.0 6.1

1.5 Scope of Food Processing

India is the world's second largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of
being the biggest with the food and agricultural sector. The total food production in India
is likely to double in the next ten years and there is an opportunity for large investments
in food and food processing technologies, skills and equipment, especially in areas of
Canning, Dairy and Food Processing, Packaging, Frozen Food/Refrigeration and Thermo-
Processing. Fruits & Vegetables Processing, Fisheries, Milk & Milk Products, Meat &
Poultry, Packaged/Convenience Foods, Alcoholic Beverages & Soft Drinks and Grain
processing are important sub-sectors of the food processing industry. The consumer
product groups like confectionery, chocolates and cocoa products, Soya-based products,
mineral water, high protein foods, soft beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic fruit
beverages, etc. along with the health food and health food supplements is another rapidly
rising segment of this industry which is gaining vast popularity.
India produces nearly 16% of the world’s total food grain production. It is one of the
largest producers of agricultural produce. With a population expected to reach to about
590 million people by 2030 in urban India, India has a huge potential domestic demand
for processed foods other than the demand from the exports. There are many socio-
economic factors that are driving the demand side of the Indian Food Processing Industry.
The changing consumption patterns, both in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, rising income levels
among the middle-class and changing lifestyles, are some of the factors providing the
demand side push for the Food Processing Industry. Moreover, the central government
has given a priority status to all agro-processing businesses.
1.6 Key constraints for growth
Though there are many promising dynamics which support good growth of this industry,
there are still some significant constraints which, if not addressed properly, can impede
the growth prospects of the Food Processing Industry in India. One of the biggest
constraints is that this industry is capital intensive. It creates a strong entry barrier and
allows lesser number of players to enter the market. Lesser players mean lesser
competition and lesser competition means reduced efforts to improve the quality
standards.
There are other two constraints which pertain to maintaining the standards of quality. First
constraint is poor infrastructure for storing raw food materials. Two main types of
storages – the warehouses and the cold storages, lag in storage standards. The pests infest
the grains sometimes due to lack of monitoring proper use of pesticides and proper
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Crop Process Engineering
the grains sometimes due to lack of monitoring, proper use of pesticides and proper
ventilation. Similarly, the power outages result in sub-optimal function of the cold-
storages and the quality of food material in the cold storages becomes questionable. The
second important aspect is having poor quality standards and control methods for
implementing the quality standards for processing and packaging the processed foods. For
example, vegetables may not be washed properly and processed into either ‘ready to eat
food’ or packaged as ‘cut and ready to cook’ vegetables.
Also, continuity of quality power, good quality of water for processing, instruments for
rapid and reliable analysis, versatile instruments/equipments for multi commodity,
cultivars are not suitable for specific processing, etc. are other limitations for food
processing industry.
Unless these important constraints are addressed it will be difficult to break the cultural
barrier where people prefer fresh food over packaged food. It will be difficult to gain
customer confidence and the perceived growth of this industry may actually not be so
lucrative.

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Crop Process Engineering

Lesson 2. Methods and Principles of Food Processing (Part I)

The Green Revolution, better management practices and subsequent efforts through
the application of science and technology for increasing food production in India
have brought self reliance in food. The nation become self reliance but available
produce could not reach to the consumer so we are, still facing the problem of use of
under nutrition and malnutrition. Properly planned agri-produce if process, it can
reduce the waste, enhances employability and can contribute to the economic
development of rural population at large.

The fruits and vegetables are comparative higher value than cereals and more perishables.
Losses in the fruits and vegetables are high and chances to reduce the waste and enhancing
the employability through post harvest processing are more. The processing includes pre-
processing of fruits and vegetables before these are fit to final conversation into processed
foods. The food preservation and processing industry has now become of a necessity than
being a luxury. It has an important role in conservation and better utilization of fruits and
vegetables. In order to avoid the glut and utilize the surplus during the season, it is necessary
to employ modern methods to extend storage life for better distribution and also processing
techniques to preserve them for utilization in the off season on both large scale and small
scale.
Food processing therefore refers to the application of techniques to foods in a systematic
manner for preventing losses through preservation, processing, packaging, storage and
distribution, ultimately to ensure greater availability of a wide variety of foods which would
help to improve the food intake and nutritional standards during the periods of low
availability. The main objective of fruits and vegetables processing is to supply wholesome
safe, nutritious and acceptable food to consumers throughout the year.
Prerequisites of preservation are cleaning, grading and sorting as per maturity.
1. Cleaning: It is a unit operation in which contaminating materials are removed from
the food material and separated to leave the surface of the food in a suitable condition for
further processing. In vegetable processing, blanching also helps to clean the product. In
addition, the early removal of small quantities of food contaminated by micro-organisms
prevents the subsequent loss of the remaining bulk by microbial growth during storage or
delays before processing.
Wet cleaning: Wet cleaning is more effective than dry methods for removing soil from
root crops or dust and pesticide residues from soft fruits or vegetables. It is also dustless
and causes less damage to foods than dry methods.
Dry cleaning: Dry cleaning procedures are used for products that are smaller, have
greater mechanical strength and possess lower moisture content (for example grains and
nuts). After cleaning, the surfaces are dry, to aid preservation or further drying. The main
groups of equipment used for dry cleaning are;
- air classifiers
- magnetic separators

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Crop Process Engineering
- separators based on screening of foods
Removing contaminants and foreign bodies: Physical separation of contaminants from
food is possible when the food has regular well defined shape. e.g. round foods are
separated from contaminants by exploiting their ability to roll down in inclined, upward
moving conveyor belt.
2. Sorting: Sorting is the separation of foods into categories on the basis of a measurable
physical property. Like cleaning, sorting should be employed as early as possible to
ensure a uniform product for subsequent processing. The four main physical properties
used to sort foods are size, shape, weight and color.
Shape and size sorting: The particle size distribution of a material is expressed as either
the mass fraction of material that is retained on each sieve or cumulative percentage of
material retained. Size sorting is the separation of solids into two or more fractions on the
basis of differences in size.
Color sorting: Small particulate foods may be automatically sorted at high rates using
microprocessor controlled color sorting equipment. Particles are fed into chute one at a
time. The angle, shape and lining material of chute are altered to control the velocity of
pieces as the pass a photo detector. Photo detectors measure the reflected color of each
piece and compare it with preset standards, and defective foods are separated by a short
blast of compressed air.
Weight sorting: Weight sorting is more accurate than other methods and is therefore
used for more valuable foods. Aspiration and flotation sorting use differences in density
to sort food and are similar in principle and operation to aspiration and flotation cleaning.
3. Grading: This term is often used interchangeably with sorting but strictly means ‘the
assessment of overall quality of a food using a number of attributes’. Grading is carried
out by machines or operators who are trained to simultaneously assess a number of
variables.
The basic principles of preserving bio materials and their respective methods are
given in the following table.

Sr.
Principle Method
No.
Reducing temperature so that deteriorating
Evaporating Cool ChamberRefrigerated
1 reactions occurring within the bio
StorageCold storageFreezing
materials are minimized
Creation of an environment of gases such
Hermetic StorageControlled Storage and
2 deteriorating bio chemicals reduce their
Modified Packaging
activities.
Reduce chemical potential of water (water
activity reduction)
Drying and Dehydration, Convective
3 1. Application of heat microwave drying, pasteurization and
2. Addition of solute so that water is sterilizationOsmo-dehydration
strongly bound

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Crop Process Engineering
4 Production of chemicals through PicklingControlled fermentationAerobic,
fermentation which will be detrimental to Anaerobic
the microbes causing food spoilage
Irradiations, Dielectric, infrared and
5 Innovative methods
Ohmic heating

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Crop Process Engineering

Lesson 3. Methods and Principles of Food Processing (Part II)

The methods and principles can further classify based on food preservations. These
are;

1. Control of Water Activity

Water activity of the food can be control the different methods which are explained
hereunder.
a. Evaporation: Frequently in the food industry a raw material or a potential foodstuff
contains more water than is required in the final product. When the foodstuff is a liquid,
the easiest method of removing the water, in general, is to apply heat to evaporate it.
Evaporation is thus a process that is often used by the food technologist. The basic factors
that affect the rate of evaporation are;
- Rate at which heat can be transferred to the liquid
- Quantity of heat required to evaporate each kg of water
- Maximum allowable temperature of the liquid
- Pressure at which the evaporation takes place
- Changes that may occur in the foodstuff during the course of the evaporation
process
b. Dehydration: It is defined as the application of heat under controlled conditions to
remove the majority of the water normally present in a food by evaporation. The main
purpose of dehydration is to extend the shelf life of foods by reduction in water activity.
c. Osmo-dehydration: In osmo-dehydration, the prepared fresh material is soaked in a
thick liquid sugar solution and or a strong salt solution and then the material is dried.
During osmotic treatment, the material loses some of its moisture. The syrup or salt
solution has a protective effect on colour, flavor and texture. This protective effect
remains throughout the drying process and makes it possible to produce dried products of
high quality.
d. Drying: Drying is the process to remove the moisture content from the food material
and thereby reduce the water activity and extend the shelf life. Several types of dryers and
drying methods are commercially used. This is depending upon the form of material and
its properties, desired physical form and characteristics of dried products, operating cost,
etc. Sun drying, solar drying, atmospheric drying (batch type) like, kiln, tower, cabinet
and (continuous type) like tunnel, belt, fluidized bed, puff, foam mat, spray, drum and
microwave, etc.
2. Cold Treatment
Cold treatment is the treatment like, fermentation, irradiation, di-electric, ohmic, infrared
heating, freezing, super cooling, refrigeration, etc. given to the food materials for
increasing the shelf life.

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Crop Process Engineering
a. Fermentation: During food fermentations, the controlled action of selected micro-
organisms is used to alter the texture of foods, preserve foods by production of acids or
alcohol, or to produce subtle flavors and aromas which increase the quality and value of
raw materials. Main advantages are;
- The use of mild conditions of pH and temperature which maintain the nutritional
properties and sensory characteristics of the food.
- The production of foods which have flavors or textures that cannot be achieved by
other methods
- Low energy consumption due to the mild operating conditions
- Relatively low capital and operating costs
- Relatively simple technologies
b. Irradiation: Ionizing radiation takes the form of ϒ-rays from isotopes or,
commercially to a lesser extent, from X-rays and electrons. Main advantages are;
- There is little or no heating of the food and therefore negligible change to sensory
characteristics.
- Packaged and frozen foods may be treated.
- Fresh foods may be preserved in a single operation, and without the use of chemical
preservatives
- Energy requirements are very low
- Changes in nutritional value of foods are comparable with other methods of food
preservation
- Processing is automatically controlled and has low operation costs.
Applications of Irradiation;
- Sterilization
- Reduction of pathogens
- Prolonging shelf life
- Control of ripening
- Disinfestations
- Inhibition of sprouting
c. Dielectric, Ohmic and Infrared heating: Dielectric energy and infrared energy are
two forms of electromagnetic energy. They are both transmitted as waves which penetrate
food and are then absorbed and converted to heat. In contrast, ohmic heating uses the
electrical resistance of foods to directly convert electricity to heat. Dielectric and ohmic
heating are direct methods in which heat is generated within the product, whereas infrared
heating is an indirect method that relies on heat that is generated externally being applied
to the surface of the food mostly by radiation, but also by convection and to a lesser
extent conduction.
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Crop Process Engineering
d. Freezing: Freezing is the reduction in temperature generally by super cooling followed
by crystallization of water, nucleation and finely crystal growth.
Methods of quick freezing
- Freezing by indirect contact with a refrigerant
- Freezing in a blast of cold air
- Freezing by direct immersion in a refrigerating medium
Freezing by indirect contact with refrigerant: Food may be frozen by being placed in
a contact with a metal surface which is cooled by a refrigerant or packaged or packed in a
can and cooled by immersion in a refrigerant. Also food packaged in paper boxes may be
frozen by contact with refrigerated metal plate which may be moving or stationary.
Air Blast freezing: To obtain very cold air, a blast of air is directed through refrigerating
coil. For greater effect, the cold air blast is confined in an insulated tunnel. The material
to be frozen may be placed on a moving belt within variable of moved countercurrent and
the air blast.
Freezing by direct immersion (FBDI): FBDI in low temperature drying was the
beginning of quick freezing. Since liquid are good heat conductors, a product can be
frozen rapidly by direct immersion in low temperature liquid for example brine and sugar
solutions.
Freezing time: The definition of freezing time is a function of two instances i.e. when
freezing starts and when it stops. It is very difficult to determine the freezing time (q)
since freezing will occur at different rate and at different point in a piece of food. The
freezing will be faster at some point on the surface and in the body of the piece of food,
there is a point which cools slowest. The highest temperature at which ice crystals have a
stable existence in a food material is known as the freezing point of that material and this
signals the starts of freezing time. Because of the nature of materials of food and the
presence of water soluble constituents, all water does not crystallize at this temperature,
this is known as cryoscopy effect.
e. Super Cooling: Occurs when temperature of water is lowered below the freezing point
and crystallization does not occur. The super cooling provides the means of determining
the in depth effect of a reduction in temperature relative to the initial freezing point.
f. Refrigeration: This is the process by which heat is removed from a confined place and
material for the purpose of maintaining a lower temperature. The standard unit of
generating heat capacity is 1 tone of refrigeration. This is derived on the basis of removal
of latent heat of fusion of 1 tone of water at 32o F or 0oC to produce 1 tons of ice.
3. Control of Microbial Activity
Food materials can be stored for longer period by controlling the microbial activities by
pasteurization and sterilization methods.
a. Pasteurization: Pasteurization is a relatively mild heat treatment, in which food is
heated to below 1000C. In low acid foods it is used to minimize possible health hazards
from pathogenic micro-organisms and to extend the shelf life of foods for several days. In

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Crop Process Engineering
acidic foods it is used to extend the shelf life for several months by destruction of
spoilage micro-organisms and or enzymatic inactivation.
b. Heat sterilization: It is the unit operation in which foods are heated at a sufficiently
high temperature and for a sufficiently long time to destroy microbial and enzyme
activity. As a result, sterilized foods have a shelf life in excess of six months at ambient
temperatures provided they are aseptically packed after sterilization to avoid post
sterilization contamination. Severe heat treatment of sterilization causes damage to the
nutrition and it can be avoided by development of suitable processing technology.

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Crop Process Engineering

Lesson 4. Processing of Farm Crops: Processing of Cereals

4.0 Introduction
Cereal grains are hygroscopic and would gain or lose moisture initially until they are
in equilibrium with air. Food grains include cereals like rice, wheat, maize, sorghum
and millets; pulses like pigeon pea, chick pea, black gram and oilseeds like
groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesame. Storage is done to meet the food, feed and
seed requirements of the people between two harvests and during natural calamities
like draught, famine, war etc. Milling of food grains and oil seeds is done to convert
them into suitable products. All these operations could be performed with best
possible efficiency if crop location specific appropriate processing technology and
equipments are used. In general processing of products is done in three ways i.e.,
primary processing, secondary processing and tertiary processing. By products are
processed for economic utilization. At every stage of processing, value is added to
the product. Primary processing refers to those operations which convert raw food
materials into a form fit for eating or to be used in subsequent processing. Some
examples are: milling of paddy into rice, that of wheat into flour. Secondary
processing converts primary processed food materials into form fit for use at home
or canteen or hotels. Some examples are milling of chick pea, splits into Besan.

4.1 Processing of cereals

Among major cereal crops processing of rice, wheat and maize, a detailed discussion is
being given below:
4.1.1 Processing of Rice
Paddy (Oryza sativa L.) is most important food grains of the world and nearly 2/3of
population has partially or totally adopted rice as their main food. India is the world’s
second largest producer of rice. A paddy grains consists of several layers of components.
The major components of paddy grain are the husk, bran layers, starchy endosperm and
the embryo or the germ. Rice husk or hulls are the coating for the seeds. The hull is
indigestible to humans. Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined
aleurone, nucellus, seed coat and pericarp. Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole
grain, and is often produced as by-product of milling. The embryo or the germ is rich in
protein and is often removed along with bran during the milling and polishing process.
The starchy endosperm is the popular white rice. A paddy grain approximately contains
20 % by weight of husk, 5 to 7 % by weight of bran layers and about 3 % by weight of
embryo.
Rice milling is the process wherein the rough rice grain is transformed into a form
suitable for human consumption, therefore, has to be done with utmost care to prevent
breakage of the kernel and improve the recovery. When only the husk layer is removed
from paddy grain the resulting product is called brown rice. Brown rice is milled further
to remove bran layers for creating a visually more appealing white rice than the brown
rice.
Method of Rice Milling

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Traditionally, for milling hand pounding method was common. In a hand pound method,
paddy is pounded in a traditional stone or wooden pestle and mortar. After pounding, the
paddy is winnowed to separate the de-husked and un-husked kernels. The un-husked
paddy grains are pounded again in the pestle and mortar. These operations are
cumbersome, time consuming and require heavy labour input. By hand pounding husk
and a small portion of bran are removed from the paddy. The resulting brown rice was
nutritionally sound because of the bran layers.
Hand pounding became an obsolete and unpopular method after the introduction of
hullers for milling paddy. The most popular model of a huller mill is the Engleberg huller.
In Engleberg huller the paddy is passed two or three times get milled rice. Engleberg
huller removes the rice husk and many times bran layers by mechanically cutting them
between a rotating knife and a stationary blade. This is a very crude method of milling
because due to cutting of husk and bran layers using metal parts, the breakage of rice is
heavy and the head rice (the whole rice grain) yield is low. Furthermore, the valuable by-
product, the barn, is removed along with the husk. Rice is separated from the husk and
bran by sieving and bowling. Hulling using Engleberg huller reduced the human drudgery
of hand pounding and is quicker than hand pounding. However, the quantity of broken
rice is higher than the hand pounded rice and reduces the milling outturn.
Bran is particularly rich in dietary fiber and essential fatty acids and contains significant
quantities of starch, protein, vitamins and dietary minerals. It contains various antioxidant
that impart beneficial effects on human health. Pure rice bran contains 18-21 % oil. The
government felt the importance of recovering this valuable by product for extraction of
oil and for other food purposes and industrial purposes. Therefore, the concept of modern
rice milling came into existence. Modernization of rice milling started with a view to
obtaining higher rice yields and better quality by-products such as bran and husk. The
ultimate goal of the rice industry is to produce a maximum amount of whole grain rice
because market value of whole kernels. It is therefore important in processing to avoid
conditions that may promote breakage.
Modern rice mills use rubber roll sheller in place of Engleberg huller. In a rubber roll
sheller two differential counter rotating rolls remove the husk by frictional rubbing thus
separating husk and the brown rice. In modern rice mills, the brown rice is almost always
polished to remove the bran layers.
Two to four stage polishing are common in modern rice mills. Cone polishers are used for
removing the bran layers.

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In both the traditional and modern methods rice is milled either raw or parboiled.
Parboiling refers to partial boiling of rice. Due to soaking and steaming the rice starch
gelatinizes and water soluble vitamins and minerals become integral part of the rice
starch. Rice becomes tougher and breakage during milling is reduced. Though there are
many advantages in parboiling, it is done only base on consumer preferences. In the plant
is producing parboiled rice in addition to the above it should also have a section for
parboiling and drying.
Modern rice milling processes
The major steps involved and the definitions of each process in modern rice milling
process are shown hereunder.

Sieve
separator, Removing all impurities and
Pre magnetic unfilled grains from paddy. This
:
cleaning separator is also involves removing the
and metal parts from the paddy.
winnowers

De- Vibratory
: Separating from paddy
stoning separator

Partially boiling paddy by soaking, steaming and

drying. Helps in improving the nutritional quality by
Parboiling :
gelatinization of starch inside the rice grain. It
improves the milling recovery

Dehusking : Rubber Removing husk from paddy with

roll sheller minimum damage to the rice
grain
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Husk Separating the husk from brown

: Aspirator
aspiration rice/unhusked paddy

Specific
Paddy Separating the unhusked paddy
: gravity
separation from brown rice
separator

Removing all or parts of the bran

Cone
Whitening : layer and germ from brown rice
polisher
using cone polishers

Improving the appearance of milled rice by removing

Polishing : the remaining bran particles and by polishing the
exterior of the milled kernel using cone polishers

Vibratory
Separating small – large brokens
Grading : sieve
from head rice
grader

Color Colour Removing the discolored rice

:
sorting sorter from the white rice

Bagging : Preparing the milled rice for transport to the customer

Cleaning and Grading

The paddy must be cleaned off the chaff and lighter impurities, foreign grains of different
sizes, sand, stones, debris and metal pieces that may present. The different cleaning
operations and the machinery used for such are shown in Table 2.1.
Table 4.1 Machinery used in cleaning paddy

Machinery Operation

Vibratory sieve For removing foreign of different sizes

De-stoner For removing stones

Magnetic separator For removing the metal parts in the paddy bulk

Winnower For removing lighter impurities

Cleaning paddy becomes a must for delivering quality and consumer acceptable rice in
the market. Removing metal parts and stones become inevitable because they cause
damages to the milling machines. Many of these operations can be performed a single or
with two machines.
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Parboiling
Parboiling is an optional and pre-milling process given to the paddy. It is hydrothermal
process in which paddy soaked in water followed by gelatinization by steaming. The step
process involves soaking, steaming and drying. There are different methods in parboiling
such as household method, single steam method, double steam method, hot water soaking
method and pressure parboiling method etc. Among these methods single steaming,
double steaming and hot soaking methods are adopted in commercial scales. Some
popular methods of parboiling are listed below:
i. Single steaming method
In single steaming method paddy is soaked in water at room temperature for 1-3 days in
cement cisterns. After complication of soaking the water is drained and steamed in
batches.
ii. Double steaming method
In double steaming method raw paddy is steamed first and added in batches into the water
for soaking at room temperature in a cement tank. The steamed paddy increases the
temperature of the soaking water to above 50 to 60 0C and slowly cooled to room
temperature in a day. After 24 hours, water is drained and paddy is again second time
steamed.
iii. Hot Soaking Method

In this method, the raw paddy is added to hot water at 90 to 95 0C. The water is circulated
so the temperature is maintained at 65 to 70 0C for 5 to 6 h. After soaking, the water is
drained and steamed in the same vessel.
Steaming and Drying
In modern rice milling the streaming is done separately using a steaming unit. The steam
is produced usually from a boiler unit under pressure. The soaked paddy is then dried. In
modern rice mills usually LSU driers with hot air from steam heated exchangers is used
for drying.
The purpose of this to produce physical, chemical and organaleptic modifications in rice
with economic, nutritional and practical advantages.
Advantages of Parboiling
1. The milling yield is higher and the quality is improved as there are fewer broken
grains.
2. The grain structure becomes compact and vitreous, even if some kernels were
entirely or partly chalky.
3. The milled rice becomes translucent and shiny.
4. Parboiled paddy and milled parboiled rice keep longer and better than in the raw
state as germination is no longer possible and the kernel is hard making it
resistant to attacks by insects and to absorption of moisture from its environment.
5. The grains remain firmer during cooking and less likely to become sticky.
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6. A greater amount of water is absorbed during cooking causing the rice to swell.
7. After cooking the rice absorbs less fat from added conditions.
8. When cooked, the rice keeps longer and it will not go rancid so easily.
9. Parboiled rice retains more proteins, vitamins and minerals which have spread
during parboiled in the endosperm.
10. After cooking parboiled rice is more digestible.
11. Less solids are kept behind in the cooking water.
12. Shelling of parboiled paddy is easier.
13. Rice bran obtained from parboiled rice gives higher percentage of oil.
Disadvantages of parboiling
1. The heat treatment during parboiling destroys some natural anti oxidants, hence
rancidity developed in parboiled during storage is more than in raw rice.
2. Parboiled rice takes more time to cook than raw rice and may have characteristic
off flavour which may not be liked by raw eaters.
3. Parboiling process needs an extra investment of capital.
4. Inspite of extra expenditure involved in parboiling, the higher out turn of head
yield from the process brings in additional profit to the miller and ensures
cheaper price to the consumer. Apart from this, the higher nutritive value of
parboiled rice can by-itself justify large scale practice of parboiling. Generally
scented the fine varieties of paddy has good milling quality are not parboiled.
Traditional method of parboiling
The traditional method process consists of soaking in water at room temperature for 24-
28 hours or more steaming in kettles under atmospheric pressure and drying in the sun. In
the boiling method paddy is soaked in ordinary water for 24-72 hours and then steamed.
In double boiling method steam is first injected into raw paddy in the steaming kettle
before soaking. Hot paddy raises the temperature of soaking water to 45-50˚C, which
helps to reduce the soaking time to 24 hours. Therefore soaked paddy is steamed.
Sometimes the soaking water itself is heated about 50˚C before the raw paddy is dumped
in it and in this case first steaming is not required. Traditional method of parboiling has
the following disadvantages:
During prolonged soaking, fermentation sets in and an undesirable smell is developed.
1. It is a conductive to development of mycotoxins which are quite harmful.
2. Sun drying is quite uncertain.
3. Loss due to manual consumption by birds, rodents and insects in the process of
drying significant.
4. Unhygienic conditions associated with the process of drying.
5. It requires large drying yard and
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6. Labour requirement is high.
The modern methods used in different countries have been very successful in
overcoming the above limitations.
Modern method of parboiling (CFTRI)
Parboiled tanks are filled with clean water is heated to a temperature of about 85˚C by
passing steam through the coils already placed inside the tank. Sometimes hot water is
prepared in a separated hot water tank before being pumped into the parboiled tanks.
Paddy is dumped into the hot water as quickly as possible. The resulting temperature of
paddy water mixture in the tanks stays around 70˚C. Soaking water can be re-circulated
into the hot water tank to maintain a constant temperature of 70˚C. After getting the
paddy soaked for 3-3.5 hours, the soaking water is drained out and the water discharge
value kept open to remove water that condenses during steaming. Soaked paddy is
exposed to steam at a pressure of about 4 kg/cm2 through the open steam coil. Soaking
and steaming of paddy is done in the same tank. Splitting of the husk is the indication of
completion of parboiling process. The parboiled paddy is taken out by opening the bottom
door and can be dried either in sun or by a mechanical dryer.
Milling
The dried paddy is milled to produce rice. In the modern rice mills, rubber roll shellers
are used. A rubber roll sheller is also associated with cone polishers. Usually 2-4 cone
polishers are used depending on the size of the rice mills. In this method of milling the
husk is removed by rubber roll sheller and the bran and germ portions of rice are
separated during polishing in the cone polishers.
During milling, the husk and bran layer are removed. After removal of husk, the polishing
is done to more than 5 % to obtain the write rice. Due to soft nature of kernels, the raw
milling results in higher percentages of brokens with reduced out turn compared with
parboiled rice. The milling yield slightly varies and depends on the quality of raw paddy
being milled.
4.1.2 Processing of Wheat
Wheat the basic ‘bread grain’ of the European civilization has been the chick source of
human food, for at least the past 6000 years. Wheat is the second important food grains of
India.
It is estimated that 10 percent of the crop is lost either during harvesting, threshing
transportation or storage. With increasing production this amount of loss is very
significant. The losses in storage are both quantitative and qualitative. It is necessary that
every effort is made to reduce the losses particularly in storage. The slogan that “grain
saved is a grain produced” should be popularized among the farmers the traders.
Next to rice, wheat is the second most important food crop. With reduced acreages under
coarse cereals such as sorghum, minor millets, pearl millets, finger millets and barely, the
food habits of the people are gradually shifting in favour of rice and wheat. The
importance of wheat is increasing in modern society because of its flexibility in making
ready to eat or easy to make or other convenient foods. Even in the traditional rice eating
states wheat is popular. A number of milling, baking and confectionary units are coming

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up. Different type of foods requires different qualities of wheat. Thus wheat consumption
will continue to rise and subsequently the demand for different kinds of wheat.
In the traditional method of harvesting ripe wheat is cut and bound in to sheaves, which
are stood in stacks in the field. The action of wind and sun reduces moisture of the wheat
from between 16 percent in a few days. When the moisture is sufficiently reduced sheaves
are collected, stacked and threshed. The threshed grain with moisture of 14 % or less can
be stored safely.
Most important event, in processing is milling of wheat, the term milling in reference to
the process involving food grains is a trade name used for reduction of grains into flour or
meal or any other consumable form for human beings or animals. In India, a large
population of wheat is used as atta and maida. The scope of milling covers a wide range
of process depending upon the grain and products.
Structure of wheat grain
The grain of wheat consists of outer covering the pericarps and testa which is hard and
indigestible, an aleurone layer, which contains a higher proportion of protein than flour,
an embryo attacked to a small structure, the schutelum at the lower end of the grain, and
finally the endosperm comprising of 85 percent of the whole grain from which the flour is
derived.
It is important to mention that the milling of wheat is physical process. The composition
of bran germ and endosperm in wheat is given below:
Bran – 12%
Germ – 3%
Endosperm – 85%
Purpose of flour milling
The purpose of flour milling is to first separate the endosperm from bran and germ in
large chunks as possible and then reduce the size of the endosperm chunks flour sized
particles through a series of milling steps. The germ can be rather easily removed because
it contains oil which makes it putty-like and hence it will flatten under the force of rolls.
However, the case with bran is quite different. Bran like endosperm is ground very easily
into a fine powder and hence it is quite impossible to separate it from a fine powder and
powdery endosperm. Flour contaminated with wheat bran is brownish rather than white is
not desirable for food purposes.
The effective separation of bran form endosperm depends upon the principles:
(i) When wheat is soaked with water, the bran becomes tough and rubbery while the
endosperm which is in the interior becomes soft and friable.
(ii) When wheat berry is sheared by the corrugation of first roll or break will spilt open
releasing some endosperm and flour and thus export the remaining endosperm of the bran
in successive break rolls.
Most of wheat mills obtained about a 70 % field of flour from a theories yield of about 85
percent total endosperm. The by-products of milling- the grain and shorts and bran
together comprise about 30 % of the mill stream.
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Wheat milling process
The wheat milling process consists of five main parts. They are;
(i) reception and storage of wheat
(ii) cleaning of wheat
(iii) tempering or conditioning
(iv) milling of wheat into flour and its by products.
(v) storage of the finished products
Reception and storage of wheat
Wheat selection is important to the flour miller without sound wheat unspotted, and free
from insect contamination the miller is powerless to pro an adequate product. Whether
wheat is to be bread production or for cakes, coke, pastry or biscuits depends primarily
upon the protein content of the wheat. So the flour contains a lower percentage of protein
then the grain from which milled, the wheat is brought at about one percent higher protein
content wanted in the finished flour.
It should be pointed out that wheat as other cereal grains is subject to govern inspection
and grading. Such a grading system is of great help to the grain. Since it not only takes
into consideration the soundness of wheat for milling pulse but also limit the amount of
contamination of other cereal seeds, weed seed that foreign matter.
Wheat is stored at the mill in large concrete line. Before storage the wheat undergoes a
preliminary cleaning and drying to remove the grass impurities foreign material and to
remove moisture if necessary do that the wheat can stored without heating. Heat
production results from the growth of microorganisms in the grains and is caused by the
heat of their respiration process and these that, wheat must be kept dry normally no higher
than 14.5 percent moisture.
The drying process is coupled in three stages.
(i) The wheat is preheated to desired temperature. The temperature of grain is not
allowed to exceed 48 0C when the moisture content is 17 percent and 390C when
moisture content is under 17 percent.
(ii) Water is removed by heat vaporization and
(iii) The grain is cooled by water evaporation.
Cleaning of wheat
Since the grain impurities have already been removed at the storage the techniques used
in the cleaning house is more refined. Wheat cleaned by removing loose foreign material
and dirt adhering to the surface of the grain.
Wheat is weighed as it enters the cleaning house and therefore goes through a separator,
which is set to remove fine impurities and dust. Small pieces of sticks, stones, sand and
dust are shifted away and light impurities such as wheat chaff are removed by air current.
After this wheat passes over magnetic separators to remove by adventitious metal which
may have formed their way into the wheat mix. Another cleaning machine used to
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remove other cereal grains and weed seeds is a disc separator. In such a disk separator
different types of plates can be set to discharge wheat at any place along the route.
Next step in the cleaning operation is the removal of dirt from the surface of the wheat by
scouring. The scourers differ widely in design. Usually the wheat is removed by paddles
against an emery coated surface, the severity of the treatment being controlled by the
clearance between the paddles and stationary emery surface. The dirt and outer coating of
wheat bran are removed by air aspiration.
The final cleaning step is a water work. The water dissolves the dirt and permits stones
and bits of metal to sink. In some cases it appears to reduce microbiological
contamination of the wheat and in all cases worker tends to add about one percent water
to the original moisture content.
Tempering or Conditioning
Tempering refers to the addition of water to the bran and endosperm. The bran becomes
tough and rubbery while the endosperm becomes less vitreous. This improves milling
efficiency.
Tempering involves adding water to raise the moisture to 15 to 19 % for hard wheat and
14.5 to 17 % hours. During this time, the water enters the bran and diffuses inward
causing the bran to loose its friable characteristics and to become leathery in textures.
Conditioning, in contrast to tempering always the use of heat since quick diffusion of
water into endosperm as well as the bran is the purpose. Wheat conditioners involve four
sections. The section heats the heat to the proper temperature (as heat affects gluten
quality, normally a temperature of 45 0C can not be exceeded). The second section adds
moisture and holds the wheat for the proper temperature. The third section cools the
wheat at room temperature and the final section provides a holding bin where the
moisture in wheat is allowed to equilibrate before milling.
Here all the conditioning water can be added at once. The wheat goes through the preheat
section and the cooling section in 1.5 hours or less. However, it is held in holding bins
from 8 to 18 hours the longer times being used for the harder wheat.
In one method of conditioning the wheat is heated very rapidly but the direct injection of
steam and held at a temperature of 490C for about one min. Following this, there is a
rapid cooling plunging the wheat into cold water and hence to a centrifugal machine to
remove the surface water. This method is method is extremely fast and has advantage that
the cooling process not tends to dry the bran coat since it is not done by cool air or
evaporation.
Wheat grinding
The grinding of whet is done between pairs of rolls. These rolls, since they are moving
opposite direction moving at different rate of speed one from the other and set with an
appreciable gap between them do not grind the wheat primarily by crushing. Rather, the
reduction of wheat size is by shearing for which because of the set of the roll runs about
25 times faster that the slower one and at speed from 250 to 450 rpm.
Here, the roller milling area is divided into two sections, the break section and the
reduction section. In the first area system, the bran is broken open and the endosperm is
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milled away. This system quit often involves from proceeding one. After each break the
moisture of free bran, free endosperm, free germ and bran containing adhering endosperm
is shifted. The bran having endosperm still attached goes to the next break roll and the
process is repeated until as much as endosperm has been separated from the bran as is
possible. The freed endosperm is section to the reduction rolls where it is further reduced
to the proper particles size for flours.
Rolls in the second system are reduction rolls which are similar to the break roll expect
that their surface is normally smooth to rather than corrugated. After each reduction of
endosperm channels which are returned to the second roll and the process is repeated.
Component of wheat mill
1. Break rolls
The surface of the break rolls is always fluted to obtain the necessary grinding effect. The
saw tooth flutes run spirally around the roll and the number of flutes per unit length
increases from the first to the fourth break. The first break run 4-5 flutes per cm on the
fourth about 12 flutes.
2. Break sifting system
After each set of break roll there is a sifting system, called scalping. The system can be
divided into two parts.
(a) Plan sifier: It is flat sieves pilled in tries one above the other the action of the
sifter is rotary in plane parallel with floor. As the sifter moves in about 9 cm circle,
the small sized particles spill through the sieve below while the oversized particles
travel across the sieve to a collecting through and are removed. As many as 12 sieves
can be piled on the top of the other and there are four separate compartments in one
Plansifier.
In Plansifiers larger pieces of bran with adhering endosperm are first remove at the
top and are sent to the next break roll. The next sieves are finer and remove bran and
germ. The next layers finer jets remove endosperm middling and the bottom troughs
of flour. Wire mesh screens are used for the coarse separations and cloth for finer
separations. The finest sieves run upto 196 mesh per inch and have opening of 0.060
min.
(b) Purifier: The middlings still contain minute size bran particles which are
removed by sending the product through a purifier where air currents carry the bran
away. A purifier is essentially a long oscillating sieve inclined downward and
becoming coarser from head to tail. Air is blown through the sieve from the bottom
which causes the flour to stratify into endosperm chunks of different size. On the
bottom are the smallest pure middlings. Next are the larger middlings. Next come
endosperm and bran particles. Next the large pieces of endosperm still adhering to
bran, and endosperm chunks. On the top there are heavier and finally the light bran
particles.
The sieves are so designed that only the endosperm particles pass through and go on
the reduction rolls. The cover tails are composite particles of bran and endosperm and
pure bran which either go back to a break roll or mill feed.

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As many as purifiers are quite normally found for 4 break rolls in the scalping system.
For example, the fine middlings from the first, second, third and fourth breaks normally
go through a double purification step while the coarse middlings need only one
purification treatment.
3. Reduction Rolls
The reduction system comprises two parts roll mills and sifting machines. The purpose of
reduction rolls is to reduce endosperm middlings to flour size and facilitate the removal of
the last remaining particles of bran and germ. The roll stands in reduction system are
further divided into coarse rolls and fine rolls depending upon the clearance between the
rollers. The coarse rolls are used only to produce middlings of uniform size for layer
reduction to flour. Hence these rolls are often called sizing rolls and the middlings sent to
them are called chunks. Middlings sized on the sizing rolls are then sent to the fine rolls
to be ground to flour.
After each reduction the resulting product is sent to sifter s where finished flour is
removed and over sized material is sent back to the reduction rolls for further processing.
4.Reduction sifting system
Plansifier are used behind the reduction rolls and their purpose is to divide the stock into
coarse rolls and the fine middlings are returned to fine rolls while the flour is removed
from the middling system.
Purifiers are often used behind the coarse reduction rolls. The purpose in this case is size
grading rather than purification.
One is must to be careful to over ground the flour in the reduction system. Over grinding
damages starch granules and makes the flour unsuitable for baking. Over grinding can be
detected by high maltose value.
5. Scratch system
In this system, if the mil is working properly, , the scratch system can be by passed and if
it is not, this system is used to maintain proper release of endosperm from bran. The
scratch syatem is an extension of the break system and thus used as stand by system only.
4.1.3 Processing of Corn
Corn (Zea mays) is the crop used either human and animal consumption or industrial use.
Corn is processed in to different food and feed ingradients, beverages and industrial
products. It is usually harvested when its moisture content is in the range of 18 to 24 %.
The maize kernels must be dried to safe moisture levels of about 12 % to avoid losses.
During mechanical harvesting and shelling, sometimes result in external damage, like
breaking of the pericarp and the germ results attack of biotic factors like insects, mites,
pathogens, fungi, microorganisms etc. during storage before processing. Low moisture
content and storage temperatures reduce the deterioration and microbial growth. Maize is
consumed in different forms like maize grits, polenta, corn bread, popcorn and maize
flakes. Maize is also widely used to make beverages. Corn kernel is composed of
endosperm, germ, pericarp and tip cap.
Milling of corn

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Dry milling and wet milling are the most common methods are used for corn milling. The
different end products after dry milling process like germ used for oil extraction while
husk and de-oiled germ used for cattle feed, grits for breakfast whereas starch, germ and
feed are the products of wet milling.
Dry milling method of corn
Dry milling method is divided in to two methods; non de-germing method (traditional)
and de-germing method (modern). In traditional method, the whole kernel is ground in to
meal by stone grinder without removing germ having high fiber and high protein. Then,
the hull and germ are removed by sifting from the meal. In de-germing method, the kernel
are moistened with a less amount of water and then tempered for equilibrium. Then, the
moistened kernel are allowed to dry and then the hull, germ and tip cap are removed from
the kernel to get corn grits. The germ is used for oil extraction and de-oiled germ and hull
are used for cattle feed purpose which is known as hominy feed. The yield of endosperm
products and horny feed are about 70 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
Tempering – De-germing (T.D.) method of dry milling
The major objectives of this method are:
a) to remove essentially all germ and hull so that endosperm contains as low as and
fibre as possible,
b) to recover a maximum amount of the endosperm as large clean grits without any
dark speck, and
c) to recover a maximum amount of germ as large and pure particles.
The basic unit operation involved in Tempering and De-germing method is discussed
hereunder;
a) Cleaning
Cleaning is the first and most important operation essential for the subsequent milling
operations. The dry cleaner are consisting of aspirators and sieves and wet cleaner
consisting of a washing destining unit and a mechanical type dewatering unit known as
whizzer are used for cleaning of corn. The iron particles are removed by using magnetic
separator.
b) Hydrothermal / conditioning treatment
Cold or hot water or steam of predetermined quantity is added to corn kernel either in
single or two or three stages with appropriate times after each stage. This tempering
period is vary according to the hydration methods. So also tempering temperatures vary
from room temperature to about 50°C accordingly. Either cold or hot water is used for the
addition of moisture. A little heat in the form of open steam is added as and when
necessary The optimum moisture content for de-germing in de-germer is 21-25 %.
c) De-germing
De-germing is the most important operation to remove germ, hull and tip cap from the
kernel and to get grit. After de-germing, the products received consists of mixture of
kernel components, freed from each other to varying degrees with the endosperm
particles varying in sizes from grits to flour. Beall de-germer consists of a rotating cast
iron conical roller mounted on a horizontal shaft in a conical cage.
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d) Drying and cooling of degermer stock
The degermer products are to be dried to 15 to 18 per moisture content for proper
grinding and sifting.Generally rotary steam tube dryers are used for drying the product.
Rotary Louver type dryer can also be employed. The stock is heated to about 50°C.
Counter-flow of cross-flow rotary, vertical gravity or fluidised bed types of cooler can be
used for cooling the dried products.
Rolling and Grading
Recovery of various primary products is the next step. Further release of germ and husk
from the endosperm product occurs during their gradual size reduction roller mills.
The germ, husk and endosperm fragments are then separated by means of sifters,
aspirators, specific gravity table separators or purifiers. Sifting is an important operation
and is variously referred to as scalping, grading, classifying, or bolting depending upon
the means used and purpose. Sifting is actually a size separation ration on sieves.
Scalping is the coarse separation made on the product leaving a roller mill or degermer.
Grading or classifying is the separation of a single stock (usually endosperm particles into
two or more groups according to particle size. Bolting is removal of hull fragments from a
corn meal or flour.
Wet Milling method of corn
The raw corn for wet milling should contain 15-16 per cent moisture and it should be
physically sound. Insect and pest infested, cracked and heat damaged corns (treated at
temperature around 75° C during drying) are unsuitable for wet milling. The heat
damaged corn affects the quality of oil extracted from its germ.Sufficient amount of
moisture is added to the corn during steeping in the wet milling process in order to
prepare the corn for subsequent degerming, grinding and separation operations.
The wet milling process consists of the following steps:
i) cleaning
ii) soaking
iii) germ separation and recovery
iv) grinding and hull recovery and
v) separation of starch and gluten
Cleaning
Impurities such as dust, chaff, cobs, stones, insect-infested grain and broken and other
foreign materials are removed from corn by screening and aspirating. The clean grains are
conveyed to the storage bins.
Steeping
The major objectives of steeping are to soften the kernel for grinding, to facilitate
separation of germ and gluten from the starch granules and to remove solubles, mainly
from the germ. Water impregnated with SO2 (i.e., acidulated water with H2SO3) is used
for stepping; it helps in arresting certain fermentation (luring long sleeping process. The
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steeping is carried out at about 50° C for a period varying from 28 to 48 hours in
different plants. The steeped corn attains a moisture content of about 45 %.
Germ recovery
The wet and softened kernels having about 45 % moisture are conveyed to the de-
germing unit. This machine consisting of stationary metallic plate and rotating plate with
projected teeth for tearing the soft kernels apart and freeing the germs without grinding
them. The pulpy mixture containing germ, husk, starch and gluten is separated by
floatation (old) method but in modern method, mixture passed through the hydroclones
where the germ is separated as it is lighter by centrifugal force.
Milling and fibre recovery
After separation of germ and screening of the coarse particles, the mixture contains
starch, gluten and hulls. The horny endosperm and hulls are then ground to release the
rest of the starch. Material to be ground enters the machine through a spinning rotor and
is thrown out with a great force against the impactors at the periphery of the rotor and
also against a stationary impactor resulting in considerable reduction in particle size.
The starch is readily released here with a ery little size reduction of hulls. The milled
slurry, containing the ground starch, gluten and hulls is passed through a series of
hexagonal reels where the coarser hulls and fibres are removed.
Starch-Gluten separation
The slurry containing starch and gluten is concentrated an then gluten particles are
separated by high speed centrifugal separator as it is lighter than the starch particles. This
process is carried out in two stages and the second stage of centrifugation is performed by
a number of hydroclones types of equipments. The starch obtained is filtered and then
dried o produce dry starch.

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Lesson 5. Processing of Farm Crops: Processing of Pulses

5.0 Introduction
Pulses are the edible seeds of pod bearing plants are widely grown throughout
the world. Pulses have a high protein content ranging from 20-30% and this
makes them important in human food from the point of view of nutrition.
Because of this high protein content, they are also known as “poor man’s meat”.
An alternative name for pulses is “legumes”, which is common in many parts of
the world. In India, the term “gram” is commonly used for dry legume seeds
with husk, while split decorticated grains are called “dhal”. Like many
leguminous crops, pulses pay a key role in crop rotation due to their ability for
fix nitrogen. Green gram, red gram, bengal gram, horse gram, cluster bean, field
bean, cow pea are some of the common types of pulses. In general, their protein
content is high and is commonly more than twice that of cereal grains, usually
constituting about 20 per cent of the dry weight of seeds. Pulse seeds are also
sources of other nutritionally important materials, such as vitamins and
minerals. Milling of pulses is removal of outer husk/hulls and splitting the grain
into two equal halves. The husk/hull is more tightly held by the kernel of some
pulses poses problems. The alternate wetting and drying method is used to
facilate de-husking and splitting of pulses. The traditional method of milling
yields only 65-70 % as compared to 82-85 % potential yield. Also, traditional
methods results in high losses in the form of powder and broken. Therefore, it is
necessary to improve the traditional methods of pulse milling to increase the
total yield of de-husked and split pulses and reduce losses.

5.1 Definition of terms used in pulse processing

Gram: Dry legume seeds with husk

Decortications/dehusking: Removal of outer husk from gram

Splitting of pulses: Breaking a seeds in to two halves
Milling of pulses: Removing the husk and splitting the grains into two halves
Dhal: Split decorticated grains
Gota: Unhusked pulse grains coming out of the roller mill
Dust/chuni: Powder obtained as byproduct from the milling operation of pulses
Brokens: Broken grains coming out of the roller along with dhal
Cleaning: Removing the various inorganic impurities present in the raw grains
Grading: Separating the cleaned grains based on size
Conditioning: loosening of the husk to facilitate its separation from the kernel, thus
reducing the milling losses(e.g. Hydrothermal treatment, water treatment, heating, use of
salt or chemicals)

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Polishing: Mixing edible oil and water with dhal by publishing through a screw conveyer
to impart desirable color and shine to milled pulses
Grading of dhal: separation of dhal as per the size and soundness
5.2 Pulse milling process
Basic processes in dhal milling are cleaning, de-husking, splitting, separation and
bagging. Major variation is involved with de-husking process only. Dhals like Arahar,
urad, moong and lentil are difficult to de-husk as a result repeated operations by de-
husking rollers are required. Rewetting and drying is done to loosen portions of husk
sticking after repeated rolling. Linseed oil is used to impart shine or better appeal to the
milled dhal.
The removal of the outer husk and splitting the grain into two equal halves is known as
milling of pulses. To facilitate de-husking and splitting of pulses alternate wetting and
drying method is used. In India trading milling methods produce de-husked split pulses.
Loosening of husk by conditioning is insufficient in traditional methods. To obtain
complete de-husking of the grains a large number of abrasive forces is applied in this case
as a result high losses occur in the form of broken and powder.
In India, there are two conventional pulses milling methods; wet milling method and dry
milling method. The latter is more popular and used in commercial mills. The dry milling
quality is found to be good and on an average 70-72 % dhal recovery is reported. Wet
milled dhal is of better taste than dry milled dhal, but takes longer cooking time.
There is no common processing method for all types of pulses. However, some general
operations of dry milling method such as cleaning and grading, rolling or pitting, oiling,
moistening, drying and milling have been described here.
Cleaning and grading: Pulses are cleaned from dust, chaff, grits, etc., and graded
according to size by a reel type or rotating sieve type cleaner.
Pitting: The clean pulses are passed through an emery roller machine. Husk is cracked
and scratched in this operation. This is to facilitate the subsequent oil penetration process
for the loosening of husk. The clearance between the emery roller and cage (housing)
gradually narrows from inlet to outlet. As the material is passed through the narrowing
clearance mainly cracking and scratching of husk takes place by friction between pulses
and emery. Some of the pulses are dehusked and split during this operations which are
then separated by sieving.
Pretreatments with oil: The scratched or pitted pulses are passed through a screw
conveyor and mixed with some edible oil like linseed oil (1.5 to 2.5 kg/tone of pulses).
Then they are kept for about 12 hours for diffusion of the oil.
Conditioning of pulses: Conditioning of pulses is done by alternate wetting and drying.
After sun drying for a certain period, 3-5 % moisture is added to the pulse and tempered
for about eight flours and again dried in the sun. Addition of moisture to the pulses can be
accomplished by allowing water to drop from an overhead tank on the pulses being
passed through a screw conveyor. The whole process of alternate wetting and drying is
continued for two to four days until all pulses are sufficiently conditioned. Pulses are
finally dried to about 10 to 12 % moisture content.

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De-husking and Splitting: Emery rollers, known as Gota machine are used for the de-
husking of conditioned pulses About 50 % pulses are de-husked in a single operation (in
one pass). De-husked pulses are split into two parts also, the husk is aspirated off and de-
husked split pulses are separated by sieving. The tail pulses and unsplit de-husked pulses
are again conditioned and milled. The whole process is repeated two to three times until
the remaining- pulses are de-husked and split.
Polishing: Polish is given to the de-husked and split pulses by treating them with a small
quantity of oil and/or water.
5.3 Equipments required for pulse processing
Vibratory sieve separator: For cleaning of raw grains
Cleaner with aspirator: For removing lighter impurities such as dust, husk, brokens of
insects etc.
Destoner: To separate mud and stones from raw grains
Auger Mixer/Screw conveyor: For mixing water/oil/red earth during conditioning and
polishing of grains/dhal
Pulse scourer: An emery scourer (emery roller) machine is used to obtain cracking and
scratching of clean pulses passing through it. For loosing the husk to facilitate the
subsequent oil penetration this required. Gradually the clearance between the emery roller
and cage (housing) is narrowed from inlet to outlet. Cracking and scratching of husk takes
mainly by friction between pulses and emery as the material passed through the
narrowing clearance. During the operation some of the are de husked and split which are
separated by sieving.
Pulse splitter: For splitting and dehusked grains into two halves
LSU Drier: For conditioning of the grains before milling
Emery coated rollers: For dehusking and milling of pulses.
Rotating reel grader: For separating the dhal based on size and soundness, in which
separate compartments with different size screens are present. Various sizes of dhal
though the openings of these screens and graded dhal are bagged separately.

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Lesson 6. Methods of Milling of Pulses

6.1 Dry milling method of pigeon pea

It is generally practiced in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In this, the
pulses are subjected to pitting in a roller and then oil treatment by applying 0.5-
2.0 per cent linseed oil or any edible oil. Then the pulses are spread in the drying
yard for sun drying for 2 – 4 days. The pulses are tempered by heaping and
covering during the nights in between these days. After sundrying, again pulses
are moistened uniformly with about 5 % water and kept as such on heaps
overnight for moisture equilibrium. Then, these pulses are allowed to pass from
the roller for splitting and dehusking. About, 50 % of the pulses are dehusked
and split in first operation. After this, the husk are removed by aspiration and
split dhal are separated from the mixture of husked and un- husked whole
pulses. The mixture is once again moistened and dried in the sun and then
dehusked and split. This process of alternate wetting and drying is repeated until
almost all the remaining pulses are converted in to split dhal. The average yield
of dhal ranges from 68-75 %.

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6.2 Wet milling method of pigeon pea

The grains are soaked in water for 3-12 hours in this method of milling. The soaked
pulses are mixed with red earth at about 5 % thoroughly. The mixture is kept in heaps
overnight. The whole mixture is then dried in the sun for 2-4 days until the husk of the
grain are shriveled and loosened. The pulses are tempered overnight in between these
days. By sieving, the red earth is separated from the pulses. The dried grains are dehusked
and split in disc sheller. The dhal and other fractions are separated. In a single milling
operation, about 95 % of the pulses are dehusked and split. The rest material again
pretreated and milled to convert in to dhal. The red earth may facilitate in increasing the
rate of drying and in loosening the husk. This method requires about 5 to 7 days for
processing of a batch of pulses.

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6.3 CFTRI method of Pigeon Pea milling

There are some other methods like CFTRI method, which eliminates mixing of oil and
water for loosening the husk. Clean and graded grains are conditioned by dry heat
treatment by two passes through LSU drier with hot air. After each passes through the
dryer the grains are tempered for 6 hours in tempering bin. The preconditioned pulses
are conveyed to the pearler or dehusker where almost all pulses are dehusked in single
operation. The gota (dehusked whole grain) are separated from split pulses and mixture of
husk, brokens, etc. Water is added at controlled level to Gota and then collected and
allowed to remain as such for about 1 hour. Some of the moistened Gotaform lumps of
varying sizes. These lumps are fed to the lump breaker to separate them. These Gota are
conveyed to LSU dryer where it is exposed to hot air for few hours. The Gota are dried to
proper moisture level for splitting. The hot, conditioned and dried dehusked whole pulses
are split in the emery roller. The mixture is graded in to Grade I pulses, dehusked whole
pulses and small brokens. The unsplit dehusked pulses are again fed to the conditioner for
subsequent splitting. Average yield by this method is 80 %, in lesser time and lesser
processing cost compared to other methods.

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6.4 Pantnagar process of pigeon pea milling

In this process the pigeon pea after cleaning and grading are passed through an emery
roller mill for scratching. The pitted grains are 10% sodium bicarbonate solution and
tempered for 4 hours in shade. Then the grains are dried under sun to 9.5% moisture
content followed by milling in a concentric cylinder roller mill. The milled grains are
cleaned and graded with the help of blower, cyclone separator and reel grader. Dhal
recovery is 80 % in this method.
6.5 CIAE method pigeon pea milling
In this method use of edible oil in pretreatment process is eliminated. First the pigeon pea,
green gram and black gram is cleaned and fed to the roller mill developed at CIAE for
scratching. After cleaning the scratched grains are soaked in tap water at ambient
temperature for 30 minutes in case of pigeon pea and hour for black gram and green. The
water is the drained off and the grains are dried to 9-10% moisture content. Such
conditioned grains are again fed to the roller mill to produce dehusked split cotyledons.
6.6 Method of Black gram milling
After cleaning the black grams are subjected to pricking in a rough roller mill for some
scratching as well as partial removal of the waxy coating on the black grams. The
scratched grains are then coated with 1 to 2 percent oil in the grains. The scratched and oil
coated pulses are sprayed in drying yards for sun drying for 4 to 6 hours. The partially
dried grains are moistened with a spray of 4 to 5 percent water and kept over night for
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dried grains are moistened with a spray of 4 to 5 percent water and kept over night for
moisture equilibration. The wetted pulses are then dried in the sun for 3 to 4 days and
tempered over nights. Thoroughly dried pulses are de-husked in a roller machine. About,
40 to 50 percent pulses are de-husked and split in first milling operation. The husk and
powder are then aspirated off. Then, the split ‘dhal’ is separated from the de-husked
whole dhal and un-husked pulses by sieving. Both husked and un-husked whole grains
are again dried in the sun and milled as above and the same process is repeated until the
desired milling of pulses is achieved. The average yield of dhal is 70-71 percent.
Sometimes, the last part of the unsplit grains and partially husked grains are allowed to
pass through sheller and polisher machines for splitting and removal of the husk and
polisher machines for splitting and removal of the husk, which result in a large amount of
losses due to formation of powder and brokens. In some cases, policing is done in a
buffing machine. In order to give a white finish and to protected from insect attack a
coating of soapstone powder is generally given to these ‘dhals’
6.7 Method of Bengal gram milling
It is comparatively easy to de-husk and split Bengal gram, Lentil and Peas as their husks
are loosely attached to the cotyledons. It requires shorter period of preconditioning prior
the milling these pulses. After cleaning, the pulses are pitted in a roller machine. The
pitted grains are then wetted with water (5 to 10 percent) in a worm mixer and then these
are kept in helps for a few hours for diffusion of water into the grains. These grains are
dried in the sun for a day or two, with overnight tempering. About, 60 to 70 percent dried
pulses are then de-husked and split in the first pass by a roller machine. The husk and
powder are aspirated off. The split pulses are separated from the un-husked and husked
whole grains by sieving. The alternate wetting with 5 percent water and sun drying and
subsequent milling operations are repeated till the most of the pulses is converter to
‘dhal’.
6.8 Method of Lentil and peas milling
The preconditioning and milling of Lentils and Peas are comparable with Bengal gram.
The same initial pitting, wetting, conditioning, sun drying and subsequent milling by de-
husking and splitting in a roller and aspiration of husk with a blower and separation of
split dhal from the mixture of un-husked and husked whole grains with a sieve are being
followed. The whole process of preconditioning and milling are repeated till most of the
pulses are converted into dhal. However, the conversion of these pulses into dhal is easy
as compared to tur. It takes about 3 to 5 days for complete processing of batch of pulses.
6.9 Method of Green gram milling
In dry milling of green gram, both oil and water treatments are given to the pulses. The
wetted pulses are dried in the sun. Then the dried pulses are simultaneously de-husked
and split using a de-husking machine. After removal of husk, split dhal is separated from
the mixture as usual. The yield of dhal is poor which varies from 62 to 65 percent only.

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Lesson 7. Processing of oil seeds

7.0 Introduction
India is fourth oilseed producing country in the next only to USA, China and
Brazil. Many varieties of oilseeds, the major oilseeds are soybean, cottonseed,
groundnut, Sunflower, Rapeseed, Sesame seed, Copra, Castor seed and Palm
Kernels. India occupies the place of pride as the world’s largest producer of
Groundnuts, Sesame seeds, Linseeds and Castor seeds. Ending on the period of
cultivation, the oilseeds are classified as “Kharif crop” and “Rabi crop”.
The oils and fats are composed of mixtures of glycerides of various fatty acids.
The fats and oils are broadly classified in to edible and non edible. Groundnut,
soybean, mustard are some of the sources of the edible oil. The edible oil is
main source of fat taken in daily meals and is used for cooking purposes and
salad dressings. Oils are also used in the soap industry, paint, varnishes and
plasticizers industry. The mechanical expression and solvent extraction methods
are employed for the manufacture of oil from the oil seeds.

7.1 Raw material preparation

Oilseed and nut should be properly dried before storage, and cleaned to remove sand,
dust, leaves and other contaminants. All raw materials should be sorted to remove stones
and moudly nuts. Some moulds, especially in the case of groundnuts, can cause aflatoxin
poisoning. When storage is necessary, this should be in weather proof, ventilated rooms
which are protected against birds, insects and rodents. Some raw materials (for example
groundnuts, sunflower seeds) need dehusking (or decorticating). Decortication is
important to give high yields of oil and reduce the bulk of material to processed.
However, expellers normally require a proportion of fibrous material in order to work
and, particularly with groundnuts; some husk is normally added to allow oil to escape
more freely from the press. Coconut is dehusked and split manually by skilled operators.
Most oilseeds (copra, palm kernels and groundnuts) need grinding in mills before oil
extraction to increase the yields of oil. All oil-bearing materials need to have correct
moisture content to maximize the oil yields.
7.2 Oil Extraction methods
a) Mechanical expression
During the process of mechanical expression, the oil seeds are compressed in various
types of compression devices/equipment. Expression is the process of mechanically
pressing liquid out of liquid containing solids. Screw press, roll presses, collapsible plate
are some examples of wide range of equipment used for expression of liquid.
i) Hydraulic press: The hydraulic press is considered of a series of horizontal
corrugated iron plates. These plates are separated by 4 – 14 premoulded oil seed
cakes. Pressing is completed in two stages. In first stage, the oil seeds are pressed at
about 5 MPa for 15-20 min and then pressure of 28 MPa is applied for 5-10 min to
complete the expression process. The recovery of the oil varied depending upon the
sizes and seed being pressed But the at commercial level the hydraulic press is
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sizes and seed being pressed. But, the at commercial level, the hydraulic press is
replaced by screw type presses.
ii) Screw press: A screw press has a horizontal main shaft. The screw assembly is
formed integrally with this shaft. The screw rotates within a cage or barrel. The barrel
is made of case hardened, tool steel bars or rings to allow drainage of the oil as the
pressure on the feed material is increased. At the discharge end, a movable choke or
cone controls the operating pressure. It is achieved by changing the width of annular
space through which the oil cake passes. The choke is adjusted by a hand wheel on
the opposite end of the screw. The configuration of screw is such that the volume
displacement at the feed end of the press is considerably greater than at the discharge
end. As a result of such configuration, as the material is conveyed from feed end to
discharge end, it is subjected to increasing pressure. As pressure increases, the
material is compressed and oil is expelled through the spacers between the cage
lining bars.
iii) Ram press: A long pivoted lever moves a piston backwards and forewords inside
a cylindrical cage constructed from a metal bars spaced to allow the passage of oil. At
one end of the piston’s stroke, it opens an entry port from the seed hopper so that seed
enters the press cage. When the piston is moved forward, the entry post is closed and
the oilseed is compressed in the cage. As a result, oil is expelled from the oilseed the
emerges through the gaps in the cage. Compressed seed is pushed out through the
gaps in the cage. Compressed seed is pushed out through circular gap at the end of
the cage.
b) Oil Extraction
Extraction is a process of separating a liquid from a solid system with the use of a solvent.
Extraction is also a process of diffusion with the help of low boiling point solvent. This
process gives a higher recovery of oil and a drier cake than expression. Solvent extraction
is capable of removing nearly all of the available oil from oilseed meal. This extraction
process provides meal of better preservation qualities and with higher protein qualities.
In this process, the solvent is poured to the well prepared material. It is then followed by
the diffusion of oil solvent mixture to the surface of solid for recovery of oil. The most
common solvent used in India is n-hexane having boiling point of 65.5 ºC. The oil is
separated from mixture of oil and hexane called miscella by distillation and stripping
under vacuum. The extracted meal having hexane is de-solventized by heating with live
steam in a de-solventizer. This meal is known as deoiled cake and it contains about less
than 1 % residual oil. The solvent from the distillation and stripping columns as well as
from the de-solventizer is condensed and recovered and stored in the solvent storage tank.
The separated from the miscella goes to the storage tank after cooling.
Solvent extraction plant use hexane as a solvent to extract oil from oilseed cake. These
plants are expensive and only suitable for large volumes which justify the capital cost of
equipment. Where large amounts of oilseed cake are available, solvent extraction
becomes a commercially- viable option to extract residual oil left in the cake and leave an
almost oil-free powder known as oilseed meal. Both cake and meal are incorporated in
animal feeds.
7.3 Process of Oil Refining

In many local markets further refining is not required as the complexes of unrefined oils
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In many local markets further refining is not required as the complexes of unrefined oils
are preferred. International markets tend to prefer lighter less intense oils for cooking
which means further processing of the oil. There is serious of refining processes that can
be carried out after the oil has been filtered.
i) De-odorising
Volatile compounds that produce bad odours can eliminated through the process of
sparging, i.e. bubbling steam through the oil, under a vacuum.
ii) Wintering
Allowing the oil to stand for a time at low temperatures so that glycerides, which
naturally occur in the oil, with higher melting points solidify and can then be removed
from the oil by filtering. Over time glycerides can degrade releasing fatty acids into the
oil increasing the acidity levels and reducing the quality.
iii) Neutralisation
Fatty acids can be neutralized by adding a sodium hydroxide solution, also known as
caustic soda, or by stripping, which is a similar process to de-odorising.
iv) Bleaching
Some oils have a very dark colour to them that is unpopular with consumers. The
appearance of the oil can be lightened by bleaching.
v) De-gumming
De-gumming is a way of treating seed that have high phosphatide content. The
phosphetide, which makes a gummy residue, is removed by mixing the oil with 2 to 3%
water. This hydrated phosphatide can then be removed by settling, filtering or
centrifuged.

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Lesson 8. Fruits and Vegetables Processing

8.0 Introduction
Fruits and vegetables are the most perishable commodities and are important
ingredients in the human dietaries. Fruits and vegetables are seasonal in nature
and prices go down considerably during the glut period and production becomes
uneconomical due to distress sale. Thus an increase in production of fruits and
vegetables will have little value if the produce is not properly handled,
processed or utilized. The costs involved in preventing the losses are always
cheaper that the cost of production; hence, processing receives greater attention
in recent years.
The fruits and vegetable processing industry in India is highly unorganized. The
prominent proceeds items are fruit pulps and juice, fruit based ready–to-serve
beverages, canned fruits and vegetables, jams, squashes, pickles, chutneys,
dehydrated vegetables, etc. More recently, products like frozen pulps and
vegetables, frozen dried fruits and vegetables, fruit juice concentrates and
vegetable curries in restorable pouches, canned mushroom and mushroom
products have also been taken up for manufacture by the industry. In real life
situations, preservation effects complex involving methods such as physical,
physicochemical, chemical and biochemical phenomena and these phenomena
never work in isolation. Following paragraphs explains certain well established
processes for preservation of fruits and vegetable, the equipments required and
other details for a fruit and vegetables processing unit.

8.1 Freezing

Freezing is a low temperature preservation process where the product is frozen at -380C
and stored -18 0C. Freezing is cheaper than canning and frozen products are close to fresh
products and of better quality the metabolic activity and spoilage due to post harvest
chemical are retarded by freezing. Through the product preserved by freezing retains their
quality appreciably, the major disadvantage of the process is that the low temperature has
been maintained during handling, transportation and storage before the product is finally
consumed. Suitable fruits and vegetables for freezing are mango slices, pulp, pineapple
slices, guava slices, orange segments, peas, carrot, cauliflower, beans, etc.
When compared to the most other food preservation methods, freezing requires the least
amount of food preparation before storage and under optimum conditions it has the best
nutrient, flavour, and texture retention. Since food remains microbiologically safe during
freezing, its shelf life is determined by chemical and physical changes that occur during
storage.
IQF refers to Individual Quick Freezing of every particle/aggregate using fluidization in
a stream of very cold air. Fluidization leads to high heat transfer co-efficient and therefore
very rapid freezing and hence better quality. For example, freezing of green peas in an air
blast freezer may take 3-4 h whereas it is only 10-12 min by IQF. This results in for better

texture and there is no humb or block formation Some of other important IQF products
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texture and there is no humb or block formation. Some of other important IQF products
are frozen fruit dices and cut vegetables.
Equipments of freezing
1) Freezer/cold room
2) Quick freezing Equipments- fluidized bed freezer, automatic package freezer,
continuous plate freezer, continuous can freezer
3) Direct Immersion equipments- Brine Freezer, Frog freezer, and Bartlett freezer
4) Rotating cold drum
5) Foot operated polythene bag sealer- sealing polyethylene bags of different
gauges after filling of fruits and vegetables
Methods of freezing

i) Quick (0 to -40 0C for 30 min.)

ii) Sharp (-15 to -29 0C for 3-72 h)

iii) Cryogenic (-196 0C)

iv) Dehydro-freeing (50 % moisture removed)

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8.2 Dehydration
Dehydration is the removal of moisture from fruits and vegetables by artificially
produced heat under controlled condition of temperature, relative humidity and air flow.
In dehydration, sufficient moisture is removed so that the product is free from spoilage;
but this must be done in such a way to preserve food value as far as possible. Rate of
dehydration is so done in hygienic condition to have products of uniform colour than sun
dried. Dehydration reduces the bulk, requires less storage space and usually cheaper that
the other methods of preservation. The suitable fruits and vegetables for dehydration are
grape, date, fig, raw mango, anola, ber, litchi, apricot, banana, apple, carrot, leafy
vegetables, etc. FPO specification for dehydrated fruits and vegetables are;
1) Moisture content shall not exceed 20 per cent and 24 per cent (w/w) respectively.
2) Fruits and vegetables used for drying be clean, wholesome and shall be practically
free from insect or fungal attack.
3) Dehydrated products may contain permitted preservations.
Equipments used for Dehydration

Blanching unit: It can be used for pre treatment (steam blanching) of fruits and
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Blanching unit: It can be used for pre-treatment (steam blanching) of fruits and
vegetables before processing.
Types of dryers used: Kiln drier- pieces; Cabinet/tray drier- pieces; purees, liquids;
tunnel- pieces; continuous conveyer belt-purees, liquids; Belt trough-pieces; air lift-
granules; spray- liquid; vacuum-purees, liquid, pieces; Fluidized bed-small pieces; Drum
or roller-Liquid, purees.
Vacuum drier- It is used for dehydration of fruits and vegetables without any change in
sensory attributes.

8.3 Canning
Canning is a method of food preservation. Canning may be defined as heating and sealing of
food material in a hermetically sealed container.
a) Fruit Canning: The most important fruits for canning are mango, pineapple, guava,
litchi, cherry. Strawberry, jackfruit, etc.
Specification
- The head space in the can shall not be more than 1.6 cm.
The drained weight of the fruit shall not be less than 50 per cent and fruit should
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- The drained weight of the fruit shall not be less than 50 per cent and fruit should
be firm
- No preservative shall be added
- No artificial colour shall be present
- The can shall not show any positive pressure at sea level and shall not show any
sign of bacterial growth when included at 37 0 C for a week.
Equipments required for canning
- Fruit cutter/ slicer
- Blancher (water/steam)
- Canning equipments (double seamer, flanger, can reformer)
- Retorting equipment
- Can opener
- Exhaust Unit
- Canning material (Tin plate can, Aluminium can, TFS can)
b) Vegetable Canning: In vegetable canning, the specific requirements for brine strength,
exhaust, processing temperature, time and types of cans, etc., are needed. Suitable
vegetables for canning are cauliflower, carrot, peas, okra, beans, cabbage, etc.
Mushrooms can also be canned.
Specifications
- The head space in the can shall not be more than the 1.6 cm.
- The drained weight of preservative of the vegetables shall not be less than 55
percent except in tomato (50%)
- No addition of preservative and no artificial colour shall be present except in the
case of peas.

- The can shall not show any sign of bacterial growth when incubated at 370 C for
a week.
Process of Canning
1) Selection of fruits and vegetables
i) Fruits and vegetables should be absolutely fresh.
ii) Fruits should be ripe, but firm, and uniformly mature. Over-ripe fruits should be
rejected because they are infected with microorganisms and give a poor quality
product.
Unripe fruits should be rejected because they generally shrivel and toughen on
canning.
iii) All vegetables except tomatoes should be tender.
iv)Tomatoes should be firm fully ripe and of deep red colour
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iv)Tomatoes should be firm, fully ripe and of deep red colour.
v) Fruits and vegetables should be free from dirt.
vi) They should be free from blemishes, insect damage or mechanical injury.
2) Grading:
The selected fruits and vegetables are graded according to size and colour to obtain
uniform quality. This is done by hand or by machines such as screw grader and roller
grader. Fruits like berries, plums and cherries are graded whole, while peaches, pears,
apricots, mangoes, pineapples, etc., are generally graded after cutting into pieces or
slices.
3) Washing:
It is important to remove pesticide spray residue and dust from fruits and vegetables.
One gram of soil contains 1012 spores of microorganisms. Therefore, removal of
microorganisms by washing with water is essential. Fruits and vegetables can be
washed in different ways. Root crops that loosen in soil are washed by soaking in
water containing 25 to 50 ppm chlorine (as detergent). Other methods of washing are
spray washing, steam washing, etc.
4) Peeling: The objective of peeling is to remove the outer layer. Peeling may be done in
various ways. (hand peeling, steam peeling, mechanical peeling, lye peeling, flame
peeling).
5) Cutting: Pieces of the size required for canning are cut. Seed, stone and core are
removed. Some fruits like plum from which the seeds cannot be taken out easily are
canned whole.
6) Blanching:
It is also known as scalding, parboiling or precooking. Fruits are generally not
blanched leaving the oxidizing enzyme system active. Sometimes fruit is plunged for
a given time-from half to, say, five minutes, according to variety-into water at from
180 °F to 200 oF, and then immediately cooled by immersion in cold water. The
object is to soften the texture and so enable a greater weight to be pressed into the
container without damage to the individual fruit. Blanching is usually done in case of
vegetables by exposing them to boiling water or steam for 2 to 5 minutes, followed
by cooling. The extent of blanching varies with the toed. This brief heat treatment
accomplishes the following:
i) Inactivates most of the plant enzymes which cause toughness, discolouration
(polyphenol oxidase). mustiness, off-flavour (peroxidase), softening and loss of
nutritive value.
ii) Reduces the area of leafy vegetables such as spinach by shrinkage or wilting,
making their packing easier.
iii) Removes tissue gases which reduce sulphides.
iv) Reduces the number of microorganisms by as much as 99%.
v) Enhances the green colour of vegetables such as peas, broccoli and spinach.
vi) Removes saponin in peas
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vi) Removes saponin in peas.
vii) Removes undesirable acids and astringent taste of the peel, and thus
improves flavour.
viii) Removes the skin of vegetables such as beetroot and tomatoes which helps
in their peeling.
7) Cooling: After blanching, the vegetables are dipped in cold water for better handling
and keeping them in good condition.
8) Filling:
Before filling, cans are washed with hot water and sterilized but in developing
countries these are subjected to a jet of steam to remove dust and foreign material.
Automatic, large can-filling machines are used in advanced countries but choice
grades of fruits are normally filled by hand to prevent bruising in India. Hand filling
is the common practice. After filling, covering with syrup or brine is done and this
process is called syruping or brining.
9) Exhausting: The process of removal of air from cans is known as exhausting. After
filling and lidding or clinching, exhausting is essential. The major advantages of
exhausting are as under:
i) Corrosion of the tinplate and pin holing during storage is avoided.
ii) Minimizes discolouration by preventing oxidation.
iii) Helps in better retention of vitamins particularly vitamin C.
iv) Prevents building of cans when stored in hot climate or at high altitude.
v) Reduces chemical reaction between the container and the contents.
vi) Prevents development of excessive pressure and strain during sterilization.
Containers are exhausted either by heating or mechanically. The heat treatment
method is generally used. The cans are passed through a tank of hot water at 82 to 87
°C or move on a belt through a covered steam box. In the water exhaust box, the cans
are placed in such a manner that the level of water is 4-5 cm below their tops. The
exhaust box is heated till the temperature of water reaches 82 to 100 0C and the
centre of the can shows a temperature of about 79 °C. The time of exhausting varies
from 6 to 1 a minutes, depending on the nature of the product. In the case of glass jars
or bottles, vacuum closing machines are generally used. The bottles or jars are placed
in a closed chamber in which a high vacuum is maintained.
It is preferable to exhaust the cans at a lower temperature for a longer period to
ensure uniform heating of the contents without softening them into pulp. Exhausting
at high temperature should be avoided because. The higher the temperature, the more
is the volume of water vapour formed, and consequently the greater the vacuum
produced in the can.
10) Sealing:

Immediately after exhausting the cans are sealed airtight by means of a can sealer In
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Immediately after exhausting the cans are sealed airtight by means of a can sealer. In
case of glass jars a rubber ring should be placed between the mouth of the jar and the
lid, so that it can be sealed airtight. During sealing the temperature should not fall
below 74 °C.
11) Processing:
Heating of foods for preserving is known as processing, however, in canning
technology processing means heating or cooling of canned foods to inactivate
bacteria. Many bacterial spores can be killed by either high or very low temperature.
Such drastic treatment, however, affects the quality of food. Processing time and
temperature should be adequate to eliminate all bacterial growth. Moreover, over-
cooking should be avoided as it spoils the flavour as well as the appearance of the
product. Almost all fruits and add vegetables can be processed satisfactorily at a
temperature of 100 °C, i.e., in boiling water.The presence of acid retards the growth
of bacteria and their spores. Further, they do not thrive in heavy sugar syrup which is
normally used for canning of fruits. Vegetables (except the more acid ones like
tomato and rhubarb) which are non-acid in nature, have a hard texture, and proximity
to soil which may infect them with spore-bearing organisms are processed at higher
temperatures of 115 to 1210C.
The sourness of fruits and vegetables is due to their acid content (measured in pH)
which has a great influence upon the destruction of microorganisms. The lower the
pH the greater is the ease with which a product can be processed or sterilized. Fruits
and vegetables can be classified into the following four groups according to their pH
value
Bacterial spores can be more easily destroyed at pH 3.0 (fruits) than at pH 5.0 to 6.0
(vegetables, except tomato and rhubarb). Bacterial spores do not grow or germinate
below. pH 4.5. Thus, a canned product having pH less than 4.5 can be processed in
boiling water but a product with pH above 4.5 requires processing at 115 at
121 oC under a pressure of 0.70 to 1.05 kg/cm2 (10 to 15 lb/sq inch). It is essential
that the centre of the can should attain these high temperatures.
The temperature and time of processing vary with the size of the can and the nature
of the food: the larger the can, the greater is the processing time. The processing time
'for different canned fruits and vegetables is given in the tables Under 'Canning of
Fruits' and 'Canning of Vegetables'. Fruits and acid vegetables are generally processed
in open type cookers, continuous non-agitating cookers and continuous agitating
cookers, while vegetables (non-acid) are processed under steam pressure in closed
retorts known as automatic pressure cookers. In India, small vertical stationary retorts
(frontispiece) are generally used for canned vegetable processing. The sealed cans are
placed in the cookers, keeping the level of water 2.5 to 5.0 cm above the top of the
cans. The cover of the cooker is then screwed down tightly and the cooker heated to
the desired temperature. The period of sterilization (processing) should be counted
from the time the water starts boiling. After heating for the required period the cooker
is removed from the fire and the petcock is opened. When the pressure comes down
to zero the cover is removed and the cans are taken out.
12) Cooling: After processing. The cans are cooled rapidly to about 39 °C to stop the
cooking process and to prevent stack-burning. Cooling is done by the following methods:
i) dipping or immersing the hot cans in tanks containing cold water;
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i) dipping or immersing the hot cans in tanks containing cold water;
ii) letting cold water into the pressure cooker specially in case of vegetables;
iii) Spraying cans with jets of cold water; and
iv) exposing the cans to air.
Generally the first method, i.e., dipping the cans in cold water, is used. If canned
products are not cooled immediately after processing, peaches and pears become dark in
colour, tomatoes turn brownish and bitter in taste, peas become pulpy with cooked taste
and many vegetables develop flat sour (become sour).
13) Storage:
After labeling the cans, they should be packed in strong wooden cases or corrugated
cardboard cartons and stored in a cool and dry place. The outer surface of the cans
should be dry as even small traces of moisture sometimes induce rusting. Storage of
cans at high temperature should be avoided, as it shortens the shelf-life of the product
and often leads to the formation of hydrogen swell. The marketable life of canned
products varies according -to the type of raw materials used. Canned peach,
grapefruit, pineapple, beans, spinach, pea etc., can be stored for about two years,
while pear, apricot, carrot, beetroot, tomato, etc., can be stored for a comparatively
short period only.

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Lesson 9. Processed Products from Fruits and Vegetables

9.1 Processing of Pickles:

The preservation of food in common salt is known as pickling. It is one of the
most ancient methods of preserving vegetables. Pickles are good appetizers and
add to the palatability of a meal. Mango pickle ranks first followed by
cauliflower, onion, turnip and lime pickles. The growth of a majority of spoilage
organisms is inhibited by brine containing 10-12 per cent salt. Pickling is the
result of fermentation by lactic acid-forming bacteria" which are generally
present in large numbers on the surface of fresh vegetables and fruits. Class I
preservatives improves the taste and flavour and hardness of the tissue of
vegetables and controls fermentations.

9.2 Processing of Chutneys

Good quality chutney should be palatable and appetizing. Mango chutney is an important
food product exported from India to many countries. Apple and apricot chutneys are also
very popular in the country. The method of preparation of chutney is similar to that for
jam except that spices, vinegar and salt are added. The fruits/vegetables are peeled, sliced
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or grated, or cut into small pieces and cooked in water until they become sufficiently soft.
The quality of chutney depends to a large extent on its cooking which should be done for
a long time at a temperature below the boiling point. To ensure proper thickening,
cooking is done without a lid even though this results in some loss of volatile oils from
the spices. Chopped onion and garlic are added at the start to mellow their strong
flavours. Spices are coarsely powdered before adding. Vinegar extract of spices may be
used instead of whole spices. Spice and vinegar are added just before the final stage of
cooking, because prolonged boiling cause loss of some of the essential oils of spices and
of vinegar by volatilization.

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9.3 Processing of Jam:

Jam is a product obtained by cooking fruit pulp with sugar and acid to desired
consistency. Jam contains 0.5-0.6 per cent acidity and 68 per cent total solids. Apple,
pear, tomato, sapota, apricot, loquat, peach, papaya, karonda, carrot, plum, straw berry,
raspberry, mango, tomato, grape and muskmelon are used for preparation of jams. It can
be prepared from one kind of fruit or two or more kind.
i) Machines and equipments made of stainless steel can be used for fruits and
vegetables processing and preservation
ii) SS steam jacketed kettle for cooking and concentration
iii) Fruit Pulpers- Brushes and SS sieves of various sizes are provided which are used
for complete extraction from fruits.

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9.4 Processing of Jelly: Jelly is semi solid products obtained by boiling a clear, strained fruit
juice with sugar and acid to a thick consistency, jelly total soluble solids not less than 65%
and acidity 05-0.7 percent.
9.4.1 Qualities of Jelly
i) Clear
ii) Transparent
iii) Sparkling
iv) Attractive colour
v) Keep its shape in which it is cut not breaking.

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9.5 Processing of Marmalade: Marmalade is a fruit jelly in which peels are suspended.
Marmalades are prepared usually from citrus fruits. The protein content of marmalade is
slightly higher. FPO specification for marmalade area same as mentioned for jelly.

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9.6 Processing of Murabba and Candy: A mature fruit/ vegetable or its pieces impregnated
with heavy sugar syrup till it becomes tends and transport is known as preserve or murabba.

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9.7 Processing of Squash: A type of fruit beverage which contains at least 25 percent juice
and 45 percent total soluble solids is called as squash. It also contains about 1 percent acidity
and 350 ppm sulphur dioxide or 600ppm sodium benzoate. It is diluted being served. Squash
can be prepared from a wide variety of fruits of viz., mango, mandarin orange, lime, guava,
anola, pineapple, papaya, bael, litchi, phalsa, jamun, pomegranate, plum, etc.

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9.8 Processing of Cordial: Cordial is a sparkling clear sweetened fruit juice from which pulp
and other suspended materials are completely eliminated. Cordial contains at least 25% fruit
juice and 30% total soluble solids with 1.5% per cent acidity. Lime and lemons are most
suitable fruits for preparation of cordial. This can also be prepared from other fruits as guava,
grape, phalsa, etc.
Specifications
Minimum percentage of total soluble solids 30 and of fruit juice 25. The permissible
limits of the preservative as sulphur dioxide or benzoic acid are same as mentioned for
squash. The techniques used for preparation of cordial beverages area given under.

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9.9 Sauces and Ketchups:

There is no essential difference between sauce and ketchup. However, sauces are
generally thinner and contain more total solids (minimum 30%) than ketchups (minimum
28%). Tomato, apple, papaya, walnut, soybean, mushroom, etc., are used for making
sauces.
Sauces are of two kinds: (i) Thin sauces of low viscosity consisting mainly of vinegar
extract of flavoring materials like herbs and spices, and (ii) Thick sauces that are highly
viscous.
Sauces/ketchups are prepared from more or less the same ingredients and in the same
manner as chutney, except that the fruit or vegetable pulp or juice used is sieved after
cooking to remove the skin, seeds and stalks of fruits, vegetables and spices and to give a
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smooth consistency to the final product. However, cooking takes longer because fine pulp
or juice is used.
Tomato puree and paste: Tomato pulp without skin or seeds, with or without added salt,
and containing not less than 9.0 per cent of salt-free tomato solids, is known as 'medium
tomato puree'. It can be concentrated further to 'heavy tomato puree' which contains not
less than 12 per cent solids. If this is further concentrated so that it contains not less than
25 per cent tomato solids, it is known as tomato paste. On further concentration to33 per
cent or more of solids, it is called concentrated tomato paste. Tomato pulp is prepared
from ripe tomatoes in the same manner as tomato juice. Cooking for concentration of the
pulp can be done either in an open cooker or a vacuum pan. In the former most of the
vitamins are destroyed and the product become brown. On the other hand, use of vacuum
pans, which are expensive, help to preserve the nutrients and also reduce the browning to
a great extent. In vacuum pans the juice is boiled at about 71°C only. Ordinarily tomato
juice can be concentrated to 14-15 per cent solids in an open cooker, but for obtaining
higher concentrations a vacuum pan is required. Moreover, sterilization of the product is
also possible in a vacuum pan. While cooking in an open cooker, a little butter or edible
oil is added to prevent foaming, burning and sticking. If, after cooking, the total solids
content of the juice is higher. Than required, more juice is added to lower it, if it is lower,
cooking is continued till the desired concentration is reached. The end-point of cooking
puree and paste can be determined either with a hand refractometer or by measuring the
volume (a known volume of juice is concentrated to a known volume of final product)
with the help of a measuring stick.
Tomato sauce/ketchup: It is made from strained tomato juice or pulp and spices, salt,
sugar and vinegar, with or without onion and garlic, and contains not less than 12 per cent
tomato solids and 25 per cent total solids.
9.10 Process of Canning
1) Selection of fruits and vegetables
i) Fruits and vegetables should be absolutely fresh.
ii) Fruits should be ripe, but firm, and uniformly mature. Over-ripe fruits should be
rejected because they are infected with microorganisms and give a poor quality
product.
Unripe fruits should be rejected because they generally shrivel and toughen on
canning.
iii) All vegetables except tomatoes should be tender.
iv)Tomatoes should be firm, fully ripe and of deep red colour.
v) Fruits and vegetables should be free from dirt.
vi) They should be free from blemishes, insect damage or mechanical injury.
2) Grading:
The selected fruits and vegetables are graded according to size and colour to obtain
uniform quality. This is done by hand or by machines such as screw grader and roller
grader. Fruits like berries, plums and cherries are graded whole, while peaches, pears,
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apricots, mangoes, pineapples, etc., are generally graded after cutting into pieces or
slices.
3) Washing:
It is important to remove pesticide spray residue and dust from fruits and vegetables.
One gram of soil contains 1012 spores of microorganisms. Therefore, removal of
microorganisms by washing with water is essential. Fruits and vegetables can be
washed in different ways. Root crops that loosen in soil are washed by soaking in
water containing 25 to 50 ppm chlorine (as detergent). Other methods of washing are
spray washing, steam washing, etc.
4) Peeling:
The objective of peeling is to remove the outer layer. Peeling may be done in various
ways. (hand peeling, steam peeling, mechanical peeling, lye peeling, flame peeling).
5) Cutting:
Pieces of the size required for canning are cut. Seed, stone and core are removed.
Some fruits like plum from which the seeds cannot be taken out easily are canned
whole.
6) Blanching:
It is also known as scalding, parboiling or precooking. Fruits are generally not
blanched leaving the oxidizing enzyme system active. Sometimes fruit is plunged for
a given time-from half to, say, five minutes, according to variety-into water at from
180°F to 200oF, and then immediately cooled by immersion in cold water. The object
is to soften the texture and so enable a greater weight to be pressed into the container
without damage to the individual fruit. Blanching is usually done in case of
vegetables by exposing them to boiling water or steam for 2 to 5 minutes, followed
by cooling. The extent of blanching varies with the toed. This brief heat treatment
accomplishes the following:
i) Inactivates most of the plant enzymes which cause toughness, discolouration
(polyphenol oxidase). mustiness, off-flavour (peroxidase), softening and loss of
nutritive value.
ii) Reduces the area of leafy vegetables such as spinach by shrinkage or wilting,
making their packing easier.
iii) Removes tissue gases which reduce sulphides.
iv) Reduces the number of microorganisms by as much as 99%.
v) Enhances the green colour of vegetables such as peas, broccoli and spinach.
vi) Removes saponin in peas.
vii) Removes undesirable acids and astringent taste of the peel, and thus improves
flavour.
viii) Removes the skin of vegetables such as beetroot and tomatoes which helps in
their peeling.

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7) Cooling:
After blanching, the vegetables are dipped in cold water for better handling and keeping
them in good condition.
8) Filling:
Before filling, cans are washed with hot water and sterilized but in developing countries
these are subjected to a jet of steam to remove dust and foreign material. Automatic, large
can-filling machines are used in advanced countries but choice grades of fruits are
normally filled by hand to prevent bruising in India. Hand filling is the common practice.
After filling, covering with syrup or brine is done and this process is called syruping or
brining.
9) Exhausting:
The process of removal of air from cans is known as exhausting. After filling and lidding
or clinching, exhausting is essential. The major advantages of exhausting are as under:
i) Corrosion of the tinplate and pin holing during storage is avoided.
ii) Minimizes discolouration by preventing oxidation.
iii) Helps in better retention of vitamins particularly vitamin C.
iv) Prevents building of cans when stored in hot climate or at high altitude.
v) Reduces chemical reaction between the container and the contents.
vi) Prevents development of excessive pressure and strain during sterilization.
Containers are exhausted either by heating or mechanically. The heat treatment method is
generally used. The cans are passed through a tank of hot water at 82 to 87°C or move on
a belt through a covered steam box. In the water exhaust box, the cans are placed in such
a manner that the level of water is 4-5 cm below their tops. The exhaust box is heated till
the temperature of water reaches 82 to 1000c and the centre of the can shows a
temperature of about 79°C. The time of exhausting varies from 6 to 1 a minutes,
depending on the nature of the product. In the case of glass jars or bottles, vacuum closing
machines are generally used. The bottles or jars are placed in a closed chamber in which a
high vacuum is maintained.
It is preferable to exhaust the cans at a lower temperature for a longer period to ensure
uniform heating of the contents without softening them into pulp. Exhausting at high
temperature should be avoided because. The higher the temperature, the more is the
volume of water vapour formed, and consequently the greater the vacuum produced in the
can.
10) Sealing:
Immediately after exhausting the cans are sealed airtight by means of a can sealer.
In case of glass jars a rubber ring should be placed between the mouth of the jar and the
lid, so that it can be sealed airtight. During sealing the temperature should not fall below
74°C.
11) Processing:
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Heating of foods for preserving is known as processing, however, in canning technology
processing means heating or cooling of canned foods to inactivate bacteria. Many
bacterial spores can be killed by either high or very low temperature. Such drastic
treatment, however, affects the quality of food. Processing time and temperature should
be adequate to eliminate all bacterial growth. Moreover, over-cooking should be avoided
as it spoils the flavour as well as the appearance of the product. Almost all fruits and add
vegetables can be processed satisfactorily at a temperature of 100°C, i.e., in boiling water.
The presence of acid retards the growth of bacteria and their spores. Further, they do not
thrive in heavy sugar syrup which is normally used for canning of fruits. Vegetables
(except the more acid ones like tomato and rhubarb) which are non-acid in nature, have a
hard texture, and proximity to soil which may infect them with spore-bearing organisms
are processed at higher temperatures of 115 to 1210C.
The sourness of fruits and vegetables is due to their acid content (measured in pH) which
has a great influence upon the destruction of microorganisms. The lower the pH the
greater is the ease with which a product can be processed or sterilized. Fruits and
vegetables can be classified into the following four groups according to their pH value.
Bacterial spores can be more easily destroyed at pH 3.0 (fruits) than at pH 5.0 to 6.0
(vegetables, except tomato and rhubarb). Bacterial spores do not grow or germinate
below. pH 4.5. Thus, a canned product having pH less than 4.5 can be processed in
boiling water but a product with pH above 4.5 requires processing at 115 at 121oCunder a
pressure of 0.70 to 1.05 kg/cm2 (10 to 15 lb/sq inch). It is essential that the centre of the
can should attain these high temperatures.
The temperature and time of processing vary with the size of the can and the nature of
the food: the larger the can, the greater is the processing time. The processing time 'for
different canned fruits and vegetables is given in the tables Under 'Canning of Fruits' and
'Canning of Vegetables'. Fruits and acid vegetables are generally processed in open type
cookers, continuous non-agitating cookers and continuous agitating cookers, while
vegetables (non-acid) are processed under steam pressure in closed retorts known as
automatic pressure cookers. In India, small vertical stationary retorts (frontispiece) are
generally used for canned vegetable processing. The sealed cans are placed in the
cookers, keeping the level of water 2.5 to 5.0 cm above the top of the cans. The cover of
the cooker is then screwed down tightly and the cooker heated to the desired temperature.
The period of sterilization (processing) should be counted from the time the water starts
boiling. After heating for the required period the cooker is removed from the fire and the
petcock is opened. When the pressure comes down to zero the cover is removed and the
cans are taken out.
12) Cooling: After processing. the cans are cooled rapidly to about 39°C to stop the
cooking process and to prevent stack-burning. Cooling is done by the following methods:
i) dipping or immersing the hot cans in tanks containing cold water;
ii) letting cold water into the pressure cooker specially in case of vegetables;
iii) Spraying cans with jets of cold water; and
iv) exposing the cans to air.

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Generally the first method, i.e., dipping the cans in cold water, is used. If canned
products are not cooled immediately after processing, peaches and pears become dark in
colour, tomatoes turn brownish and bitter in taste, peas become pulpy with cooked taste
and many vegetables develop flat sour (become sour).
13) Storage:
After labeling the cans, they should be packed in strong wooden cases or corrugated
cardboard cartons and stored in a cool and dry place. The outer surface of the cans should
be dry as even small traces of moisture sometimes induce rusting. Storage of cans at high
temperature should be avoided, as it shortens the shelf-life of the product and often leads
to the formation of hydrogen swell. The marketable life of canned products varies
according -to the type of raw materials used. Canned peach, grapefruit, pineapple, beans,
spinach, pea etc., can be stored for about two years, while pear, apricot, carrot, beetroot,
tomato, etc., can be stored for a comparatively short period only.

9.11 Major challenges, constraints and concerns

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- Despite policy initiatives, growth potential and significant achievements, there are
several disturbing trends as delineated here:
- In India, the value addition to food fortification is only 7% compared to as much as
23% in China, 45% in Philippines and 188% in the UK. The small-scale and unorganised
sectors account for 75% of the total industry.
- The basic problem associated with the industry is the sustained availability of suitable
raw material for processing. Moreover, the productivity is also very low as compared to
many other countries. The cost of raw material used for processing is 3 to 4 times more as
compared to costs in the world market.
- External liberalisation poses threats of stiffer competition under a new world trade
order with WTO agreements relaxing quantitative restrictions and non-tariff/sanitary
barriers on importing countries which exposes the Indian farmer to world market forces.
Under the new trade regime, the food sector will be confronted by challenges of trade
related Intellectual Property Rights, comprising patent laws, copyrights, trade links, etc.
- The inherent strength of high raw material production and large domestic market base
has to be buttressed with operating processing units at optimum capacity levels as per
economies of scale which would enable achieving a competitive edge over imported
products.
- With the increasing competition from the international trade, quality of imported
products will become more available in the developing countries. Therefore, to compete,
the developing countries require proper post harvest management, distribution and
processing chains. Hence, it is necessary to have better human resource capabilities in
technology, management and marketing.
- Advances in bio-technology have enabled production of Genetically Modified (GM)
foods. These have already appeared in some countries. GM foods need be critically
examined on their good and adverse impacts on human health.
- Taxes on processed food in India are among the highest in the world. No other country
imposes excise duty on processed food and distinguishes between branded and unbranded
food sectors for taxation. There is excise duty of 16% in the form of CENVAT levied on
food products. Besides there is sales tax, octroi, mandi samiti, entry tax and customs duty
on material, levied by the Central/State/Local bodies. The net effect ranges from 21% to
30% on various food items.
- Policies like participation of private sectors through contract farming and land leasing
arrangement can assure supply of good quality raw material to the fruit and vegetable
processing industry.
- It is very vital to educate consumer about the processed fruit and vegetable based
products and their nutritional quality.
- Backward-forward integration from farm to processors and consumers and also to
generate more employment to eliminate poverty.
- Should have control over taxation with other nations during export and import of the
processed fruit and vegetable products.

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- Commercial R&D activities in the food industry have remained confined to only a few
areas. R&D activities have scarcely emerged from the laboratory to be extensively
adopted on the field.
- Indian brands have yet to acquire an image in the international markets because of poor
global marketing.
- Most Financial Institutions lack capacity to appraise hi-tech export-oriented projects.
There are no suitable insurance schemes for such projects, most of which deal in export of
perishables. In financing such projects the banks face considerable credit risks. With new
technology, the risk perception is higher than the existing one.
The sector has been characterized by poor marketing, transport and communication
infrastructure. The market density of fruits and vegetables is low and facilities for storage
and cold chains in the hinterlands are woefully inadequate. Erratic and inadequate power
supply, lack of roads, lack of quality water, education and health facilities and null or low
rural industrialization accentuates the problems.

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Lesson 10. Meat and Meat Processing

10.0 Introduction
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal
muscle and associated fat and other tissues, such as organs or meat can also be
defined as “the muscle tissue of slaughter animals”. Meat consumption in
developing countries has been continuously increasing. Meat is the common
term used to describe the edible portion of animal tissues. The other important
tissue used for further processing is fat. The common meat animals are cattle,
buffaloes, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry. Qualitatively and quantitatively, meat
and other animal foods are better sources of protein than plant foods. In meat,
the essential amino acids that are integral components of proteins and which
cannot be synthesized in the human organism are made available in well
balanced proportions and concentrations. Plant food has no Vitamin B12, thus
animal food is indispensable for children to establish B12 deposits. Animal food,
in particular meat, is rich in iron, which

10.1 Chemical Composition of Meat

Meat is composed of water, fat, protein, minerals and a small proportion of carbohydrate.
The most valuable component from the nutritional and processing point of view is
protein. The lean meat contains 20-22 percent proteins. The quality of raw meat and its
suitability for further processing is depends on the protein content. The fat content is
higher in entire carcasses than in lean carcass cuts. The fat content is also high in
processed meat products where high amounts of fatty tissue are used. The fat content of
meat varies from 5 – 40 per cent with the type, breed, feed and age of the animal.
Carbohydrates are found only in very small quantities in meat.
10.2 Processing of Meat
The advantage of meat processing is the integration of certain animal tissues like, muscle
trimmings, bone scrap, skin parts or certain internal organs in to the food chain as
valuable protein rich ingredients. The basic meat product processing technologies; cutting
and mixing are accomplished by various additional treatments like curing, seasoning,
smoking, filling in to rigid containers, vacuum packaging, canning. This treatment
depends upon the type and quality of the final product. The main objective of processing
is to prevent it by inhibiting microbial decomposition. Processing technologies for meat
products will not deliver satisfactory results, if there is no adequate meat hygiene in place.
All the slaughtering equipments used during processing should be made of stainless steel
or plastic and should be rust resistant and easily cleaned & sterilized.
Curing: The curing of meat brings about the modification of meat that affects
preservation, flavor, color and tenderness due to added curing agents. The prime purpose
of curing is to produce the unique flavored meat products and a special purpose is to
preserve the red color of meat. The ingredients used for curing are common salt, sodium
nitrate or nitrite, sugar and spices. Salt retards microbial growth and gives flavor to the
meat. Nitrite fixes the red color of myoglobin, also a beneficial effect on the flavor of
cured meats and an inhibitory effect on Clostridium botulinum. Salt adds to the taste of
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the final product. The content of salt in sausages, hams, corned beef and similar products
is normally 1.5-3 %. Sugar helps stabilize color, counteract saltiness and also adds flavor.
Spices are added mainly for flavor.
During curing by salts, the high osmotic pressure of the external fluid initially draws
water and soluble proteins out of the meat. Later, salt diffuses into the meat and binds to
the proteins, causing some expelled protein to diffuse back in. This causes a swelling of
the meat. The salt-protein complex that forms binds water well.
Curing has also some detrimental effects during storage. The pink color of nitrite cured
meat changes to brown, in the presence of oxygen. Thus, cured meat should be
preferentially packed in containers from which oxygen has been excluded. The salts of
cured meat enhance oxidation of lipid components and thus reduce shelf life.
Smoking: A cured meat may be dried and smoked. Smoking also was originally used as
a method of preservation but today smoking is used mostly for its flavor contribution and
coagulation of proteins. Ham is frequently processed by smoking. Slow smoking is
preferable since the extended period enables more drying to occur on the surface. Drying
is responsible for much of the preservative action of smoking. The smoke contains
compounds having antiseptic properties which destroy the microorganism present in
meat. Smoking also prevent of rancidity in meat.
Cooking of Meat: Cooking of meat is done in order to improve the texture of meat. The
method and requirement can make meat tender or less tender than the original raw cut.
When meat is cooked, three types of changes contribute to increase tenderness;
i) the melting of fat,
ii) dissolution of collagen in hot liquids to become soft gelatin and
iii) tissue softening and muscle fiber separation.
Overheating can cause muscle fibers to contract and meat to shrink and become tougher;
evaporation of moisture occurs and dried out tissues become tougher.
There are two methods of cooking meat; the dry heat and moist heat methods. Selection
of the method to use for a meat cut depends upon whether it is a tender or less tender cut.
For any method of cooking, an appropriate cooking temperature must be chosen.
Generally, lower cooking temperature for a longer period of time is better than a higher
temperature for short periods of time for any degree of doneness. This results in
decreased drip loss, less shrinkage, increase juiciness and more uniform color throughout
the cut.
a) Dry Heat method: Tender cuts of beef, lamb and pork may be cooked by these
methods.
Roasting: Roasting is one of the simplest and most commonly used methods of
cooking meat. The meat is placed uncovered on a rack in a shallow pan to keep the
meat out of drippings. The meat is adequately cooked till browning of meat for good
flavor and appearance. For small roasts, an oven temperature of 1770C is used.
Roasts continue to cook at the centre even after they are removed from the oven. This
is because heat is transmitted into the interior from the outer surface.

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Broiling: Broiling is cooking of meat by direct radiant heat, such as the open fire of
a gas flame, live coals or electric oven. In open fire or coal broiling heat comes from
below, whereas in oven broiling, the heat comes from above. The Broiling is carried
out at a temperature of 176 0C until the topside is brown. The Broiling is a faster
method of cooking meat by dry heat than roasting. Roasting produces more juicy and
tender meats than broiled meats. However, meats with unusual flavor can be obtained
by broiling by marinating meats in some types of salad dressings or juices an hour
before broiling. This treatment also permits some hydrolysis of protein to occur and
thus produces small increases in tenderness.
Pan broiling: In pan broiling, heat is transferred to meat primarily by conduction
from the pan or griddle. Meat is placed in a cold griddle and heated so that meat
cooks slowly. Pan broiling is the preferred method of cooking for thin cuts of meats,
because the equipment required for cooking is simpler. A low temperature is
sufficient to brown the meat. Pan broiled meat should be turned occasionally to
ensure uniform heat penetration.
Frying: The cooking of tender cuts of thin (about 1-1.5 cm thick) meat by pan
frying or deep fat frying. In pan frying, a small amount of fat/oil is added to the
frying pan so that the melted fat is about 0.5 cm deep. In deep fat frying, the melted
fat will be deep enough to cover the meat.
b) Moist heat Methods Moist heat method is used for less tender cuts of meat. This
method consists of combination of moisture, heat and a long period of cooking causes
meat to become tender owing to the conversion of connective tissue to gelatin. The
different moist heat methods are explained below;
Braising: After broiling the meat, small amount of water is added to the browned
meat and the pan used for cooking is covered with a tight fitting lid and cooked with
a low heat the meat becomes tender.
Stewing: Large pieces of tough cuts are cooked in water until tender. The meat is
placed in a kettle or vessel with sufficient quantity of water to cover the meat. The
vessel is then covered and allows the water to simmers.
Pressure cooking: In pressure cooking, cooking is done in steam at a temperature
higher than that of boiling water. Quality wise pressure cooked meat is less juicy and
cooking losses are great.

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Lesson 11. Poultry Meat and Egg Processing

Present day consumer need high protein, low cholesterol and fat chicken meat. Also,
consumers are more health conscious and pay more for quality and safe foods. So, it
is must for the chicken meat processor to slaughter birds in hygienic environment to
deliver the meat safety to the consumers

Transportation of birds: During loading, unloading and transport, care should be taken that
birds should not injured and stressed. Over loading must be avoided. Also, plastic crates
having sufficient openings are to be used for transportation. The crates must be easily
cleanable, disinfest and durable. The birds must be transported in the morning hours.
1. Poultry Meat Processing
The unit should be constructed with adequate infrastructure facilities like good
lighting, proper ventilation, adequate potable water and proper drainage system for
hygienic processing of chicken meat. Separate space must be provided for handling
meat and other edible offal whereas separate area to be provided for unclean
operations such scalding, de-feathering and evisceration to handle inedible parts of
the slaughtered birds. Sufficient facilities are to be provided for chilling/storing the
carcasses. The walls and floor must be easily cleanable in nature.
Hygienic slaughter of birds
Birds must be fasted for 12 hours prior to slaughter, but provide adlibidum water,
which facilitates to minimize the microbial load in the intestine of the birds to reduce
the risk of contamination during evisceration.
Stunning:Hang the birds for slaughter in such a way for easy stunning. By stunning
the birds, maximum blood can be removed from the carcass which helps in extending
the shelf life of the meat.
Bleeding : Immediately after stunning, the birds must be stuck with a sharp knife by
serving the major blood vessel sin the neck. Allow 2-3 minutes for bleeding. Provide
bleeding cones for hygienic and aesthetic removal of blood.
De-feathering :De-skinning is one of the methods and more safe method of
removing the feather as the chances of microbial contamination is less in this method.
But, commonly the slaughtered birds are scaled by dipping in hot water of 50-60oC
which loosens the feather and by hand picking the feathers will be removed. Scalding
tanks as well as de-feathering machines are available for removal of feathers in a
more hygienic way.
Evisceration :Eviscerate the carcass as quick as possible by removing the anal gland
followed by opening the abdomen next to the keel bone and remove the visceral
organs and collect the edible and inedible offal separately for easily processing and
delivery.
Washing of carcass :After evisceration, the carcass is looked for any change in color,
or / and abnormality and the carcass without any deviation is allowed for further

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processing. Remove the neck. Wash the carcass thoroughly with potable water.
Storage:In most of the days the meat will be sold immediately. If it doesn't happen
chilling the carcass to 4oC in a chiller/refrigerator. In case of small processors keep
the meat in the insulated boxes with ice.
2. Egg Processing
Egg has a shell made of calcium carbonate which is white or brown in colour. Eggs
contain two parts albumen white part (56-61 per cent) and yellow part yolk (27.30 per
cent). Egg contains 12-14 per cent proteins, with all the essential amino acids. Egg
yolk is an excellent source of vitamin A and D. Egg is also good source of vitamin B.
Egg contains 1 per cent minerals like iron (present in yolk), calcium, phosphorus and
sulphur.
Egg drying :Egg powder is prepared by drying the egg. Egg powder may be
reconstituted before use by mixing in desired quantity of water. The white, yolk or
whole egg after pasteurization may be dried with the help of different methods of
drying. Spray drying method is commonly used for drying the eggs. The pasteurized
liquid egg is forced through a high pressure nozzles or through atomizer to form an
spray in drying chamber. Hot air is fed to chamber for drying. The powdered egg is
cooled and packed in suitable packaging material.
Egg freezing :Egg may be preserved by freezing. In freezing egg cannot be frozen in
the shell since the egg shell would crack with the expansion of liquids when frozen.
Therefore, the whole of the egg liquid content is frozen or it is separated into white
and yolk and then frozen. In freezing of eggs, to reduce contamination i.e. the control
of microorganisms is important. So, to reduce the contamination, the shells are
generally washed just before egg shell is broken and then freezing is done quickly as
possible. The whole egg or yolk is pasteurized at 60-61.50C for 3.5 to 4 min. without
changes in physical and functional properties. Egg white is very sensitive to heat and
easily coagulated near the pasteurization temperature. Pasteurized whole or separated
eggs are placed in suitable container and frozen in sharp freezer room with circulating
air at -29 0C. The freezing process may be completed in 48-72 hours.

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Lesson 12. Fish Processing

Introduction
Fish is found abundantly in all natural waters and is a valuable source of food.
Out of about 25,000 species of fish, 250 species of fish are used for edible
purpose. Edible fishes are classified into two major categories as fishes having
vertebrae with fin appendages are termed as finfish and fishes without skeleton
but covered with hard shell are termed as shellfish. Edible shellfishes are mainly
salt water fishes.
The fish and shellfish processing industry include marketing of fish, shellfish
and marine plant and animals as well as byproducts such as fish meal and oil.
Fish oils are richest sources of vitamin A and D. Fish is good source of proteins
and minerals. It is used as a live stock feed and the oil is used in margarine and
paints also. Exports of canned fish and fish meal are increasing due to the
diminishing supply in other countries. About 30 per cent fish processed for
human consumption is marketed as fresh; the remainder is frozen fish and fillets
in ready-to-eat meals and other convenience products. As the fish and sea food
is perishable, it is very essential to process and thereby it can be stored for
longer period.

1. Primary Processing of Fish and Sea Food

Pretreatment: Fish are kept on ice in boxes before delivery to the processing plant. At
the time of arrival, the fish may be re-iced and placed in cold storage until required for
further processing. Pretreatment involves ice removal, washing, grading according to size
and de-heading. Large fish may also be scaled before additional processing. Some fish are
skinned by immersing in to a warm caustic bath. The effluent from this process has a high
organic load and has to be neutralized before discharge.
Filleting: The filleting areas are generally separated from the pretreatment department to
prevent workers and materials from non sterile pretreatment from contaminating the
sterile filleting area. Filleting is performed by machines with mechanical knives that cut
the fillets from the backbone and remove the collarbone. Some fillets may be skinned at
this step in this process.
Trimming and Inspection: In the trimming section, pin bones are removed and operators
inspect the fillets. Any defects and any inferior parts found are removed. Off cuts are
collected and minced. Depending upon the final products, the fillets can be cut in to
portions according to weight or final product requirements.
Storage/Packaging (Fresh): Fresh products are packaged in boxes with ice which is
separated from the product by a layer of plastic. Fillets or pieces can be individually
frozen and wrapped in plastic. The blocks are typically frozen and kept in cold storage.

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2. Preservation Methods of Fish

Fish is a perishable commodity. It can not be store in normal condition for longer period.
There are some in practice to preserve fish which is explained hereunder.
2.1 Canning of Fish
Canning is performed by two methods: precooking and raw pack. Precooking begins
with thawing of the fish which are then eviscerated, washed and cooked. Canning retains
the natural flavor of the fish usually oily fish are most suitable for canning. Cooking
occurs with steam, oil, hot air or smoke for up to 10 hours, depending upon the fish size.
The cooked fish are then cooled. After cooling, the head, fins, bones, and undesirable
meats are removed and remainder is chopped / cut and placed in cans. Additional fish or
vegetable oil, brine, and/or water are added to the cans which are sealed and pressure-
cooked before shipment.
The raw pack method begins with thawing and weighing of the fish. Fish are then
washed and brined as well as “nobbed,” which is the removal of the head, viscera and
tails. The fish are placed in cans, then cooked, drained and dried. After drying, liquid
(brine, oil, sauce, water) is added to the cans. Finally, the cans are sealed and sterilized
with hot water or steam and then stored.

2 2 Pickling (Salting) of Fish

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2.2 Pickling (Salting) of Fish
The dry salting or wet salting method of pickling is widely used for fish processing in
India. In dry salting method, first fishes are rubbed with salt powder and then packed in
tubs with dry salt powder sprinkled in between layers of fishes. After 15-20 hours, the
fishes are removed from tubs, washed in brine and then followed by sun drying for 2-3
days.
In wet salting cleaned fishes with longitudinal silts (cut) are packed in large container
which containing concentrated salt solutions and stirred daily till properly pickled.
Generally, up to 8-10 days after pickling, salty water is allowed to drain off. Wet salted
(pickled) fish is sold into market without drying. During salting ethylene oxide and
sodium benzoate may be added to avoid some of the common defects like color changes,
mold growth, attacks by insects, case hardening, rancidity development etc.

2.3 Freezing of Fish

Freezing, greatly extend the period of storage. In freezing, if the fish is gutted and frozen
down to -28 to -300C within two hours of its catch gives effective keeping quality as
similar to that of fresh fish. Large fish are frozen by sharp freezing, while small fishes are
usually frozen as fillets (lengthwise cuts), steaks (crosscut section) or sticks (lengthwise
or crosswise cut from fillet or steaks) are quick frozen. During freezing some undesirable
changes may occur, if proper care is not taken. Slow freezing can result in protein de-
naturation due to increases in salt concentration in muscle tissue during freezing and also
making it tough and rubbery. Frozen fish undergo oxidative changes and fatty fish
become rancid more quickly so oxidation can be prevented by properly protecting or
covering of fish with suitable packaging materials (wrappers) before freezing.

2 4 Drying of Fish
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2.4 Drying of Fish
Sun drying is the most widely used method for drying. Drying removes moisture from
tissues and arrests the bacterial and enzymatic growth. This method is not hygienic and
also there is appreciable percentage of loss due to spoilage and putrefaction. Dried fish
develops a peculiar odor. The fish can be dried in the covered solar dryer with natural
draft or forced draft.
3. Manufacturing of Fish Products
3.1 Fish Meal and Fish Oil Production
Fish meal is delivered from the dry components of the fish and the oil from oily
component. The water that makes up the remainder of the fish matter is evaporated during
the process. The fish by-products are cooked in a process that coagulates the protein and
releases the water and oil. The mixture is screened and the liquid from the mixture is
squeezed out through a perforated casing. The pressed cake is shredded and dried with
steam or direct flame dryers. The meal passes through a vibrating screen and to a hammer
mill where it is ground to the desired size. The meal is used in animal and pet feed due to
its high protein content.
The oil is further processed by passing through a decanter to remove sludge which is then
fed back in to the meal dryer. Oil is separated from the liquid by centrifuge and is
polished by using hot water washes and additional centrifuging. The removed water is
evaporated to concentrate the solids and the remaining oil is refined to remove any
impurities.

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3.2 Fish Flour (Fish Protein Concentrate)

Fish flour contains 85 to 90 per cent of high quality protein. The extraction of oils and
fatty substances from ground fish tissue by solvent extraction till no fishy odor or flavor
remains. The fat extracted tissue is dried after evaporation of solvent by dehydration
process using dryer. After dehydration, milling gives a bland highly nutritious powder
rich in high quality protein and minerals. This product, when processed under sanitary
conditions is good for use as human consumption.

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Lesson 13. Principle of Size Reduction

13.0 Introduction
In many food processes it is frequently necessary to reduce the size of solid
materials for different purposes. In this case, size reduction may aid other
processes such as expression and extraction, or may shorten heat treatments
such as blanching and cooking. Comminution is the generic term used for size
reduction and includes different operations such as crushing, grinding, milling,
mincing, and dicing. Most of these terms are related to a particular application,
e.g., milling of cereals, mincing of beef, dicing of tubers, or grinding of spices.
The reduction mechanism consists of deforming the food piece until it breaks or
tears. Breaking of hard materials along cracks or defects in their structure is
achieved by applying diverse forces.
The objective of comminution is to produce smaller particles from larger ones.
Smaller particles are the desired product either because of their large surface or
because of their shape, size, and number. The energy efficiency of the operation
can be related to the new surface formed by the reduction in size. The geometric
characteristics of particles, both alone and in mixtures, are important for product
evaluation after comminution. In an actual process, a given unit does not yield a
uniform product, whether the feed is uniformly sized or not. The product
normally consists of a mixture of particles, which may contain a wide variety of
sizes and even shapes. Some types of equipment are designed to control the
magnitude of the largest particles in their products, but the fine sizes are not
under such control. In some machines, fines are minimized, but they cannot be
totally eliminated. In comminuted products, the term “diameter” is generally
used to describe the characteristic dimension related to particle size. The shape
of an individual particle is conveniently expressed in terms of the sphericity Φ,
which is independent of particle size. For spherical particles Φ equals unity,
while for many crushed materials its value lies between 0.6 and 0.7.
The term size reduction is applied to all procedures in which particles of solids
are cut or broken into smaller pieces. Size reduction of solids involves creating
smaller mass unit from larger mass units of the same material. Size reduction is
a mechanical process of breakdown of solids into smaller size particles without
altering the state of aggregation of solids. Many solid materials exists/present in
sizes that are too large to be used directly. Thus such material must be reduced
in size before use.

13.1 Necessity of size reduction

In process industries, this operation is usually carried out in order:
a) To increase the surface area to enhance the rate of a physical or chemical process. In
most of the reactions and unit operations (e.g., leaching) involving solid particles, the rate
increases by increasing the area of contact between solid and second phase since the
rate is proportional to the area of contact between the phases involved. In leaching, the of

extraction increases because of the increased area of contact between solid and the
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extraction increases because of the increased area of contact between solid and the
solvent.
b) To effect the separation of two constituents in cases where one is dispersed in small
isolated pockets.
c) To meet stringent specifications regarding the sizes of commercial products.
d) To accomplish intimate mixing of solids in a solid-solid operation since the mixing is
more complete if the particle size is small.
e) To improve dissolution rate, solubility, binding strength and dispersion properties.
13.2 Size reduction procedures
In comminution of food products, the reduction mechanism consists of deforming the
food piece until it breaks or tears and such breaking may be achieved by applying diverse
forces. The types of forces commonly used in food processes are compression (crushing),
impact, attrition or rubbing, cutting and shearing. In a comminution operation, more than
one type of force is usually acting. For example, crushing, grinding, and milling take
place in powdered sugar, flour, mustard, and cocoa production.
Table 13.2 Types of forces used in size reduction equipments

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Crushing: when an external force applied on a material excess of its strength, the material
fails because of its rupture in many direction. The particles produced after crushing are
irregular in shape and size. The type of material and method of force application affects
the characteristics of new surfaces and particles. For examples: Food grain flour, grits
and meal, ground feed for livestock are made by crushing process. Extraction of oil from
oilseeds and juice from sugarcane are also by crushing process.
Impact: When a material is subject to sudden blow of force in excess of its strength, it
fails. For example, cracking of nut with help of a hammer.
Cutting: Size reduction is accomplished by forcing a sharp and thin knife through the
material. In this process, minimum deformation and rupture of the material results and the
new surface created is more or less undamaged. For example: Cutting of fruits and
vegetable by sharp knife to reduce the size.
Attrition: Rubbing away or wearing down by friction. The material is pulverised
between two toothed metal disks rotating in opposite directions.

Shearing: It is a process of size reduction which combines cutting and crushing The
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Shearing: It is a process of size reduction which combines cutting and crushing. The
shearing unit consists of a knife and a bar. If the edges of knife or shearing edge is thin
enough and sharp, the size reduction process nears to that of cutting, whereas a thick and
dull shearing edge performs like a crusher. In a good shearing unit, the knife is usually
thick enough to overcome the shock resulting from material hitting. In an ideal shearing
unit the clearance between the bar and the knife should be as small as practicable and the
knife as sharp and thin as possible.
In general, compression is used for the coarse reduction of hard solids (to yields
relatively few fines), impact gives coarse, medium or fine products, attrition gives very
fine products from soft, non-abrasive materials and cutting produces a product of a
definite particle size and sometimes a definite shape, with few or no fines.
In Food processing industry, size reduction operation is carried out for sugar, spices,
grains etc.
13.3 Mechanical Resistance Involved in Size Reduction
Mechanical resistance refers to all the properties that describe the behaviour of a solid
material as it deforms and breaks under the influence of an applied stress (Loncin and
Merson, 1979). The deformation of a certain food material can be elastic when the
applied stress remains below a limiting value, or inelastic. The material experiences
elastic deformation when it returns to its original shape when the force is removed. If the
stress exceeds the elastic limit, the material undergoes permanent (inelastic) deformation
until it reaches the yield point when it begins to flow (region of ductility) under the action
of the applied stress until it finally breaks. This process defines the elastic stress limit,
yield stress, breaking stress, and the region of ductility.

E is elastic limit Y is yield point B is breaking point OE is elastic region EY is elastic

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E is elastic limit, Y is yield point, B is breaking point, OE is elastic region, EY is elastic
deformation, and YB is region of ductility. Different curves are represented for different
types of material depending on their mechanical behaviour: material (1): hard, strong, and
brittle; material (2): hard, strong, and ductile; material (3): hard, weak, and brittle;
material (4): soft, weak, and ductile; material (5): soft, weak, and brittle. (Loncin and
Merson, 1979)
The breaking stress or ultimate stress is a property of the material. Breaking occurs along
cracks or defects in the piece structure. A large piece with many defects can be broken
with a small stress with very little deformation. Smaller pieces have fewer defects
remaining and will need a higher breaking strength. In the limit of very small particles,
purely intermolecular forces must be overcome. This is why grinding is so difficult to
achieve below a certain size. For example, fine grinding of roasted coffee (e.g., to less
than 50 μm) is best recommended under cryogenic conditions (i.e., subzero temperatures)
in order to accomplish the desired grinding efficiency. The elastic state is described by
Hooke’s law ([stress] = E · [strain]). The most important characteristic is the modulus of
elasticity E, which is the stress causing a unit change in length in the same direction as the
applied force. The Poisson coefficient or bulk modulus permits prediction of the
transverse contraction or expansion that occurs when a stress is applied longitudinally.
Inelastic behavior is defined for stresses greater than the elastic limit but smaller than the
breaking limit. The behavior is described by visco-elastic models (such as the Maxwell
model or the Kelvin model), which combine elements of inelastic behaviour and elements
of viscous flow. Stress can be applied to the particle in a variety of ways such as traction,
compression, or shear (or combination of those methods). Although the stress limits are
not the same for these different modes, there is clearly a relation among them.
Consequently, it is often possible to use a compression test as an indication of the
breaking load under tension. Since breaking occurs along cracks, in some materials the
breaking point measured by compression is usually higher than when measured by
traction; tension enhances the cracks, whereas compression tends to close them up.
Fig. 12.1 represents the stress characteristics of materials. A food may be hard or soft;
increased hardness is correlated with an increase in the modulus of elasticity. A strong
material possesses a high elastic stress limit; and a weak material has a low elastic limit.
Brittleness is a measure of the size of the region of ductility, and a brittle material breaks
soon after the stress exceeds the yield stress. Conversely, a ductile material can deform
considerably without breaking. A further property is toughness. A tough material has the
ability to resist the propagation of cracks. Fibres impart toughness by relieving stress
concentrations at the end of cracks. The opposite of toughness is fragility.
13.4 Properties of comminuted products
The structure and composition of the material to be processed greatly influence the size
reduction mechanisms that can be employed and the equipment used. For example, a
crystalline structure (such as sugar) will break along fracture planes which require
compression (using a crushing technique) to bring about size reduction. If there are no
fracture planes present then new cracks must be developed using impaction. On the other
hand a fibrous structure, such as vegetable matter, suggests the need for cutting or
shredding. Similarly, cutting is appropriate for ductile materials such as flesh foods such
as meat.

The presence of moisture can present problems in size reduction operations Even small
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The presence of moisture can present problems in size reduction operations. Even small
quantities of moisture on the surface of fine particles inevitably leads to the
agglomeration of fines and therefore a size increase, although such agglomerates will be
weak. More seriously, too high moisture content may lead to the rapid blockage of a mill.
Equally, moisture can be useful in suppressing dust and preventing dust explosions and
this is exploited in wet milling techniques for example in the milling of corn.
In a comminution operation of food materials more than one type of the above-described
forces is actually present. Regardless of the uniformity of the feed material, the product
always consists of a mixture of particles covering a range of sizes. Some size reduction
equipment is designed to control the size of the largest particles in its products, but the
fine sizes are not under control. In spite of the hardness of the comminuted materials, the
above-mentioned shape of produced particles would be subjected to attrition due to inter-
particle and particle—equipment contacts within the dynamics of the operation. Thus,
particle angles will smooth gradually, with the consequent production of fines. In actual
practice, any feed material will possess an original particle size distribution while the
obtained product will end with a new particle size distribution having a whole range finer
than the feed distribution.
In comminution practice, particle size is often referred to as screen aperture size. The
reduction ratio, defined as the relation between average size of feed and average size of
product, can be used as an estimate of the performance of a comminution operation. The
values for average size of feed and product depend on the method of measurement, but
the true arithmetic mean, obtained from screen analyses on samples of the feed and
product streams, is commonly used for this purpose. Reduction ratios depend on the
specific type of equipment. As a general rule, the coarser the reduction, the smaller the
ratio. For example, coarse crushers have size reduction ratios of below 8:1, while fine
grinders may present ratios as high as 100:1. However, large reduction ratios, such as
those obtained when dividing relatively large solid lumps to ultra-fine powders, are
normally attained by several stages using diverse crushing and grinding machines. A
good example of this is the overall milling of wheat grain into fine flour, in which
crushing rolls in series of decreasing diameters are employed.

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Lesson 14. Energy and Power Requirement for Size Reduction

In the breakdown of hard and brittle food solid materials, two stages of breakage are
recognized: (a) initial fracture along existing fissures within the structure of the
material; and (b) formation of new fissures or crack tips followed by fracture along
these fissures. It is also accepted that only a small percentage of the energy supplied
to the grinding equipment is actually used in the breakdown operation. Thus,
grinding is a very inefficient process, perhaps the most inefficient of the traditional
unit operations. Much of the input energy is lost in deforming the particles within
their elastic limits and through inter-particle friction. A large amount of this wasted
energy is converted as heat which, in turn, may be responsible for rise in
temperature and damage of nutrients of biological materials.

In the breakdown of hard and brittle food solid materials, two stages of breakage are
recognized: (a) initial fracture along existing fissures within the structure of the material;
and (b) formation of new fissures or crack tips followed by fracture along these fissures.
It is also accepted that only a small percentage of the energy supplied to the grinding
equipment is actually used in the breakdown operation. Thus, grinding is a very
inefficient process, perhaps the most inefficient of the traditional unit operations. Much of
the input energy is lost in deforming the particles within their elastic limits and through
inter-particle friction. A large amount of this wasted energy is converted as heat which, in
turn, may be responsible for rise in temperature and damage of nutrients of biological
materials.
Elastic and inelastic properties of a given food material often vary considerably with
moisture content and the distribution of water in the material. Further complications arise
because these properties are often strongly anisotropic, with various layers or parts having
extremely different mechanical resistances. Furthermore, the properties of materials can
vary with the rate with which the stress is applied; some materials are plastic and ductile
if the stress is applied slowly, but can be elastic or brittle if the stress is applied by impact.
Consequently, it is not possible, at present, to describe a food material or furnish the
parameters needed to design a size reduction operation. These parameters must be
determined experimentally. The energy needed to cause rupture is the work needed to
deform the material plus the energy needed to form the new surface. The latter is given
by:
E = ∆ (σ A) (4.1)

Where σ is the interfacial energy of the surface and A is the surface area. The minimum
work of distortion can be measured by placing a sample in tension (or compression) in a
machine (such as an Instron testing machine) that simultaneously measures both the
applied force and the elongation up to the breaking point. By plotting force vs. elongation
and measuring the area under the curve between zero elongation and the elongation
(∆x)max at rupture, one can evaluate the energy needed for breaking the piece:

E =\[\int\limits_0^{{{(\Delta x)}_{\max}}}{F\,dx}\]
(4.2)

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In an actual grinding machine, the particles undergo many elastic or inelastic

deformations that do not exceed the breaking stress and therefore do not cause breakage.
These deformations require work, however, which is entirely wasted except for newly
formed cracks that facilitate breakage on subsequent impacts. In fact, only about 1% of
the energy used in grinding is used to create new surface. The remaining energy is
dissipated as heat in the product and equipment, and high temperatures may result. The
cost of power is the major expense in crushing and grinding operation. Thus accurate
estimation of the energy required is important in the design and selection of size reduction
equipment.
During size reduction, the solids particles are first distorted and strained, work required
to strain them is stored temporarily in the solids as mechanical energy of stress. By
applying additional force, the stressed particles are distorted beyond their ultimate
strength and suddenly rupture into fragments. Thus, new surface is generated. As a unit
area of solid has a definite amount of the surface energy, the generation of new surface
requires work, which is given by the release of the stress when the particles break. The
energy of stress in excess of the new surface energy created appears as heat.
The energy E required to reduce the size of particulate solids depends upon the energy
absorbed by the solids and the mechanical efficiency of the process ηm which takes
account of frictional losses.
Therefore by definition
\[{\eta _m}\]=\[\frac{{energy\,absorbed\,by\,solid}}{E}\] (4.3)

The expression for E can be expanded to give

\[E\]=\[\frac{{{e_s}\,\left({{A_p}-\,{A_f}}\right)}}{{{\eta _m}\,{\eta
_c}}}\] (4.4)

where es is the surface energy per unit area, Ap and Af are the surface areas per unit mass
of the product and feed, respectively, and ηc is a crushing efficiency. The later is likely to
be very small, of the order of 1%. Using the definitions of specific surface and sphericity,
the surface area per unit mass, for non-spherical particles, becomes
\[A\]=\[\frac{6}{{\varphi \,{\rho _s}\,x}}\] (4.5)

where ρs is the density of the solids and x is the particle size. Now, across n size fractions
of the particle size distribution, the total mass specific surface is
\[A\]=\[\sum\limits_{i = \,1}^{i = \,n} {\frac{{6\,{w_i}}}{{\varphi \,{\rho _s}\,
{x_i}}}}\] (4.6)

and assuming that sphericity and density are constant for all size fractions

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\[A\]=\[\frac{6}{{\varphi \,{\rho _s}\,{x_{p,f}}}}\]
(4.7)

Substituting into Eq. (13.4) gives the energy input as

\[E\]=\[\frac{{{e_s}}}{{{\eta _m}\,{\eta _c}}}\frac{6}{{\varphi \,{\rho _s}}}\left( {\frac{1}
{{{x_p}}} - \frac{1}{{{x_f}}}\,} \right)\] (4.8)
where xf and xp are the surface-volume mean particle sizes of the feed and product,
respectively.
Equation (13.8) suggests that energy input is a function of the initial and final size of the
particles.
Theoretical considerations suggest that the energy input dE required to produce a small
change in the size dx of unit mass of material can be expressed as a power function of the
size of the material:
\[\frac{{dE}}{{dx}}\]=\[-\frac{C}{{{x^n}}}\] (4.9)

where dE is the change in energy, dx is the change in size, C is a constant, n is the power
value and x is the particle size.
Equation (13.9) is often referred to as the general law of comminution and has been used
by a number of researchers to derive more specific laws depending on the application. It
has been developed based on the energy needed for causing deformation, creating new
surface, or enlarging cracks.
It is not possible to estimate accurately the power requirement of crushing and grinding
equipment to effect the size reduction of a given material, but a number of empirical laws
have been put forward e.g., Rittinger’s law, Kick’s law and Bond’s law.

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Lesson 15. Empirical laws of Size Reduction

15.1 Rittinger’s law

Rittinger’s assumption was based on the fact that particles do not deform before
breaking, therefore being infinitely brittle. Rittinger state that the energy
required in size reduction is proportional to new surface created and gave the
power n a value of 2 thus by integrating equation (1.9) obtained the so called
Rittinger’s law:

\[{{dE} \over {dx}}\] = \[- C\,x^{ - 2}\]

\[\int\limits_0^E {dE} \] = \[- C\,\int\limits_{x_f }^{x_p } {x^{ - 2} } \,dx\]

this can be evaluated to give
E = \[C_R \left( {{1 \over {x_p }} - {1 \over {x_f }}\,} \right)\] ........................... (4.10)

where, E is the energy per unit mass required for the production of a new surface by
reduction, CR is called Rittinger’s constant which has a unit of J m/kg and is determined
for a particular equipment and material, xf is the average initial feed size, and xp is the
average final product size. Rittinger’s law has been found to hold better for fine grinding,
where a large increase in surface results. It suggests that the energy required is
proportional to the increase in surface area per unit mass.

15.2 Kick’s law

Kick state that the energy required for a given size reduction was proportional to the
sizen reduction ratio, and gave the power n a value of 1. Thus by integration of Eq. (13.9),
the following relationship, known as Kick’s law is obtained:
\[\int\limits_0^E {dE}\] = \[- C\,\int\limits_{x_f }^{x_p } {x^{ - 1} } \,dx\]
this gives
E =\[C_K \,\ln \,\left( {{{x_f } \over {x_p }}} \right)\] ..................... (4.11)
where xf/xp is the size reduction ratio and CK is called Kick’s constant which unit of J/kg
. Kick’s law has been found to hold more accurately for coarser crushing, where most of
the energy is used in causing fracture along existing cracks. In Kick’s law the energy
input is proportional to the size reduction ratio. In other words the same energy input is
required for a reduction in size from 1 cm to 1 mm as for a reduction from 100 to 10 μm.
In using either of the models due to Rittinger and Kick the relevant constant must be
obtained by experiment using both the same equipment and the same material.
15.3 Bond’s law and Work Index
Bond state that the energy required for size reduction is proportional to the square root of
the surface- volume ratio of the product. In Bond’s consideration n takes the value of 3/2,
yielding the following version (Bond’s law), also by integrating Eq. (13.9):

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\[\int\limits_0^E {dE}\] =\[ - C\,\int\limits_{x_f }^{x_p } {x^{ - {3 \over 2}} } \,dx\]

E = \[2\,C_B \left[ {x^{ - {1 \over 2}} } \right]_{x_f }^{x_p }\]

E= \[2\,C_B \left( {{1 \over {\sqrt {x_p } }} - {1 \over {\sqrt {x_f } }}\,} \right)\]
............................... (4.12a)
where xf and xp are measured in micrometers and E in kWh/ton, Bond put the constant
CB = 5Wi, where Wi is the Bond Work Index, defined as the gross energy requirement in
kWh/ton of feed to reduce a unit mass of material from an infinite particle size to a size
such that 80% (i.e., Φ = 2) of the product passing through a 100 µm sieve (i.e, xp= 100
µm) . The Bond Work Index is material specific and is obtained from laboratory crushing
tests on the feed material. Hard and brittle materials have a work index in the range 4 ×
104 − 8 × 104J/kg. Bond’s law holds reasonably well for a variety of materials undergoing
coarse, medium and fine size reduction. (Eq. 14.3a) can also be reduced to
E= \[0.3162\,\,W_i \left( {{1 \over {\sqrt {x_p } }} - {1 \over {\sqrt {x_f } }}\,}
\right)\]..............................(4.12b)
where xf and xp are measured in mm and E in kWh/ton, and Wi is the Bond Work Index,

Worked Example 4.1

A material consisting originally of 20 mm particle crushed to an average size of 5 mm
and required 30 kJ/kg for this size reduction. Determine the energy required to crush the
material from 20 mm to 3 mm assuming (a) Rittinger’s law, (b) Kick’s law and (c) Bond’s
Law.
Solution:
(a) Applying Rittinger’s law as expressed by equation (4.10)
20 = \[C_R \left( {{1 \over 5} - {1 \over {20}}\,} \right)\]
Hence CR = 133.33 and so with xp= 3 mm

E = \[133.33\left( {{1 \over 3} - {1 \over {20}}\,} \right)\]

Hence E = 37.78 kJ/kg
(b) Applying Kick’s law as expressed by equation (4.11)
20 = \[C_K \,\ln \left( {{{20} \over 5}} \right)\]
Hence CR = 14.43 and so with xp= 3 mm

E =\[14.43\,\ln \left( {{{20} \over 3}} \right)\]

Hence E = 27.36 kJ/kg
(c) Applying Bond’s law as expressed by equation (4.12b)
20 =\[0.3162\,W_{i\,} \left( {{1 \over {\sqrt 5 }} - {1 \over {\sqrt {20} }}\,} \right)\]
Hence Wi = 282.87 and so with xp = 3 mm
E = \[0.3162\,\, \times \,282.87\,\,\left( {{1 \over {\sqrt 3 }} - {1 \over {\sqrt {20}
}}\,} \right)\]

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Hence E = 31.64 kJ/kg
Worked Example 4.2
Grain is milled at a rate of 10 t/h and the power required for this operation is 67.5 kW.
Assuming that Bond’s law best describes the relationship between energy required and
change in particle size, determine the work index for the grain and thus find the total
power requirement to mill down to a distribution where 80% passes 100 μm.

Initial distribution Final distribution

Sieve size (μm) Mass fraction Sieve size (μm) Mass fraction

6730 0.00 605 0.00

4760 0.05 425 0.08

3360 0.15 300 0.12

2380 0.70 212 0.65

1680 0.10 150 0.11

100 0.04

Solution:
From the tabulated data, 80% of the grain in the initial distribution passes a 3360 µm
sieve and therefore xf = 3360 µm = 3.36 mm. Similarly final distribution gives xp = 300
µm = 0.3mm.
The power requirement to achieve this degree of size reduction is 67.5 kW. Dividing this
figure by the mass flow rate of grain in kg/s gives the energy input per unit mass. Thus
E = \[{{67.5\, \times \,3600} \over {10\, \times \,10^3 }}\]
E = 24.3 kJ/kg
The work index can be found from Eq. (4.12b)
24.3 = \[0.3162\,\,W_i \left( {{1 \over {\sqrt {0.3} }} - {1 \over {\sqrt {3.36} }}\,}
\right)\]
From which, Wi = 60 kJ/kg

For a final grain size distribution where xp = 100 μm = 0.1, Substituting this figure and
the work index into Eq. (14.3b) gives the required energy input as
E =\[0.3162\,\, \times \,60\,\left( {{1 \over {\sqrt {0.1} }} - {1 \over {\sqrt {3.36} }}\,}
\right)\, \times \,{{10^4 } \over {3600}}\,\] kW
Thus E = 137.9 kW

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The power requirement for the problem in example 1.2 calculated by using Rittinger’s
law gave 215.6 kW and Kick’s law give a value of 98.2 kW. Thus Rittinger’s law tends to
overestimate the energy input required for size reduction whereas Kick’s law usually
gives an underestimate.

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Lesson 16. Size Reduction Equipments

16.1 Size Reduction Equipments

There is a very wide range of size reduction equipment available and the
following passages describe briefly the essential details of only a few of the
most important types.
(a) Hammer Mill: A standard hammer mill is shown in (Fig. 15.1a) and consists
of a series of hinged or fixed hammers attached to a shaft which rotates at high
speed; peripheral speeds up to 100 m/s are possible. The hammer mill employs
impaction primarily, although attrition also takes place. The solids to be milled
are impacted in the small gap between the hammer and a toughened breaker
plate on the inside casing of the mill. Consequently such devices are used
primarily for hard and brittle materials such as pepper, sugar, dried milk, dried
vegetables and spices, but hammer mills also find applications with fibrous and
vegetable matter.

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Types of mill (a) hammer (b) roller (c) disc_module_4_lesson_15

(b) Crushing rolls:
These employ a compression mechanism and are often used in intermediate crushing
stages. The rolls are approximately 0.6 m in diameter, rotate up to 300 rpm and are
designed to nip large lumps of material. Smooth rolls are employed for producing flaked
materials such as corn and for semi-liquids such as chocolate. However, the surface may
be corrugated for coarse grinding of seeds and grain. A series of rollers may be employed
(Fig. 15.1b) with increasingly smaller gaps between the rollers, and greater pressure
exerted, to give progressively finer and finer grinding.
(c) Disc mills:
Disc mills (Fig. 15.1c) utilise either a rotating disc which grinds material between itself
and a stationary plate or two counter-rotating discs and employ largely attrition. The pin
mill is a variation on this geometry in which the discs have pins or teeth and material is
fed axially and moves radially outwards. The mechanism employed now is impaction at
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very high peripheral velocities up to 160 m/s. Disc mills have found application to sugar,
nuts, cocoa, nutmeg, cereals and rice.
(d) Tumbling Mills:
The ball mill consists of a horizontal rotating drum (with differing sizes of freely moving
metal or ceramic balls, about 25–150 mm in diameter, impacting the material to be
crushed. Ball mills are used for fine grinding. In the rod mill balls are replaced with rods
equal in length to the drum. Attrition occurs in addition to impaction. Rod mills overcome
the problem of ball mills clogging with sticky material.
15.2 Operating methods
Batch operation is limited to devices such as the ball mill; most other milling equipment is
used

Fig. 15.2 Closed circuit grinding continuously.

However, an important distinction must be made between open circuit and closed circuit
milling. In open circuit crushing the material passes through the mill once, with no
rework of any oversize material, and results in a wide particle size distribution. The
largest particles in the output stream must be made to be smaller than the upper limit for
the product.
This is wasteful of energy and gives too many fines. Closed circuit grinding (Fig. 15.2)
includes a classification step to remove the undersize particles as product and then recycle
the oversize back to the mill. The operation, although requiring a greater investment, is
much more efficient and gives a more homogeneous product.
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15.3Fineness modulus
To characterize the overall fineness or coarseness of an aggregate sample, a concept of
Fineness modulus is developed. Fineness Modulus is an index that indicates the
uniformity of grind in the resultant product.
Fineness modulus is an empirical factor obtained by adding the percentage cumulative
weight fraction of material retained on each of a specified series of standard sieves, and
dividing the sum by 100.
Although the fineness modulus gives an average particle size, it does not indicate the
distribution of fines and coarses in any sample and the average grain size is not
proportional to the modulus index. This can be overcome by using uniformity index
which indicates the distribution of fines and coarses in the resultant sample that is
indicates the relative proportions of fines, medium and coarse material. Thus
recommended procedure is to quote both the indices. The same value of fineness modulus
may be obtained from several different particle-size distributions. In general a small value
indicated a fine material while a large value indicates a coarse material. The value for fine
aggregates commonly ranges from 2.00 to 4.00 and for coarse aggregate from 6.50 to
8.00 when all the material is finer than the 1-1/2-in. (38.1-mm) sieve. Combinations of
fine and coarse aggregates have intermediate values.
For food grain flour analysis, a set of IS sieves No. 100, 70, 50, 40, 30, 20, and 15- mesh
with a pan and cover are used. The standard procedure specifies a 250 g sample oven
dried to constant weight at 105oC is placed and shaken in the RoTap sieve shaker for 5
min.
15.4 Steps in particle size analysis
The particle size of ground grain performs a critical role in determining feed digestibility,
mixing performance, and pelleting. Therefore, periodic particle size evaluation is a
necessary component of a feed manufacturing quality assurance program. The equipment
required for particle size analysis includes a scale, shaker, sieves, sieve cleaners, and
brushes. A scale that is accurate to ±0.1 grams is required (ASAE, 1993). The
recommended sieve shaker is a Tyler RoTap (Mentor, OH). The RoTap mechanically
reproduces the circular motion that occurs during hand sieving, while at the same time
tapping the sieve stack to help the particles fall through the mesh screens. It is designed to
hold a maximum of six full-height (13 half height), 8-inch diameter sieves and a pan
(Tyler, 1976). Sieves vary in diameter and height and may be constructed of brass or
stainless steel. It also is important that sieves be properly cleaned during weighing.
Literature from Tyler (1976) recommends that a soft brass wire brush be used to clean
sieves coarser than 100 mesh (IS Sieve No. 100) anda nylon bristle brush for sieves finer
than 100 mesh. The authors have found that a circular vacuum attachment brush also
works well for the finer sieves. Exerting too much pressure should be avoided because it
will cause the screens to sag, and their accuracy will decrease. Tapping the sides of the
sieve can be used to dislodge particles. It also may be necessary to wash the sieves to
remove particles that cannot be removed with a brush. Sieves should be washed in a
warm, soapy water.
A representative sample of 250g is taken first. After the sample has been obtained, the
following steps are required:

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arrange the sieve stack so the coarsest is on top and the finest on bottom (as the Indian
Standard Sieves number decreases, the opening becomes smaller)
put the sample on the top sieve and place sieve stack on the shaker
allow shaker to run for 10 minutes
remove the sieves stack from shaker
gently tap the sides of each sieve with the brush before removing from the stack
place the sieve with the retained material on the scale
tare the scale (if using a triple beam balance, weigh the sieve and retained material
together)
remove and thoroughly clean the sieve
weigh back the empty sieve and record the weight; the weight should be negative, but
only the value needs to be recorded (if you are using a triple beam balance, subtract the
difference between the sieve with and without material)
enter the weight values in the appropriate columns of the table
A simple method for determining the fineness modulus is shown in the tabulated
example.

IS Sieve
series sizes Weight of
Cumulative wt. Of % cumulative weight fraction
material retained
(Sieves (in material retained (g) of material retained
(g)
No) mm)

100 1.000 0.0 0.0 0.0

70 0.708 9.8 9.8 3.92

50 0.500 16.7 26.5 10.6

40 0.420 35.4 61.9 24.76

30 0.296 83.2 145.1 58.04

20 0.211 96.6 241.7 96.68

15 0.157 8.3 250 100

Pan - 0.0 250 100

Fineness modulus =\[{{\sum {\%

\,cumulative\,weight\,fraction\,of\,material\,retained\,above\,each\,sieve} } \over {100}}\]
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D (in mm) = 0.135 (1.366) FM ...............................(15.1)
Worked Example 15.1
A typical example of calculation of fineness modulus using percentage passing is shown
below:

Sieve Size Total Percent retained

(IS series) Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Combined Coarse & Fine 65:35

100 0 91 59

70 4 100 66

50 21 100 72

40 46 100 81

30 74 100 91

20 89 100 96

15 95 100 98

Total 329 691 563

Fineness Modulus =3.29 6.91 5.63

Many specified grading, are expressed as percentages passing a specified series of sieves.
To avoid having to make numerous calculations to change these grading from percentages
passing to percentages retained in order to calculate fineness modulus, the following
procedure can be used to calculate fineness modulus using percentages passing. The
example is for the same grading as in Example 4.1 but when they are expressed as
percentages passing.

Sieve Size Total Percent passing

(IS series) Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Combined Coarse & Fine 65:35

100 100 9 41

70 96 0 34

50 79 0 28

40 54 0 19

30 26 0 9

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20 11 0 4

15 5 0 2

Total 371 9 137

For this procedure

Fineness modulus =\[\left( {{{N(100) - sum\,total\,of\,percent\,passng} \over {100}}}
\right)\]
Where N= number of sieves involved
Then for fine aggregates,
Fineness modulus =\[{{7(100) - 371} \over {100}}\]=3.29
For Coarse aggregates:
Fineness modulus =\[{{7(100) - 9} \over {100}\]=6.91
And for Combined Coarse & Fine 65:35
Fineness modulus =\[{{7(100) - 137} \over {100}}\]=5.63

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Lesson 17. Theory Of Mixing

Introduction
Mixing is a unit operation in which two or more materials are interspersed in
space with one another. In agriculture and food processing, mixing operations
are often used to blend ingredients. Particularly, mixing is used in the food
industry with the main objective of reducing non-uniformities and gradients in
properties such as concentration, colour, texture, or taste between different parts
of a system (Uhl and Gray, 1986). The degree of uniformity required may vary
somewhat, but most of the time it is important to provide a nutritionally
balanced and palatable feed mixture.
The mixing and/or agitation of liquids, solids and (to a lesser extent) gases is
one of the commonest of all operations in the food processing industries. Of the
possible combinations of these states, those of principal interest are liquid–
liquid mixtures, solid–solid mixtures and liquid–solid mixtures or pastes.
However, it is important at this early stage to define exactly what is meant by
the terms ‘agitation’ and/or ‘mixing’ and it is perhaps easiest to do this by
considering liquid–liquid systems.
The agitation of a liquid may be defined as the establishment of a particular
flow pattern within the liquid, usually a circulatory motion within a container.
On the other hand mixing implies the random distribution, throughout a system,
of two or more initially separate ingredients. Mixing is frequently employed to
develop the desired product characteristics such as texture rather than simply
ensure product homogeneity. If mixing fails to achieve the required product
yield, quality, and organoleptic or functional attributes, production costs may
increase significantly.
There are a number of reasons for agitating liquids amongst which may be
listed: the suspension of solids within the liquid; the dispersion of a gas within
the liquid; the dispersion of a second liquid as droplets (i.e. the formation of an
emulsion); the promotion of heat transfer from a heat transfer surface to the bulk
liquid; and the mixing of two or more liquids. Now the reasons for mixing (and
this applies to all possible combinations of the three states of matter) are: to
bring about intimate contact between different states in order for a chemical
reaction to occur (this can include the dissolution of solids in a liquid and the
extraction of a solute from either liquid or solid phases); and to provide a new
property of the mixture which was not present in the original separate
components. An example of the latter might be the inclusion of a specific
proportion in a food mixture of a given component for nutritional purposes.
It should be clear from the foregoing that mixing is brought about by agitation.
However, it would be tedious to continue to use both words according to their
precise meaning and therefore throughout this chapter the term ‘mixing’ will be
used to mean both the random distribution of components and the means of
bringing about that randomness, that is, the mechanisms of agitation.

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There are perhaps three criteria by which the performance of a mixer should be
assessed. These are
(i) the degree of mixedness achieved;
(ii) the time required to bring about mixing; and
(iii) the power consumption required.
A wide range of dry food materials are mixed, including combinations of flour,
sugar, salt, flavouring materials, dried milk, and dried vegetables and fruits.

17.1 Theory of solid mixing

As opposed to mixing of miscible liquids, the mixing of particles is often a readily
reversible process. A mixture of miscible liquids leaving a mixing unit retains or even
improves its mixedness during the transport process, while a well-mixed batch of
particles can be separated almost completely at a subsequent process stage. Particles
change their relative positions in response to movement and the subsequent
rearrangement maybe more random. Powder mixing occurs when any particle changes its
path of circulation. Three mechanisms have been recognized in solids mixing:
convection, diffusion, and shear. In any particular process one or more of these three basic
mechanisms may be responsible for the course of the operation. Other mechanisms such
as segregation can also be involved during particle motions. Depending on the equipment
used, mixing mechanisms can receive other classifications that will be mentioned further
in this section.
17.1.1 Convective, Diffusive and Shear Mixing
During convective mixing, masses or groups of particles transfer together from one
location to another, while in diffusion mixing, individual particles are randomly
distributed over a surface developed within the mixture. In shear mixing, groups of
particles are mixed through the formation of slipping planes developed within the
mass of the mixture. Shear mixing is sometimes considered as part of the convective
mechanism.
In convective mixing, a circulating flow of powders is usually caused by the
rotational motion of a mixer vessel, an agitating impeller (such as a ribbon or a
paddle), or gas flow. This circulating flow contributes mainly to a macroscopic
mixing of bulk powder mixtures. Large portions of the total mix are moved at
relatively high rates, and changes at a microscopic scale are not expected. Therefore,
pure convection tends to be less effective, leading to a final mixture, which may still
exhibit poor mixing characteristics on a fine scale. Convective mixing is beneficial
for batch mode operations but gives unfavourable effects for continuous mode
mixing.
Diffusive mixing (or random wall phenomenon) is caused by the random motion of
powder particles. The rate of mixing by this mechanism is low compared with
convective mixing, but diffusive mixing is essential for microscopic homogenization.
It has been concluded that diffusion is the best mechanism for axial mixing, similar to
diffusion of particles in gas and liquid phases. Pure diffusion, when feasible, is highly
effective producing very intimate mixtures at the level of individual particles but at
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effective, producing very intimate mixtures at the level of individual particles but at
an exceedingly slow rate. A trough mixer with a ribbon spiral can give almost pure
convective mixing, while a simple barrel mixer gives mainly a form of diffusion
mixing. These features of diffusion and convective mixing mechanisms suggest that
an effective operation may be achieved by combining both, in order to take advantage
of the speed of convection and the effectiveness of diffusion.
Shear mixing is induced by the momentum exchange of powder particles having
different velocities (differential velocity distribution). Shear mixing is developed by
the formation of slipping planes in the bulk material; the originally coherent particle
groups are gradually broken along these planes. The velocity distribution develops
around the agitating impeller and the vessel walls due to compression and extension
of bulk powders. It is also developed in the powder layer in rotary vessel mixers and
at blowing ports in gas-flow mixers. Shear mixing can enhance semi-microscopic
mixing and be beneficial in both batch and continuous operations. In free-flowing
powders, both diffusive mixing and shear mixing give rise to size segregation (or de-
mixing), therefore, for such powders, convective mixing is the major mechanism
promoting mixing.
Powder mixing proceeds in a mixer where the three mechanisms described above
take place simultaneously. The characteristic curve of mixing is the plot of the degree
of mixedness M (on a logarithmic scale) against the mixing time t (on a linear scale).
The mixing time is the time measured from the start of mixing in a batch mode
operation, whereas it corresponds to the mean residence time (the powder volume in a
mixer divided by its volumetric flow rate) in a continuous operation. The
characteristic curve of mixing is useful for the performance evaluation of mixers. Fig.
5.1 shows a schematic example of the curve, where the standard deviation is plotted
on a logarithmic scale.

Convective mixing is dominant in the initial stage (I) and the mixing proceeds
steadily by both convective and shear mechanisms in the intermediate stage (II). In
the final stage (III) the effect of diffusive mixing appears and the dynamic
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the final stage (III), the effect of diffusive mixing appears and the dynamic
equilibrium between mixing and segregation is reached. The degree of mixedness at
this state is called the final degree of mixedness, M∞. Various powder mixers exhibit
a variety of patterns in the characteristic curve of mixing. Operating conditions and
powder properties significantly influence the value of M∞. In comparison with fluid
mixing, in which diffusion can be normally regarded as spontaneous, particulate
systems will only diffuse as a result of mechanical movement provided by gravity,
shaking, tumbling, vibration, or any other mechanical mean. Lacey (1954) tried to
adjust Fick’s equation, the simplest model for molecular diffusion in liquids, to the
mixing of solids. Fick’s equation has the following form:
\[{{\partial C}\over{\partial t}}=D{{\partial ^2 C} \over {\partial x^2
}}\]...............................................(16.1)
where, C is the concentration of solids, D is the diffusivity, and x is the distance in the
direction of dispersion. It is clear that the diffusivity D in solids does not have the
same physical meaning as in liquids, given that D varies with the magnitude and
direction of the force impelled to the powder bulk to generate movement. However,
the model could describe a binary mixture of particles with the same mean diameter
fed into rotating horizontal drum in such a way that a thin layer is perpendicular to
the axis of rotation. The equation can be solved as a function of the number of
revolutions of the mixer and the distance from one of the sidewalls. The movement of
particles during a mixing operation, however, can also result in another mechanism
that may retard, or even reverse, the mixing process, known as segregation.
Degree of Mixedness
Based on a diffusive mixing mechanism and employing a modified Fick’s
diffusion equation, Rose (1970) proposed the following mixing rate equation to
describe the process in which both mixing and de-mixing (i.e., segregation) occur
simultaneously in a mixer.
\[{{dM} \over {dt}} = A\left( {1 - M} \right) - B\lambda \]
.........................................................................(16.2)
Where, A and B are mixing and de-mixing rate constants respectively
M is the degree of mixedness and defined as;
\[M =1- {\sigma\over{\sigma
o}}\]........................................................................................................(16.2.1)
Where, σ is the standard deviation
σ0 is the standard deviation at t=0 and

\[\lambda = \pm \sqrt {1 -

M}\]...............................................................................................................
(16.2.2)

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Lesson 18. Types of mixtures for dry and paste materials

18.0 Introduction
In general terms, mixers for dry solids have nothing to do with mixers involving
a liquid phase, as solid particles are subjected to various interactive forces which
are not self-diffusive. Powders cannot be set in motion without an external force
such as mechanical agitation According to the mixing mechanisms previously
discussed solids mixers can be classified into two groups: segregating mixers
and non-segregating mixers. The former operate mainly by a diffusive
mechanism, while the latter practically involve a convective mechanism.
Segregating mixers are normally non-impeller type units, such as tumbling
mixers, whereas non-segregating mixers may include screws, blades, and
ploughs in their designs; examples of them include horizontal trough mixers and
vertical screw mixers. Furthermore, mixing can operate in batch or continuous
modes. The following sections will describe batch type blenders in detail and
will mention some aspects of continuous blending.

18.1 Tumbler Mixers

Free-flowing non-segregating powders may be readily mixed in batch by use of tumbler
mixers. Tumbler mixers operate by tumbling the mass of solids inside a revolving vessel.
Blenders are available in various geometries, affecting material movement, mixing
efficiency and ease of cleaning between batches. These vessels take various forms, such
as those illustrated in Fig. 17.1, and may be fitted with baffles or stays to improve their
performance. A tumbling batch blender can be of four types, which are described as
follows:
(a) Horizontal cylinder (Fig. 17.1a): This cylindrical mixer has a tubular vessel mounted
on trunnions. Internal baffles or lifter bars are mounted along the inner walls of the vessel.
The inlet is typically located at the top center of the vessel and the outlet at the bottom
center. The blender tumbles and the internal baffles gently lift and aerate the material
preventing it from sliding along the blender bottom; they also de-lump the material.
(b) Double cone blender (Fig. 17.1b): The double cone blender consists of two cone-
shaped sections, typically with 45o slopes. The cone sections are welded at their ends to a
center band. The blender is mounted between two trunnions that permit the unit to tumble
end over end. An opening in one of the ends of the cones serves as inlet and outlet, or the
inlet can be in one cone end with the outlet in the other. Cleaning access is through the
outlet. The blender tumbles, and the material in the vessel spreads out. The transition area
at the band between the cones prevents the material from sliding along the inner wall and
instead causes the material to fold over itself. This provides gentle mixing with only very
slight shear.
(c) V-cone blender (Fig.17.1c) and Y-cone blender (Fig. 17.1d): The V-cone blender is
similar to a double cone unit, but consists of two large diameter pipe sections cut at a 45◦-
angle and welded together to form a V. In the same way, the Y-cone blender has a third
section that extends the volume of the blender in a bisectional direction with respect to
the other pipe sections. Inlets are typically located at both ends of the V (or of the Y); the
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outlet is at the V point (or at the bottom of the Y). The unit is also mounted on trunnions
to allow it to tumble and can be equipped with a spray line for liquid addition and an
agitator for de-lumping. The units tumble end over end as in the double cone blender. The
free-falling action combined with increased frictional contact between the material and
the long vessel sides result in less gentle mixing than in a double cone blender.
From the outlets of the mixers, the batch can be discharged via an optional retractable
sleeve into drums or containers for shipping. The mixer’s tumbling action distributes the
materials along an ever changing angle of repose surface. Tumbler mixers can be used to
provide a gentle mixing required to avoid attrition of friable materials. The shells rotate at
variable speeds having values up to 100 rev/min with working capacities around 50–60%
of the total vessel volume. Rotational speed is set at 50–80% of the critical rotational
speed, Ncr, given as:

\[N_{cr}={{0.498} \over {\sqrt {R_{\max } } }}(s^{ - 1}

)\]...........................................................(17.1)
where Rmax (m) is the maximum radius of rotation of the mixer. The rate of mixing is
rather low, but a good final degree of mixedness can be expected.

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Fig. 18.1 Tumbler mixers used in food powder blending: (a) horizontal cylinder; (b) double
cone; (c) V-cone; and (d) Y-cone.
Tumbler mixers are manufactured using a wide variety of materials, including stainless
steel. Batch ingredients can be weighed automatically as they enter the mixing vessel
rather than individually prior to mixing. Once the desired weight has been reached,
rotation start can be automatically controlled by computerized systems. This type of
mixer can create a free falling curtain of material, exposing each particle surface area and
allowing uniform dispersion of liquid additives. Liquid addition can include for coating
and encapsulating applications. This type of equipment is best suited for gentle blending
of powders with similar physical characteristics. Segregation can represent a problem if
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particles vary, particularly in size and shape. Thus, careful design is required to minimize
degree of segregation.
One of the main disadvantages of this type of blender is the demixing possibility due to
the funnel flow pattern formation that can occur upon discharging. Very few double cone
or V-cone blenders have hopper surfaces steep enough and sufficiently low in friction
to provide mass-flow discharge. One possible solution would be to connect the tumble
blending unit to a mass flow container. In fact, a special device called the cone-in-cone
bin has tumbling and mass flow discharge possibilities, thereby eliminating segregation
upon discharge, while maximizing the capacity of the container.
18.2 Horizontal and Vertical Trough Mixers
Horizontal trough mixers consist of a semi-cylindrical horizontal vessel in which one or
more rotating devices are located. For simple operations, single or twin screw conveyors
are appropriate and one passage through such a system may be good enough. For more
demanding duties, a ribbon mixer, like the one shown in Fig. 17.2, may be used. A typical
design of a ribbon mixer will consist of two counteracting helical blades (called ribbons
or spirals) mounted on the same shaft. Ribbons convey materials inside and outside in
opposite directions forcing them to intermix. The mixing tool and vessel are typically
made of stainless steel. One moves the solids slowly in one direction, while the other
moves it quickly in the opposite direction. There is a resultant movement of solids in one
direction, so the equipment can be used as a continuous mixer. Some other types of
ribbon mixers operate on a batch basis. The mixer can have more than one discharge so
different batches can be discharged to different processing lines. In these designs, troughs
may be closed to minimize dust hazard, or may be jacketed to allow temperature control.
Due to small clearance between the ribbon and the trough wall, this kind of mixer can
cause particle damage and may consume high amounts of power. Another possibility is
that the ribbon mixer is in its vertical position. These mixers operate at relatively low
speed to gently handle materials while providing enough intensity to thoroughly blend
them in a relatively short time cycle (typically 1/3 to 1/2 the time of conventional
horizontal ribbon mixers). The mixer has a filling capacity of up to 90% of the gross
volume of the mixer, thus improving process efficiency.

The vertical ribbon mixer is available in two types: single and double shaft. The single-
shaft mixer (Fig. 17.3a) has a rotating shaft fitted with horizontal arms that support the
ribbons. The shaft, arms, and blades together are the mixing tool. The rotating shaft runs
through the center of a cylindrical, vertically oriented air- and watertight vessel. Once the
ingredients are in the vessel, the rotation creates an upward screw-like movement of the
ingredients along the vessel periphery and a downward movement along the shaft through
the vessel center. The double-shaft mixer (Fig. 17.4b) functions similarly to the single
shaft unit. However, both shafts rotate in the same direction at somewhat higher speed,
creating a synchronized crosswise mixing pattern.
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fig_17.3 (a) vertical singal mixer and (b) vertical double-shaft mixer
(1) filling ratios 10–100%; (2) adjustable distance between base and mixing
apparatus; (3) cutting rotors; (4) mixing tool motor; (5) liquid spray; (6) oval
inspection door; (7) level indicator; (8) chemical aseptic flanges in connection
pieces; (9) orbital tank washing heads; (10) discharge flap; (11) optional load cell
mounting; (12) double jacket (courtesy of Amixon GmbH).
18.3 Vertical Screw Mixers
In vertical screw mixers, a rotating vertical screw is located in a cylindrical or cone
shaped vessel. The screw may be mounted centrally in the vessel or may rotate or orbit
around the central axis of the vessel near the wall. Materials are lifted from the bottom to
the top of the hopper and are then exchanged with materials on the way up. Such mixers
are schematically shown in Fig. 17.4. A vertical screw blender (Fig. 17.4a) may be
desired for larger batches handled in a small space, while the orbiting screw mixer (Fig.
17.4b) is used for difficult mixes. The latter arrangement is more effective and stagnant
layers near the wall are eliminated. Vertical screw mixers are quick, efficient, and
particularly useful for mixing small quantities of additives into large masses of material.
Specialized atmospheres as well as normal temperatures and pressures are accessible for
multipurpose operations.

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Fig.18.3 Vertical screw mixers: (a) central screw; and (b) orbiting screw.
18.4 Fluidized Bed Mixers
Food powders can also be mixed by aeration using a fluidized bed. The resulting
turbulence of passing air through a bed of particulate material causes material to blend.
Materials are moved upward by air jets, causing differential movement. Stationary vessels
using gas-flow agitation are used primarily for batch mode mixing. Materials to be mixed
have to be relatively fine and fairly narrow in their size distribution, as well as not too
cohesive. Powders to be mixed can be charged to more than 70% of the vessel volume.
Mixing times required in fluidized beds are significantly lower than those required in
conventional powder mixers. The mixing is largely convective with the circulation
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patterns set up by the bubble motion within the bed. An important feature of the fluidized
bed mixer is that several processing steps (mixing reaction, coating, drying, etc. may be
carried out in the same vessel. Additional equipment can include blowers, dust collectors,
and pressure regulators, which will enlarge the system as a whole. A particular type of
the fluidized mixer is the fluidized paddle mixer (also called fluidized zone mixer). The
mixer has twin troughs, each with a center mounted rotating shaft. Flat paddles are
welded to spokes on each shaft. The paddles lift the material from the bottom and throw it
into a zero gravity, fluidized mixing zone, settling a random displacement pattern for the
material.

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Lesson 19. Mixture Quality: Mixing Index and Rate

Introduction
Assessing the extent of mixing is of great interest for both equipment
manufacturers and food powder processors. Mixing indices have been proposed
to assess the extent of mixing. Mixing indices intend to provide a measure of the
performance of a piece of equipment (a blender) or a process as related to ideal
desired conditions. Considering some previously discussed aspects of the
mixing process, it can be gathered that food mixing is a complicated task not
easily described by mathematical modelling. Mixture quality results from
several complex mechanisms operating in parallel, which are hard to follow or
to fit to a particular model. The scale and intensity of segregation is defined as
the quantities necessary to characterize a mixture. The scale of segregation is a
description of unmixed components, while the intensity of segregation is a
measure of the standard deviation of composition from the mean, taken over all
points in the mixture. In practice, it is difficult to determine these parameters,
since they require concentration data from a large number of points within the
system. However, they provide a sound theoretical basis for assessing mixture
quality. Taking into account the complexity of components and interactions in
food solids mixing, it would be difficult to define a unique criterion to assess
mixture quality. In fact, there over 30 criteria have been developed to express
the degree of mixedness. A mixing endpoint or optimum mixing time can also
be considered as a very relative definition due to the segregating tendency of
food powder mixing.

The degree of uniformity of a mixed product may be measured by analysis of a number of

spot samples. Food powder mixers act on two or more separate materials to intermingle
them. Once a material is randomly distributed through another, mixing may be considered
to be complete. Based on that, the well-known statistical parameters of mean and standard
deviation of component concentration can be used to characterize the state of a mixture. If
spot samples are taken at random from a mixture and analyzed, the standard deviation of
the analyses s about the average value of the fraction of a specific powder is estimated
by the following relation:
\[s =\sqrt{{{\sum\limits_{i=1}^N{\left({x_i -\bar x}\right)^2}}\over{N-
1}}}\]..................................................................................................................(18.1)
where xi is every measured value of fraction of one powder and N is the number of
samples.
The standard deviation value on its own may be meaningless, unless it can be checked
against limiting values of either complete segregation s0 or complete randomization sr.
The minimum standard deviation attainable with any mixture is sr, which represents the
best possible mixture. Furthermore, if a mixture is stochastically ordered, sr would equal
zero. Based on these limiting values of standard deviations, Lacey (1954) defined a
mixing index M1 as follows:

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\[M_1={{s_0^2-s^2}\over{s_0^2-
s_r^2}}\]..................................................................................................................................
(18.2)
The numerator in Eq. (18.2) would be an indicator of how much mixing has occurred,
while the denominator would show how much mixing can occur. A Lancey mixing index
M1 of zero would represent complete segregation, and a value of unity would represent a
completely random mixture.Practical values of this mixing index, however, are found to
lie in the range 0.75–1. Thus, the Lancey mixing index does not provide sufficient
discrimination between mixtures. In practice, however, the values of s, even for a very
poor mixture, lie much closer to sr than to s0. Poole et al. (1964) suggested an
alternative mixing index:
\[M_2=
{s\over{s_r}}\]........................................................................................................................
(18.3)
Equation (18.3) clearly indicates that for efficient mixing or increasing randomization
M2 would approach unity. The values of s0 and s can be determined theoretically. These
values would be dependent on the number of components and their size distributions.
This index gives better discrimination for practical mixtures and approaches unity for
completely random mixtures. Equations (18.2) and (18.3) can be used to calculate mixing
indices defined by Eq. (18.1).

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Lesson. 20 Theory of Separation

Theory of Separation
Separation techniques are involved in a great number of food processing
industries and represent an everyday important unit operation of practising food
process engineering. Separation techniques are defined as those operations that
isolate specific ingredients of a mixture without a chemical reaction taking
place.

Screening and size & un-sized separation

Screening is a separation technique of a mixture of various sizes of solid particles into
several fractions, based on size and shape difference. It consists of forcing the
mixture through a screen of a specific size aperture. Small capacity plane screens are
often called as sieves. By vibrating or oscillating a screen, particle smaller than a
given aperture pass through, thus being separated from the remaining mixture.
Screens are made from metal bars, perforations or slotted metal plates, woven wire
cloth, or fabric, such as silk bolting cloth. Metals used include steel, stainless steel,
bronze, copper, nickel, and monel. The screen surface may be plane (horizontal or
inclined) or it may be cylindrical. The aperture size of the screens ranges from about
0.1 to 250 mm, with exceptional cases in which the aperture may be as large as 460
mm. The material passing through a given screen is termed undersize, fines or minus
(−) material, while the material retained in a given size screen is called oversize, tails
or plus (+) material. Either stream may be the desired (product) stream or the
undesired (reject) stream. Screening has two main applications: (1) laboratory
technique for particle size analysis, and (2) Industrial operation for fractionation and
classification of particulate solids.
Every screen is identified in meshes per inch. In coarse screens, the term mesh refers
to the distance between adjacent wires. While in fine screens, the mesh is the number
of opening per linear inch counting from the centre of any wire to a point exactly one
inch distant (e.g., a 200 mesh screen will have 200 opening per linear inch). Screen
aperture or Screen size opening is, defined as the minimum clear space between the
edges of the opening in the screening surface. For carrying out screen analysis, Tyler
standard screen series is used as test sieves. This testing sieves are constructed of
woven wire screens with square openings, the mesh and dimension of which are
standardised.
Tyler standard screen series is based on a 200 mesh screen with a wire 0.053 mm
(0.0021 in) in diameter, giving a clear opening of 0.074 mm (1/200 – 0.0021 = 0.0029
in). The screen coarser than 200- mesh have their mesh and wire diameter so adjusted
that the area of opening in any one screen is approximately twice the area of the
opening in next consecutive finer screen. This means that the ratio of linear size of
opening in any screen to that in the next finer screen is (1.414). Therefore, a 150-
mesh screen will have an opening of 0.104 mm ( × 0.0029 = 0.0041 in) with a wire
of 0.064 mm (1/150 – 0.0041 = 0.0026 in) diameter. These testing sieves are used to
determine the efficiencies of screening equipments.
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Theory of filtration
In filtration, suspended solid particles in a liquid are physically or mechanically
removed with help of a porous medium that retains the particles as a separate phase
or cake and passes the clear filtrate.
In filtration a pressure difference is set up and causes the fluid to flow through the
small holes of a screen or cloth which block the passage of large solid particles,
which in turn, build up on the cloth as a porous cake. The valuable product may be
the clear filtrate from the filtration, or the solid cake, or both. Sometime it is neither,
as when the waste solids must be separated from waste liquid prior to disposal. In
some cases complete removal of solid particles is required and in other cases only
partial removal. Commercial filtration ranges from simple straining to highly
complex separations. The volume of suspensions to be handled may vary from
extremely large quantities (in water purification) to relatively small quantities (in the
fine chemical industry). Often the feed is modified by pre-treatment to increase the
filtration rate, as by heating, recrystallizing, or adding a ‘filter aid’ such as cellulose
or diatomaceous earth.
Suspension flows through a filter medium by virtue of a pressure differential across
the medium. Therefore, filters are also classified into those that with a pressure above
atmospheric on the upstream side of the filter medium and those that operates with
atmospheric pressure on the upstream side and a vacuum on the downstream side.
Pressure above atmospheric may be develop by the force of gravity on a column of
liquid, by a pump or blower, or by centrifugal force. A typical laboratory filtration
apparatus (Buchner funnel placed over a Buchner flask) is shown in Fig. 1. The slurry
containing liquid and suspended solids is caused to flow through the filter paper
placed over a porous plate by a vacuum on the exit end. The solid particles are
blocked by the small opening in the pores of the filter paper and build up in form a
porous cake as the filtration proceeds. This cake itself also act as a filter for the
suspended particles and as the cake builds up, resistance to flow also increases.

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Different types of filter
Filtrations are classified mainly into two types
(i) Cake filtration and (ii) Deep bed filtration
In case of cake filtration, the suspension contains relatively a larger percentage of
solid, so that a cake is formed and can subsequently be detached from the filter
medium. In case of deep bed filtration, the proportions of suspended solids is very
small and the particle of solid being smaller than the pores of a filter medium will
penetrate a considerable depth and ultimately get trapped inside the filter medium
and usually no layer of solids will appear on the surface of the medium (e.g. water
filtration).
Accordingly, filters are divided into three main groups, cake filters, clarifying filters
and cross flow filters. Cake filters separates relatively large amounts of solids as a
cake of crystals whereas clarifying filters removes small amounts of solids to produce
a sparkling clear liquid such as beverages (Fig.2a).
The solids are trapped inside the filter medium or on its external surfaces. Clarifying
filters differ from screens in that the pores of the filter medium are much larger in
diameter than the particles to be removed (Fig. 2b). In a cross flow filter the feed
suspension flows under pressure at a fairly high velocity across the filter medium
(Fig.2c). A thin layer solid may form on the surface of the medium, but high speed
liquid keeps the layer from building up. The filter medium is a ceramic, metal, or
polymer membrane with pores small enough to exclude most of the suspended
particles. Some of the liquid passes through the medium as clear filtrate, leaving a
more concentrated suspension behind.

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Principle of cake filtration and rate of filtration

In cake filtration, the feed to be handled (two phase mixture) is termed as slurry, the
bed of deposited solids on a porous membrane (filter medium) is termed ascake and
the clear liquid leaving the filter medium is term as filtrate.
During the initial period of flow, solid particles are trapped within the pores of a
medium forming the true filter medium. The liquid passes through the bed of the
solids and through the filter medium. Initially, rate of filtration is high. As the solids
are removed from the feed, they accumulate in the filter medium, resulting in an
increase resistance to flow and the rate of filtration decreases for a given pressure
differential across the filter medium.
The rate at which the filtrate is obtained in a filtration operation, i.e., the rate of
filtration depends upon the following factors
1. Pressure drop across the filter medium
2. The area of the filtering surface
3. The viscosity of the filtrate
4. The resistance of the filter cake as determined by the solids removed from slurry
5. The resistance of the filter medium
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The rate of filtration can be written as follows

where the driving force is the pressure required to move the fluid through the filter
medium and the resistance is dependent on several factors. The overall resistance can
be describe by following expression

where Lc represent the thickness of accumulated solids in the filter cake, µ is the fluid
viscosity and L is the fictitious thickness of the filter medium. The parameter r'
represents the specific resistance of the filter cake and it is a property of particles forming
the filter cake.Lc is described by

where S is the solid content of the fluid being filtered, and V is the volume that has
passed through the filter with cross-sectional area (A).
The thickness of the filter cake represents a fictitious value to describe the total thickness
of all solids accumulated. In some filtration processes, this may approach the real
situation. Utilizing Equations (1) and (2), the total resistance can be written in the
following manner:

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Thus, expression for rate of filtration is obtained as follows

The filtration process may occur in two phases:

(1) Constant rate filtration, normally occurs during early stages of the
process, and
(2) Constant pressure filtration, occurring during final stages of the process
Pressure drop during filtration
With the help of the pressure difference applied between the slurry inlet and the
filtrate outlet, the filtrate is forced through a filter. The filtrate has to pass through
three resistances in series:
(1) Resistance of the feed and filtrate channel,
(2) Resistance of the cake and
(3) Resistance offered by the filter medium
The overall or total pressure drop over the filter at any time is equal to the sum of the
individual pressure drops over the medium and cake.
Constant rate filtration
Constant-rate filtration is described by the following integrated forms of Equation (4),
which can be used to determine the required pressure drop as a function of the
filtration rate:

Equation (5) can be expressed in a different form if the thickness (L) of the filter
medium is considered negligible. The following equation for pressure drop as a
function of time is obtained

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In many situations, Equation (6) can be used to predict pressure drop requirements for
a filter during the early stages of the process.
Constant pressure filtration
An expression for describing constant pressure filtration can be obtained from the
following form of Equation (4):

Integrating above Equation leads to following equation:

or the following equation if filter medium thickness (L) can be assumed to be

negligible:

Essentially, Equation (8) indicates the time required to filter a given volume of feed
slurry when a constant pressure is maintained.
Reference to Equation (4) reveals that the filtration process is directly dependent on
two factors: the filter medium and the fluid being filter. In Equation (4) a filter
medium is described in terms of area (A) and the specific resistance ( ). The filter
medium will depend considerably on the type of fluid being filtered. In the case of
liquid filtration, the filter medium, to a large extent, will contain the solids removed
from the liquid. This filter cake must be supported by some type of structure that
plays only a limited role in the filtration process. In some cases, these supporting
materials may be woven (wool, cotton, linen) or they may be granular materials for
particular types of liquids. In any case, the primary role of the material is to support
the collected solids so that the solids can act as a filter medium for the liquid.
The second factor of Equation (4) that influences filtration rate is the fluid being
filtered as described by the fluid viscosity (μ). The rate of filtration and the viscosity
of the fluid being filtered are inversely related; as the viscosity of the fluid increases,
the rate of filtration must decrease. Fluid viscosity plays a very important role in the
filtration process and must be accounted for in all design computations.

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Lesson. 21 Type of Separators

In food industries, the operations of separating raw products including cleaning

and grading are performed by the different engineering properties. Various types
of separation equipments have been designed and developed on the basis of
properties of the products.
The separation equipment can be classified depending upon the following
characteristics of the raw materials;
-size, shape, specific gravity and surface roughness
-magnetic properties, aerodynamic properties, colour, electrical properties
-dielectric properties, rheological properties

A classification of separation techniques according to phases (type of mixture) involved

are given as;

Type of mixture Techniques

Distillation
Extraction
Liquid-liquid Decantation
Dialysis and electro-dialysis
Parametric pumping

Screening
Leaching
Solid-solid
Floatation
Air classification

Cyclonic
Air filtration
Solid-gas
Scrubbing
Electrostatic precipitation

Solid-liquid Sedimentation
Centrifugation
Filtration
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Membrane separation

Screening fundamentals
The objective of a screening operation is to separate a feed stream into two fractions, an
underflow that is passed through the screen and an overflow that is rejected by the screen.
An ideal screen sharply separates the feed in such a way that the smallest particle in the
overflow is just larger than the largest particle in the underflow. Such an ideal separation
would define a cut diameter, Dpc, representing the point of separation between the
fractions. For an ideal operation, a plot of screen opening against cumulative fraction
retained would have the shape shown in Fig.b.

As can be seen, the largest particle of the underflow (U) has the same size as the smallest
particle of the overflow (O). In practice, however, the plot would have the shape
illustrated in Fig. 3.1c, in which there is an overlap; the underflow has an appreciable
amount of particles larger than the desired cut diameter, while the overflow has particles
smaller than such desired cut diameter. That is the actual screens don’t yield a sharp
separation. It has been observed that with standard testing screen, the overlap is smaller
when particles are spherical (or close to a spherical shape) and is larger when particles are
needle-like, fibrous or tend to agglomerate. The main problems encountered in screening
result from sample stickiness, sieve blockage, and agglomeration. Commercial screens
usually give poorer performance than testing screens of the same mesh handling the same
feed mixture. All these problems increase exponentially as the screen aperture decreases.
Percentage open area of a mesh

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Example 3.1 Calculate the opening size (Aperture) in mm of a 200-mesh screen of

Tyler standard screen series with a wire of 0.053 mm diameter. Determine the
percentage open area for this mesh size.
Solution:

O = (1/200 x 25.4 – 0.053) = 0.074 mm

Generally, in food industries, screens are constructed by perforated sheet metal or

woven wire mesh. The opening in perforated metal sheets may be round, oblong
or triangular. The opening in wire mesh is square or rectangle.

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Lesson 22. Capacity and effectiveness

Efficiency of separation, along with capacity, is the measure of performance in

industrial screening. Capacity and effectiveness are opposing factors as
maximum effectiveness is related to small capacity, while large capacity is only
attainable at the expense of efficiency. A reasonable balance between capacity
and effectiveness is desired in practice. Although accurate relationships are not
available for estimating operating characteristics in screen operations, certain
fundamentals apply and may be used as guidelines when running and designing
a screening process.

The capacity of a screen is measured by the mass of material which can be fed per unit
time to a unit area of screen, and can be simply controlled by varying the feed rate to the
equipment. The effectiveness obtained for a given capacity is dependent upon the specific
nature of the screening operation. The chance of passing through the screen of an
undersize particle is a function of the number of times the particle strikes the screen
surface, as well as its probability of passage in a single contact. If a screen is overloaded,
the number of contacts is small and the chance of passing on contact is reduced by
particle interference. The effectiveness is improved by reducing the capacity as then there
will be more contacts per particle and better chances for passing through the screen
aperture on each contact.
A particle would have an ideal opportunity of passage when striking the surface
perpendicularly, which would only be possible if it were oriented with its minimum
dimensions parallel to the screen surface. Additional conditions would be no interference
by other particles, as well as not sticking to, or wedging into, the screen surface. None of
these conditions apply to actual screening, but this ideal situation can be used as a basis
for estimating the effect of mesh size and wire dimensions on screen performance. If the
width of a screen were negligible in comparison to the size of the openings, the wires
would not interfere with particle passage and, practically, the entire screen surface would
be active. In such a case, the probability of passage of a striking particle would approach
unity. In actual screening, the diameter of the wire, or the fraction of the surface not
constituting openings, is significant and the solid meshes strongly affect screen
performance, especially by retarding the passage of particles nearly as large as the screen
openings.
Calculation of Capacity and Effectiveness of screens
The efficiency of a screening operation may be evaluated by simple mass balances over
screen. Consider that the feed to a screen consists of materials A and B, where A is the
oversize and B is the undersize material. Out of the total materials fed to the screen, some
part of it is removed as overflow and remaining part is collected as underflow.
Let F be the mass flow rate of feed, (kg/h)
O be the mass flow rate of overflow, (kg/h) and
U be the mass flow rate of underflow, (kg/h) ; also, let
XF be the mass fraction of material A in the feed,
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XO the mass fraction of material A in the overflow and

XU the mass fraction of material A in the underflow.

Furthermore, the fractions of material B in the feed, overflow and underflow are 1 − XF,
1−XO and 1 −XU, respectively.

Since the total of the material fed to the screen must leave either as overflow or underflow
thus overall material balance over a screen is;
F=O+U (1)
Material balance of ‘A’ over a screen is
XF.F = XO.O + XU.U (2)

From equation (1), we have

F- O = U (3)
Similarly substituting the value of U from equation (3) into equation (2), we get
F.XF = XO .O + XU. (F – O) (4)

F.XF = XO .O + XU.F – XU.O

(XF – XU) F = (XO – XU) O

Similarly eliminating O from equation (1) and equation (2), gives

Effectiveness of screens and its calculation

The effectiveness of a screen (screen efficiency) is a measure of success of the screen in
closely separating undersize and oversize materials. In case of a perfectly functioned
screen, all the oversize materials would be in overflow and all the undersize material
would be in underflow.
The screen effectiveness based on oversize material is the ration of the amount of
oversize material that is actually present in the overflow to the amount of oversize
material entering with the feed.

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Similarly, screen effectiveness based on undersize material:

The overall combined effectiveness (E) is given by

Substituting EO and EU in equation (3.9), we get

Equation (11) is an alternative expression to evaluate screen effectiveness without

involving the streams and using only the fractions.
Factors affecting efficiency
The probability of passage of a particle through a given screen mainly depends on
(i) the fraction of the total surface represented by openings
(ii) the ratio of the diameter of the particle to the width of an opening in the screen, and
(iii) the number of contacts between the particle and the screen surface
If all these factors were constant, the average number of particles passing through a single
screen opening in a unit time would be constant and independent of the size of the screen
opening. The capacity of a screen in mass per unit time divided by the mesh size would
therefore be constant for any specified conditions of operation. However, in practice,
When large and small particles are present, the large ones tend to segregate in a layer next
to the screen, preventing the smaller particles from reaching the screen surface thus
reducing capacity and lower efficiency.
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Pertaining to moisture, either dry particles or particles moving in a stream pass more
easily through a screen opening than damp particles, which are prone to stick to the
screen surface and to each other. In terms of size aspects, as particle size is reduced,
screening becomes progressively more difficult, while capacity and efficiency tend to
decrease. Blinding or clogging of the openings is particularly likely to occur when
particles have sizes very close in dimension to the screen aperture. In general terms, there
are three possibilities of a given particle facing a screen aperture:
(a) the particle being too large in relation to the aperture so it would be easily
retained;
(b) the particle being too small in relation to the aperture so it would go through
easily; and
(c) the particle having a critical dimension so it would be trapped and promote
blinding or clogging of the screen surface.
Surface roughness of the grain and surface cohesive and adhesive property affects the
selection and efficiency of the screen.

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Lession. 23 Screen Analysis

The fine particles are generally specified accordingly to their screen analysis. A
screen analysis of a material is carried out by using testing sieves. A set of
standard screens is arranged serially in a stack in such a way that the coarsest
and finest of the screens is at the top and bottom respectively. An analysis is
carried out by placing the sample on the top screen and shaking in a definite
manner, either manually or mechanically, for a definite period of time. The
material retained on each screen is to be removed and weighed. The amount of
material retained on each screen is expressed as the weight fraction of the total
sample.

As the particles retained on any one screen are passed through the screen immediately
above it, two numbers are needed to specify the size, first the screen through which the
fraction passes and the other on which that fraction is retained. Hence, the notation 8/10
means the material is such that it passes through the screen of mesh number 8 and collects
on the screen of mesh number 10 (through 8 mesh and on 10 mesh). An analysis reported
in a tabular form is called a differential analysis.
The material that is retained on the screen is the oversize and the material passes, it is the
undersize. Thus, a -8 to +10 fraction means, the fraction of the material that passes
through 8 mesh screen but is retained on a 10 mesh screen.
Differential Screen Analysis
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Mesh Weight fraction retained

6/8 0.017

8/10 0.235

10/14 0.298

14/20 0.217

20/28 0.105

28/35 0.062

35/48 0.028

48/65 0.017

65/100 0.010

100/150 0.005

150/200 0.002

Pan 0.004

1.000

Other method of screen analysis is a cumulative analysis. It is obtained from the

differential analysis by adding cumulatively, the individual weight fractions of material
retained on each screen, starting with that retained on the largest mesh, and tabulating the
cumulative sums against the screen opening of the retaining screen of the last to be added.
If we define ɸ by the equation of the form:

Where, ∆ ɸ1, ∆ ɸ2, ….. are the weight fractions of material retained on screens 1,2,……..
numbered serially from top of the deck.
Then the cumulative analysis is the relation between ɸ and screen opening. The
quantity ɸ is the weight fraction of the sample that consists of particles larger than
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the screen opening. For the entire sample, the value of ɸ is unity. The cumulative
analysis corresponding to the differential analysis of shown above is given
hereunder.
Table 2: Cumulative screen analysis

Mesh Cumulative fraction retained (ɸ)

6 0.000

8 0.017

10 0.252

14 0.550

20 0.767

28 0.872

35 0.934

48 0.962

65 0.979

100 0.989

150 0.994

200 0.996

Pan 1.000

ɸ = cumulative fraction retained on screen

1-ɸ = cumulative fraction passing through screen
Fineness modulus
It is an empirical factor obtained by adding the total percentages of a sample of the
aggregate retained on each of a specified series of sieves, and dividing the sum by
100. It indicates the uniformity of grind in resultant product. The fineness modulus is
based on the percentages of aggregates retained on a specified series of sieves.
Sieve analysis and fineness modulus of sand (Sample size = 500.3 g)
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Sieve size Cumulative mass retained (g) Cumulative % retained

5 mm 31.5 6.3

2.5 mm 99.1 19.8

1.25 mm 195.6 39.1

630 micron 306.7 61.3

315 microns 367.2 73.4

160 microns 482.8 96.5

Cumulative percent retained = 100 (cumulative mass retained/mass of total sample)

FM = (∑Cumulative percent retained / 100)
Fineness Modulus = (6.3+19.8+39.1+61.3+73.4+96.5) / 100 = 2.964
The average particle size, Dp in mm represented in terms of fineness modulus and can be
estimated by the following equation. This gives an idea about the size distribution of
comminuted product.

Dp = 0.135 (1.366) FM

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Lesson 24 Pneumatic separation

24.1 Introduction
Pneumatic separation is the process of using air to lift light, chaffy and dusty
materials out of the grain while heavier materials move downward. Aerodynamic
characteristic of particle mixtures are important for cleaning.

The pneumatic separation is based on the difference in aerodynamic properties of various

constituents of the mixture. The aerodynamic property of a particle depends upon its shape,
size, surface and orientation with respect to air current. Aspirator and pneumatic separator
both use terminal velocity of the grain to separate different fractions. The velocity of air
required to suspend particles in a rising air current.
In this separator, the fan is placed at the intake end of the machine which creates higher
pressure than atmospheric pressure. The high pressure air blast separates the materials. The
mixer of products is introduced in to a confined rising air stream, the particles with low
terminal velocities are lifted by the current where as the particles with higher terminal
velocities than air velocity fall down. The air velocity can be adjusted by altering the speed of
fan or by changing the opening of air inlet.
The aspirator has a fan at the air discharge point which creates a vacuum or negative pressure
within the machine. The scalping separator is a type of aspirator separator in which rough
separation is performed. The mixture of the grain is dropped in to a rising air column which
has a velocity slightly lower than the terminal velocity of the heavy grains. The leaves, trash
and lighter particles rise with the air and are deposited in an enlarged settling chamber. The
denser grains fall through the incoming air in to a container.
The fractionating aspirator is another type of separator. The mixer of grain is fed in to the
lower end of the expanding air column, the heavy grain fall against the air flow while the
lighter particles are lifted. The grains with high terminal velocity are dropped in the
expanding column. The lighter fractions of the grains are discharged as per the relative
through different outlets positioned in the column. Thus the mixture is separated in to various
fractions.
For separation of product particles from air, air-product separators are used. Cyclones are
mostly used to collect the particles. Cyclone is a device which removes the bulk of the
product particle from the conveying air stream by centrifugal force. In some cyclone, a fabric
filter is attached to remove residual dust and fine product particles from the air stream.

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The volumetric flow rate of air depends on the necessary air velocity and pipe or duct size
used in the system. In this systems, fans and blowers with high voulmetric flow rates and
lower pressures to positive displacement compressors producing high pressures are used.

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Lesson 25. Theory of Filtration

25.0 Introduction
Filtration is a process whereby solid particles present in a suspension are
separated from the liquid or gas employing a porous medium, which retains the
solids but allows the fluid to pass through. When the proportion of solids in a
liquid is less, the term clarification is used. It is a common operation which is
widely employed in production of bulk drugs, and in liquid oral formulation.
The suspension to be filtered is known as slurry. The porous medium used to
retain the solids is known as filter medium. The accumulated solids on the filter
are referred as filter cake & the clear liquid passing through the filter is filtrate.
The fine apertures necessary for filtration are provided by fabric filter cloths, by
meshes and screens of plastics or metals, or by beds of solid particles. In some
cases, a thin preliminary coat of cake, or of other fine particles, is put on the
cloth prior to the main filtration process. This preliminary coating is put on in
order to have sufficiently fine pores on the filter and it is known as a pre-coat.

25.1 Filtration
Depending on dispersing medium filtration is divided in two parts:
a) Gas filtration and b) Liquid filtration.
25.1.1 Gas filtration
It mainly includes filtration of aerosols and lyosols. Membrane filters and nucleopore
filters are based on these below mechanisms.
Mechanism of gas filtration
Diffusion deposition: The trajectories of individual small particles do not coincide
with the streamlines of the fluid because of Brownian motion. With decreasing
particle size the intensity of Brownian motion increases and, as a consequence, so
does the intensity of diffusion deposition.
Direct interception: This mechanism involves the finite size of particles. A particle
is intercepted as it approaches the collecting surface to a distance equal to its radius.
A special case of this mechanism is the so-called sieve effect, or sieve mechanism.
Inertial deposition: The presence of a body in the flowing fluid results in a curvature
of the streamlines in the neighbourhood of the body. Because of their inertia, the
individual particles do not follow the curved streamlines but are projected against the
body and may deposit there. It is obvious that the intensity of this mechanism
increases with increasing particle size and velocity of flow.
Gravitational deposition: Individual particles have a certain sedimentation velocity
due to gravity. As a consequence, the particles deviate from the streamlines of the
fluid and, owing to this deviation; the particles may touch a fibre.

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Electrostatic deposition: Both the particles and the fibres in the filter may carry
electric charges. Deposition of particles on the fibres may take place because of the
forces acting between charges or induced forces.
25.1.2 Liquid filtration
The term solid-liquid filtration covers all processes in which a liquid containing
suspended solid is freed of some or the entire solid when the suspension is drawn through
a porous medium.
Kozeny-Carman equation
\[{{1.dv} \over {A.dt}} = {{\Delta P} \over {r\mu (l +
L)}}\].....................................................................................(7.1)

where,
A = filter area
v = total volume of filtrate delivered
t = filtration time
ΔP = pressure drop across cake and medium
r = specific cake resistance
μ = filtrate viscosity
l = cake thickness
L = thickness of cake equivalent to medium resistance
Limitations of Kozeny-Carman equation: This equation does not take into account
of the fact that depth of the granular bed is lesser than the actual path traversed by the
fluid. The actual path is not straight throughout the bed, but it is sinuous or tortuous.
Poiseulle’s law: This Law considered that filtration is similar to the streamline flow
of a liquid under pressure through capillaries.
\[{{1.A}\over{dv.dt}} ={{\Delta P}\over{\mu (R_M+R_C
)}}\]................................................................................ (7.2)
Cake resistance
\[RM={{\alpha W}\over
A}\]...........................................................................................................................
(7.3)
Specific cake resistance
\[alpha=\alpha'\Delta
P^S\].................................................................................................................................
(7.4)
The filter resistance is much less than the cake resistance i.e. Rc < Rm
\[{{1.A}\over {dv.dt}}={{\Delta P}\over{\mu (\alpha'\Delta P^S
WA)}}\]...................................................................(7.5)
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where,
v = Filtrate volume
A = Filter area
t = Time
ΔP = Pressure driving force
μ = Broth viscosity
W = Mass of filter cake
R = Resistance
α = Specific cake resistance
s= Compressibility factor
Filter media: The filter medium acts as a mechanical support for the filter cake and it is
responsible for the collection of solids. Minimum cake thickness of discharge for different
types of filter is presented in Table 7.1.Table 7.1 Minimum cake thickness for discharge

Filter type Minimum design thickness

Belt 3.0-5.0

Roll discharge 1.0

Standard scraper 6.5

Coil 3.0-5.0

String discharge 6.5

Horizontal belt 3.0-5.0

Horizontal table 19.0

Materials used as filter media: Different types of materials used as filter media are
presented in Table 7. 2.
Woven materials such as felts or cloths: woven material is made of wool, cotton,
silk & synthetic fibres etc. are used. Synthetic fibres have greater chemical resistance
than wool or cotton. The choice of fibre also depends on the physical state &
chemical constitution of the slurry. It includes mainly of two types.
Monofilament woven cloth (Fig.7.1): The yarns of a monofilament fabric are not
only impermeable but also fairly smooth and cylindrical. Orifice analogy and drag
theory approaches have been the most successful in predicting the resistance of these
materials to fluid flow.
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Multifilament woven cloth: The chief difficulty encountered when dealing with
multifilament media is the highly complex geometry of the fibres and yarns that make
up the cloth. Even in a fabric of apparently simple weave and construction, such as a
plain-weave, continuous filament cloth, some of the flow takes place in the highly
tortuous channels present in the yarns.
Perforated sheet metal: stainless steel plates have pores which act as channels as in
case of Meta filter.
Bed of granular solid built up on a supporting medium: examples of granular
solids are gravel, sand, asbestos, paper, pulp & kieselguhr.
Prefabricated porous solid unit: sintered glass, sintered metal, earthenware and
porous plastics are material used for fabrication.
Membrane filter media: it includes surface & depth type of cartridges.
Criteria for choice of filter medium: There are three criteria for choice of filter
medium.
1. Size of particle retained by the medium.
2. The permeability of the clean medium.
3. The solid holding capacity of the medium and the resistance to fluid flow of
the used medium.
Measurement of pore size & particle retention: In some cases, the desirable
component in the slurry is the liquid, which may be required in clarified form e.g.,
beverage filtration; here the choice of deep-bed elements of pre-coated candles of
large solids-holding capacity may be indicated. While, where the solids are valuable,
a sieve like mechanism is favoured, so that information about the pore size of the
medium may be of more direct use in media selection. The pore structure of the
medium will determine the feasibility of a separation.

Fig. 7.1 Plain and Twill weave monofilament.

The pore size of a medium particularly for filters of the edge, simple wire or
monofilament type is of use in deciding the upper limit of aperture size required by a
particular process. In filters composed of random fibres, sintered or porous elements,
staple or natural fibre cloths, the mean pore size will have less significance and use in
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predicting media behaviour. In certain cases, the geometry of septum allows direct
measurement of aperture or pore size. In random situation, where complex weave
pattern produce a distribution of pore sizes, such as a bubble point test or a
permeability test are used.
Table 7.2 Type of filter media, characteristics
and their application

Type of filter
Characteristics Application References
media

Metal fiber Excellent

media (non- durability, Wardsworth
Polymer & gas industry
woven metal corrosion & (2007)
fiber) abrasion resistance

Multilayer Wardsworth
It can be reused Gas industry
sintered mesh (2007)

Stainless steel Water proof inside Oil, chemical, food,

Hunt
(plain, twill & & plastic woven pharmaceutical & aviation
(2001)
Dutch type) cloth outside industry

Anthracite It has high Hunt

Water purification
filter media efficiency (2001)

Filter media
Made up of fibre Used in cement & steel industry. Wardsworth
treated by
glass Used as filter cloth for air filter (2007)
graphite

Activated
Little air current
carbon fabric Used in air conditioner as auto air Wardsworth
resistance, strong
(non-woven filter or carbon air filter (2007)
strength
type)

High biological Sanitary sewage& industrial waste Hunt

Biocell
activity processing (2001)

Easiness of cake
Used in ore dressing, chemical &
Aramide filter peeling, high Hunt
brewing industry, equipped in
fabric stability, anti- (2001)
filter presses, vacuum filters etc.
distortion

It has metal
Autoroll filter structure, saves Hunt
Used in air filtrate
media energy & work (2001)
stably

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Laminating Felt type of filter Used in cement company & Hunt
PTFE incineration fields (2001)
membrane

Air conditioner & electronic

Pocket type of industry, food industry, applied to Hunt
Air filter
filter the pre-filtration of coarse (2001)
efficiency

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Lesson 26. Types and Rate of Filtration

26.2 Types of filtration

Based on the mechanism, following four types of the filtration are known.

26.2.1 Surface filtration: It is a screening action by which pores or holes of the medium
prevent the passage of solids. The mechanisms, straining and impingement are
responsible for surface filtration. For this purpose, plates with holes or woven sieves are
used. Example is cellulose membrane filter.
26.2.2 Depth filtration: This filtration mechanism retains particulate matter not only on
the surface but also at the inside of the filter. This is aided by the mechanism
entanglement. It is extensively used for clarification. Examples are ceramic filters and
sintered filters.
Advances in sintered metal filters:
• Filtration technology utilizing sintered metal media provides excellent performance
for separation of particulate matter. Sintered metal filter media are widely used in the
chemical process, petrochemical and power generation industries.
• Advances in filtration technology include the development of continuous processes
to replace old batch process technology. Liquid/solids filtration using conventional
leaf filters is messy and hazardous to clean and require extended re-circulation time
to obtain clean product. Traditional gas/solids separation systems such as cyclones,
Electro static precipitators and disposable filters are being replaced by sintered fiber
metal filtration systems.
• Sintered metal filters should be operated within the design parameters to prevent
premature blinding of the media due to fluctuations in process operations. Use of
flow control assures the filter will not be impacted with a high flow excursion. Filter
efficiency increases as the filter cake forms. The cake becomes the filter media and
the porous media acts as a septum to retain the filter cake. Filter cakes can be
effectively washed in-situ and backwashed from the filter housing. A gas assisted
pneumatic hydro pulse backwash has proven to be the most effective cleaning method
for sintered porous metal filters.
• Sintered metal filters can be fully automated to eliminate operator exposure and
lower labour costs while providing reliable, efficient operation.
Case study of depth filtration:
Several forces have driven changes in filtration technology during the last couple of
decades, including environmental concerns, the health and safety of winery workers, and
wine quality. The major active component in traditional depth filtration is diatomaceous
earth, which has several major problems. First, it is difficult to dispose of because it does
not decompose. Second, it can cause symptoms similar to coal miners' "black lung"
disease when inhaled over long periods of time. In the United States this problem can be
overcome by using cross flow filtration. The main benefit of cross flow filtration is that it
uses a membrane with an absolute pore size to clarify wine without the need for media to
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uses a membrane with an absolute pore size to clarify wine without the need for media to
act as the sieve for removal of particles from wine.
Example of cross flow filtration
• Nanofiltration is a recent membrane filtration process used most often with low total
dissolved solids water, with the purpose of softening and removal of disinfection by-
product precursors such as natural organic matter and synthetic organic matter.
• It is a cross-flow filtration technology which ranges somewhere between ultra
filtration and reverse osmosis. The nominal pore size of the membrane is typically
below 1 nanometer, thus Nanofiltration. Nanofilter membranes are typically rated by
molecular weight cut-off rather than nominal pore size. The transmembrane pressure
required is considerably lower than the one used for RO, reducing the operating cost
significantly. However, NF membranes are still subject to scaling and fouling and
often modifiers such as antiscalants are required for use.
26.2.3 Ultra filtration: Ultra filtration is a pressure-driven membrane transport process
that has been applied, on both the laboratory and industrial scale. Ultra filtration is a
separation technique of choice because labile streams of biopolymers (proteins, nucleic
acids & carbohydrates) can be processed economically, even on a large scale, without the
use of high temperatures, solvents, etc. Shear denaturation can be minimized by the use of
low shear (e.g., positive displacement) pumps.
Following types of ultra filtration membranes are used prominently:
• Asymmetric skinned membranes made from synthetic polymers by the "phase-
inversion" methods.
• Inorganic membranes, utilizing inorganic porous supports and inorganic colloids,
such as ZrC*2 or alumina with appropriate binders.
• Melt-spun, "thermal inversion" membranes.
• "Composite" and "dynamic" membranes with selective layers formed in situ.
26.2.4 Cake filtration: By this filtration mechanism, the cake accumulated on the
surface of the filter is itself used as a filter. A filter consists of a coarse woven cloth
through which a concentrated suspension of rigid particles is passed so that they bridge
the holes and form a bed. Example is cake made from diatomite. This cake can remove
sub micrometer colloidal particles with high efficiency.
26.3 Rate of Filtration
The analysis of filtration is largely a question of studying the flow system. The fluid
passes through the filter medium, which offers resistance to its passage, under the
influence of a force which is the pressure differential across the filter. Thus, we can write
the familiar equation:
Rate of filtration = driving force/resistance
Resistance arises from the filter cloth, mesh, or bed, and to this is added the resistance of
the filter cake as it accumulates. The filter-cake resistance is obtained by multiplying the
specific resistance of the filter cake that is its resistance per unit thickness, by the
thickness of the cake. The resistances of the filter material and pre-coat are combined into
a single resistance called the filter resistance It is convenient to express the filter
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a single resistance called the filter resistance. It is convenient to express the filter
resistance in terms of a fictitious thickness of filter cake. This thickness is multiplied by
the specific resistance of the filter cake to give the filter resistance. Thus the overall
equation giving the volumetric rate of flow dV/dt is:
dV/dt = (AΔP)/R
As the total resistance is proportional to the viscosity of the fluid, we can write:
R = μr(Lc + L)

Where, R is the resistance to flow through the filter, Δ is the viscosity of the fluid, r is the
specific resistance of the filter cake, Lc is the thickness of the filter cake and L is the
fictitious equivalent thickness of the filter cloth and pre-coat, A is the filter area, and
ΔP is the pressure drop across the filter.
If the rate of flow of the liquid and its solid content are known and assuming that all
solids are retained on the filter, the thickness of the filter cake can be expressed by:
Lc = wV/A

where w is the fractional solid content per unit volume of liquid, V is the volume of fluid
that has passed through the filter and A is the area of filter surface on which the cake
forms.
The resistance can then be written;
R = μr[w(V/A) + L)] (7.6)
and the equation for flow through the filter, under the driving force of the pressure drop is
then:
dV/dt = AΔP/
μr[w(V/A) + L] (7.7)
Eq. (7.7) may be regarded as the fundamental equation for filtration. It expresses the rate
of filtration in terms of quantities that can be measured, found from tables, or in some
cases estimated. It can be used to predict the performance of large-scale filters on the
basis of laboratory or pilot scale tests. Two applications of Eq. (7.7) are filtration at a
constant flow rate and filtration under constant pressure.
26.3.1 Constant-rate Filtration: In the early stages of a filtration cycle, it frequently
happens that the filter resistance is large relative to the resistance of the filter cake
because the cake is thin. Under these circumstances, the resistance offered to the flow is
virtually constant and so filtration proceeds at a more or less constant rate. Eq. (7.7) can
then be integrated to give the quantity of liquid passed through the filter in a given time.
The terms on the right-hand side of Eq. (7.7) are constant so that integration is very
simple:
dV/Adt = V/At = ΔP/μr[w(V/A) + L]
or
ΔP = V/At x μr[w(V/A) + L] (7.8)

From Eq (7 8) the pressure drop required for any desired flow rate can be found Also if
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From Eq. (7.8) the pressure drop required for any desired flow rate can be found. Also, if
a series of runs is carried out under different pressures, the results can be used to
determine the resistance of the filter cake.
26.3.2 Constant-pressure Filtration: Once the initial cake has been built up, and this is
true of the greater part of many practical filtration operations, flow occurs under a
constant-pressure differential. Under these conditions, the term ΔP in Eq. (7.7) is constant
and so,
μr[w(V/A) + L]dV = AΔPdt
and integration from V = 0 at t = 0, to V = V at t = t

μr[w(V2/2A) + LV] = AΔPt

and rewriting this
tA/V = [μrw/2ΔP] x (V/A) + μrL/ΔP
t / (V/A) = [μrw/2ΔP] x (V/A) + μrL/ΔP
(7.9)
Eq. (7.9) is useful because it covers a situation that is frequently found in a practical
filtration plant. It can be used to predict the performance of filtration plant on the basis of
experimental results. If a test is carried out using constant pressure, collecting and
measuring the filtrate at measured time intervals, a filtration graph can be plotted
oft/(V/A) against (V/A) and from the statement of Eq. (7.9) it can be seen that this graph
should be a straight line. The slope of this line will correspond to μrw/2ΔP and the
intercept on the t/(V/A) axis will give the value of μrL/ΔP. Since, in general, μ, w,
ΔPand A are known or can be measured, the values of the slope and intercept on this
graph enable L and r to be calculated.

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Lesson 27. Types of Filters

Filtration Equipment
The basic requirements for filtration equipment are:
- mechanical support for the filter medium,
- flow accesses to and from the filter medium and
- provision for removing excess filter cake.
In some instances, washing of the filter cake to remove traces of the solution
may be necessary. Pressure can be provided on the upstream side of the filter, or
a vacuum can be drawn downstream, or both can be used to drive the wash fluid
through.

27.4 Types of Filters

27.4.1 Plate and frame filter press: In the plate and frame filter press, a cloth or mesh is
spread out over plates which support the cloth along ridges but at the same time leave a
free area, as large as possible, below the cloth for flow of the filtrate. This is illustrated in
Fig. 7.2 (a). The plates with their filter cloths may be horizontal, but they are more
usually hung vertically with a number of plates operated in parallel to give sufficient area.
Filter cake builds up on the upstream side of the cloth, which is the side away from the
plate. In the early stages of the filtration cycle, the pressure drop across the cloth is small
and filtration proceeds at more or less a constant rate. As the cake increases, the process
becomes more and more a constant-pressure one and this is the case throughout most of
the cycle. When the available space between successive frames is filled with cake, the
press has to be dismantled and the cake scraped off and cleaned, after which a further
cycle can be initiated.
The plate and frame filter press is cheap but it is difficult to mechanize to any great
extent. Variants of the plate and frame press have been developed which allow easier
discharging of the filter cake. For example, the plates, which may be rectangular or
circular, are supported on a central hollow shaft for the filtrate and the whole assembly
enclosed in a pressure tank containing the slurry. Filtration can be done under pressure or
vacuum. The advantage of vacuum filtration is that the pressure drop can be maintained
whilst the cake is still under atmospheric pressure and so can be removed easily. The
disadvantages are the greater costs of maintaining a given pressure drop by applying a
vacuum and the limitation on the vacuum to about 80 kPa maximum. In pressure
filtration, the pressure driving force is limited only by the economics of attaining the
pressure and by the mechanical strength of the equipment.
27.4.2 Rotary filters: In rotary filters, the flow passes through a rotating cylindrical
cloth from which the filter cake can be continuously scraped. Either pressure or vacuum
can provide the driving force, but a particularly useful form is the rotary vacuum filter. In
this, the cloth is supported on the periphery of a horizontal cylindrical drum that dips into
a bath of the slurry. Vacuum is drawn in those segments of the drum surface on which the
cake is building up. A suitable bearing applies the vacuum at the stage where the actual
filtration commences and breaks the vacuum at the stage where the cake is being scraped
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off after filtration. Filtrate is removed through bearings. Rotary vacuum filters are
expensive, but they do provide a considerable degree of mechanization and convenience.
A rotary vacuum filter is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 7.2 (b).
27.4.3 Centrifugal filters: Centrifugal force is used to provide the driving force in some
filters. These machines are really centrifuges fitted with a perforated bowl that may also
have filter cloth on it. Liquid is fed into the interior of the bowl and under the centrifugal
forces; it passes out through the filter material. This is illustrated in Fig. 7.2 (c).
27.4.4 Air filters: Filters are used quite extensively to remove suspended dust or
particles from air streams. The air or gas moves through a fabric and the dust is left
behind. These filters are particularly useful for the removal of fine particles. One type of
bag filter consists of a number of vertical cylindrical cloth bags 15-30 cm in diameter, the
air passing through the bags in parallel. Air bearing the dust enters the bags, usually at the
bottom and the air passes out through the cloth. A familiar example of a bag filter for dust
is to be found in the domestic vacuum cleaner. Some designs of bag filters provide for the
mechanical removal of the accumulated dust. For removal of particles less than 5 μm
diameter in modern air sterilization units, paper filters and packed tubular filters are used.
These cover the range of sizes of bacterial cells and spores.

Fig. 7.2 Filtration equipment

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(a) Plate and frame press (b) Rotary vacuum filter (c) Centrifugal filter
27.5 Application of filtration
Filtration efficiency is defined by how well a filter cleans indoor air by removing
airborne particles. Low efficiency filters – those that are 25% efficient in removing
particles 3 to 10 μm in size – typically are used to keep lint and dust from clogging the
heating and cooling coils of HVAC systems. Medium and high efficiency filters – those
that are up to 95% efficient in removing particles measuring 3-10 μm in size – typically
are used to remove mold, pollen, soot, and other small particles.
Advances of HVAC:
Using PLCs (programmable logic controllers) in HVAC is the trend nowadays.
Companies are adopting wireless technology after they found out that networking HVAC
controllers, which often use sensors, can eventually cut installation and labor costs. A lot
of engineers are also focused on further improving this technology through the use of
mesh wireless setup, which will work for both the wireless sensor and wireless controller
networks.
Advances in filtration technology are making new products possible in food &
beverage: Micro filtration has served the food industry in a variety of areas for years, but
refinements in membrane technology and a better understanding of the impact
membranes have on the molecules that pass through are opening up a new world of
possibilities. For e.g., bacteria and spoilage organisms in milk are easily removed by
micro filters with pore sizes ranging from 0.1 to 20 microns. Canada's dairy land dairy,
now a unit of Saputo, promotes this benefit with pure and fresh micro filtered milk. Ultra
filtration units with pores ranging from 0.01-0.2 microns have been shown to affect the
appearance and sensory properties of fluid milk because of the protein molecules that can
be retained and then added back. Molecules that manage to work their way through the
membrane exhibit different organoleptic properties, with a richer mouth feel attributed to
the squeezed proteins. A significant body of research on the sensory, nutritionaland
bacteria-removal effects of membrane filtration has been compiled in the last decade by
David M. Barbano and other food scientists at the northeast dairy foods research centre at
Cornell University.
Application of filtration in cane & beet sugar industries;
• The sugar industry in developed countries has been under pressure for some time
due to high-energy and labor costs, and environmental challenges. Many technologies
are being constantly explored to improve sugar yields and quality with reduced
energy consumption.
• Membrane filtration technology offers economic and technical advantages, when
used either as a standalone process or in combination with other more established
technologies such as ion exchange and chromatographic separators.
• Ultra filtration/ Micro filtration process in cane sugar production acts as a
pretreatment prior to other separation technologies by removing impurities from the
raw juice, including starch, gums, waxes, proteins and polysaccharides.
Application of filtration in starch & sugar industry:

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In a very short duration, cross flow membrane filtration has become a mainstream unit
operation in the starch and sweetener industry. Membrane filtration processes, namely
reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, and microfiltration by their versatility have gained
acceptance. Microfiltration of saccharification tank liquor removes unliquified starch,
polysaccharides, proteinaceous matter and other impurities. The process has been
successfully applied to sweeteners derived from various starch sources–corns, wheat,
tapioca, potatoes or cassava. The process eliminates use of diatomaceous earth (kieselgur)
in rotary vacuum filters, while at the same time producing a superior quality product.
Microfiltration is used for clarification of maltodextrins, depyrogenation of dextrose, final
filtration of dextrose and fructose syrups. Reverse osmosis is used for concentration of
dilute sugar streams and in some cases as a pre-concentration step prior to an evaporator.

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Lesson 28. Pressure Drop

The resistance to fluid flow imposed by a filter in the process of separating the
components of a fluid stream. Pressure drop relates to the energy required to push a
fluid through the filter. There must be a difference in pressure between the inlet and
outlet sides of a filter in order to push a liquid through the filter. The pressure
differential is greatly influenced by the resistance to flow of the filter or medium.
The pressure differential is the difference in pounds per square inch (PSI or kPa)
between the inlet and outlet ports. Pressure differential may be referred to as PSID,
ΔP, pressure drop, or differential pressure.
Terminal pressure: The maximum pressure drop the filter is designed to handle.
Filter designers seek to reduce pressure drop when designing filter systems.

7.6 Pressure Drop

7.6.1 System Pressure Drop
The actual system pressure drop (difference in pressure between the inlet and outlet) is
due to loss of PSI, resulting from loss of flow through the cartridge and loss of flow
through the housing and any other component in the system. All losses contribute to total
ΔP. It is important to note that the cartridge ΔP increases throughout the filtration process
as the cartridge collects dirt and the flow becomes restricted.
7.6.2 Cartridge Pressure Drop
Water or fluid flows through channels created by pores in the filter medium called
laminar flow. The water moves in orderly layers rather than in a turbulent manner. During
the laminar flow, pressure loss resulting from flow through the cartridge is dependent
upon:
a. Micron rating
b. Viscosity
c. Flow rate
The following equation can be used to calculate the change in pressure drop:
ΔP = AuQ (7.10)

where;
ΔP = Pressure Drop
A = Cartridge (laminar) flow constant
U = Viscosity
Q = Flow Rate
7.6.3 Housing Pressure Drop
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All flow in housing must pass through the same inlet and outlet port restrictions, which is
only a few square inches in area. The cartridge has several square feet of area that the
flow can be divided upon.
Therefore the flow rate per unit area through the filter housing ports is typically higher
than the cartridge media. As the flow rate increases, the port size should increase to keep
the pressure drop increasing. Housing pressure drop is affected by four main variables:
i) Flow rate
ii) Fluid density, expressed as specific gravity
iii) Inlet and outlet port sizes
iv) Number of seat cups (seat plate) in the separator plate

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Lesson 29. Scope and Importance of Material Handling

Material handling includes a number of operations that can be executed either by

hand (manual) or by mechanical means or devices to convey material and to reduce
the human drudgery.

After harvesting, the grains are moved, transported or conveyed from place to place. In earlier
periods all these operations were manual. The grains were threshed and bagged by human
labour. Mechanical handling delivers aim to lighten the work of human labour. Grains were
transported several times through storage and milling plants, and the milled food products
were conveyed manually to customers. Thus, grains were handled too much involving
increased cost and human drudgery. Now a day, some mechanical devices have replaced
human labour, other supplement it or in some case make possible to handle larger quantities
of grains per unit human labour. The most common types of mechanical devices for grain
handling are;
1 Belt conveyor

2 Bucket elevator

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3 Screw Conveyor

4 Pneumatic conveyor

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The selection of proper conveying system is important for ease in operation and getting
desired capacity for a particular product. The following principles should be taken into
account before selecting conveying systems.
1. Theconveying device has to be selected according to the characteristics of the materials
being conveyed.
2. In a conveying system possibility of use of gravity should be taken into consideration.
3. Thestability of the conveyor must be ensured under all normal working and climatic
conditions.
4. Thedead load of the conveyor should be low in relation to the weight of transported
product.
5. The capacity of handling/conveying equipment should match with the capacity of
processing unit of units.
6. Spillage of conveyed products should be avoided.
7. Pollution
of the environment due to noise or dust by the conveying system should also
be avoided.

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Lesson 30. Belt Conveyor

A belt conveyor is an endless belt operation between two pulleys with its load
supported on idlers. The belt may be flat for transporting bagged (packed) material
or V – shaped or some other enclosed shape for moving bulk grains.
The belt conveyor consists of a belt, drive mechanism and end pulleys, idlers and
loading and discharge devices. Belt conveyors have antifriction bearing, therefore,
these have a high mechanical efficiency. Material carried by belt conveyor lie still
on the surface of belt or there is no relative motion between the product and belt.
This results in generally no damage to material. Belt can be run at highest speeds, so
large carrying capacities are possible. Horizontally the material can be transported to
longer distance but there is a limit to carry the material on elevation. A properly
designed belt conveyor has long life and low operating costs. Compared to other
types of horizontal conveying system, the initial cost of belt conveying system is
competitive. For these reasons belt conveyors are used to carry grains in processing
plants. Grains are mostly fed at start pulley and discharge from the conveyor at any
point along the conveyor or at the end pulley using scraper plough/stripper. While
leaving the belt over the end pulley, product will describe the path of parabola. Belt
conveyor can be discharged at various locations by means of a movable tripper.

Design consideration for Belt conveyor

The design of belt conveyor system is based on available space, horizontal conveying
length and conveying lift, characteristics of the material to be conveyed and capacity
requirement. On the basis of overall requirement and information, the following will be
determined to design a belt conveyor, belt width, belt speed diameter of the pulleys and
idlers and belt thickness.
The first step in the design of a belt conveyor with a specified conveying capacity is to
determine the speed and width of the belt. The belt speed should be selected such that
spillage of the material is minimized due to velocity of the belt. For transportation of
grains, the belt speed of 2.5 to 2.8 m/s is recommended. The selection of belt width will
depend upon the capacity requirement, speed of operation, angle of inclination of belt
conveyor, trough angle and depth.
The capacity of belt conveyor can be determined by;
Volumetric Capacity = (area of cross-section) x (belt-speed) x 60

Mass Capacity = (bulk density x Volumetric capacity) / 1000

Where,
Capacity is in t/h

Bulk density is kg/m3

Volumetric capacity is m3/h

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Cross sectional area in m2
Belt speed in m/min
A trough angle of 20° is best suited for paddy as paddy forms a surcharge angle of 20°
and most other grains also. Other common trough angles are 30° and 45°.

The majority of belt conveyors for transporting bulk material use some type of reinforced
rubber conveyor belt made up of carcass.
Belt conveyor idlers
The efficiency of belt conveyor is mainly dependent on idlers. For higher efficiency of
conveying systems, the idlers must be accurately made and provide a rigid framework.
This will maintain a permanent, well balanced smooth running alignment.
There are, in general, three kinds of belt carrying idlers used in handling of bulk
materials. The type of idlers affects the cross-sectional load on the belt.
1. Flatbelt idlers: are used for granular materials having an angle of repose of not
less than 35°. Flat belt idlers are preferred for low capacity requirements.
2. Toughing idlers with 20° through: are used for conveuying all kinds of bulk
materials.
3. Troughing idlers with 35° and 45° through: are used for transportation of small
particles and light weight materials like grain,cotton seed etc.
Idler Spacing
The spacing between the idlers influences the retention of correct toughing. The incorrect
idler spacing may result in belt undulation. The pitch of idlers is determined by the idler
load rating or the carrying capacity of each idler on the sag of the belt between the idlers,
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belt tension and belt speed. Ideally, the pace between the successive idlers should be
approximately equal to the width of the belt (spacing should not exceed 1.2 m). The upper
idlers and the return idlers are usually, placed at an equal distance from one another.
Additional idlers are provided at loading points to support the product load and to
maintain the trough. This avoids spillage of materials. It may also be necessary to install
shock absorbing idlers at the loading points.

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Lesson 31. Bucket Elevator

A bucket elevator consists of buckets attached to a chain or belt that revolves

around two pulleys one at top and the other at bottom. The bucket elevator is a
very efficient deivce for the vertical conveyance of bulk grains. The elevator can
lift the materials between few meters to more than 50 m. Capacities of bucket
elevators may very from 2 to 1000 t/h. Bucket elevators are broadly classified
into two general types;
1) spaced bucket elecators and
2) continuous bucket elevators.

The above two types are further sub divided into various classed.
The spaced bucket elevators are further classified as;
a) centrifugal discharge elecators
b) positive-discharge elevators
c) marine leg elevators and
d) high-speed elevators.
The continuous bucket elevators are classified as;
a) super capacity bucket elevators and
b) internal-discharge bucket elevators.
The spaced-bucket centricugal discharge type is most commonly used for elevating the
grains. Bucket elevators with belts are used in food industries for vertical converyance of
grains, its derivatives and flours. Bucket elevators have high capacities and it is a fairly
cheap means of vertical conveyance. It requires limited horizontal space and the operation
space and the operation of conveying is enclosed in housing, thus it is dust free and fairly
quite.
In a bucket elevator, the conveyor belt with buckets runs over pulleys at the upper and
lower ends. The top pulley is driven pulley while the lower pulley is return and tension
pulley. Buckets are usually made of steel or plastic and are bolted onto the belt. The
bucktes may be enclosed in a single housing called leg or two legs. The return leg may be
located at some distance from the elevator leg. The housing or legs are also made of steel
are welded or boltyed together and are dust tight. The curved hood is designed for proper
centrifugal discharge of the grains. The boot can be loaded from the front or back or both
. The product flow is discharged either by means of gravity or centrifugal force.
The bucket elevator’s capacity mainly depends on bucket size, conveying speed, bucket
design and spacing, the way of loading and unloading, the bucket and the charactesistic of
bulk material. Bucket elevators with a belt carrier can be used at fairly high speeds of 2.5
to 4 m/s. The speed of the belt depends upon the head pulley speed. A properly deisgned
bucket ele3vator deriven at the correct speed will make a clean discharge. If the belt
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speed uis too low, the discharge of the grains becomes more difficult, wioth too high
speed the buckets are not fed wel.
In elevating of grains the discharge from bucket elevators is a combination of centrifugal
and gravitational discharge. Part of the bucket conetnts is projected by the centrifugal
force, the rest flows out by gravity.
The bucket elevator’s capacity can be calculated by the follwoing equation.
Elevator capacity,
t/hr =

The main parts of a bucket elevator are;

- elevator head and boot section
- elevator legs
- belts for bucket elevator and
- buckets.
Head and Boot Section
The head section should be of the proper shape and size with smooth counters. The
discharge side of the head should be shaped so that material thrown from the buckets may
not deflect into the down leg. When the product is not thrown well clear of the buckets
into the dischage chute, it will fall in the down leg. This is called as “back logging”. The
back logged material has to be re-elevated, thus it reduces the capacity of the elevator.
To avoid back-logging, an adjustable cut off plate is provided close to the lip of bucket.

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Bucket elvators boots should be of bolted assembly to allow for proper maintanance and
replacement of pulley, shaft and other accessoris. In the boot section, the loading chite should
be located at such point that the pick-up of the product by the buckets takes place above the
centre line of the return pulley.

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Elevator legs
The up and down moving string of buckets in bucket elevators are enclosed in elevator
legs. The elevator legs stop the emission of dust. These legs are constructed as all welded,
bolted or riveted. The strings of up and down moving buckets can either run in a common
leg or in separate legs. With double legs, a balanced pressure can be obtained by ducts
connecting on different levels of the upgoing and downgoing trunk. Service and
inspection openings are needed as it requires adequate maintenance.
Elevator Belts
In a normal operation of the bucket elevator, the loads exerted by the elevator height,
product weight, weight of bucket belt and idle tension and the digging resistance are
taken by the belt. The bucket elevatyor belt has no support between the drive and the
return pulleys, therefore, cross stiffness of belt is very important. Most conveyoor belts
consist of synthetic fibres like polysters and ploymide and built up with synthetic rubber
or PVC. To increse tensile strength of belt, several layers of fibres are put together to
build a carcass. Such carcass is able to withstand very high tensile forces with minimum
of stretch.
During continuous operation, elevator belts are susceptible to various mechanical
stresse3s which may cause wear. The friction between drive pully and the belt causes
wear in the underside of the belt. The back faling product is caught and crushed between

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the belt and return pulley. Extra forces are also exerted on the belt by rigid buckets while
psssing over the head pulley.
Buckets
As per the requirements, buckets are made of different materials and come in veroius
shapes and sized. The shape of the bucket is very important for filling and discharge.
Digging in of buckets in the elevator boot and the centrifugal discharge at the elevator
head influence the shape of buckets.

For centrifugal discharge the resultant of product weight and the centrifugal force should
preferably be directed towards the lip of the bucket. The buckets should have a wide open
mouth for digging nd discharging the product. The conveuying capacity of the elevator
also depends upon the number of buckets per metre belt length.
The capacity and discharge of each bucket is influenced by the previous bucket, hence the
distance betwen two successive buckets is impornttant. Therefore, comprosime between
the following factors is required 1) the design and content of the bucjkets, 2) the shortest
distance between cussessive buckets wothout any mutual influence, 3) for centrifugal
disrhagte the appropriate belt speed and diameter of drive pulley. In general, the spacing
would be from 2.0 to 3.0 times the projected width of bucket.

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Lesson 32 Screw Conveyor

The screw conveyor consists of a tubular or U-shaped trough in which a shaft

with spiral screw revolves. The screw shaft is supported by end and hanger
bearing. The rotation of screw pushes the grain along the trough. The screw
conveyor is used in grain handling facilities, animal feed industries and other
installations for conveying of products generally for short distances. Screw
conveyor requires relatively high power and is more susceptible to wear than
other types of conveyors. The pitch of a standard screw which is the distance
from the centre of one thread to the centre of the next thread, is equal to its
diameter.
The screw conveyor’s driving mechanism is simpler and no tensioning device is
required therefore, the initial cost of the conveyor is lower than any other
conveyor with the same length and capacity. The main parts of a screw conveyor
are, screw blade, screw shaft, trough, inlet and outlet gates, bearings and drive
mechanism.

The screw conveyor is generally used to move grains horizontally. However, it can also
be used at any angle upto 90° from the horizontal, but the capacity correspondingly
reduced as per the inclination of conveyance.
The screw basically consists of a shaft and the screw blade or flight. The flight is a
continuous one piece helix, shaped from a flat strip of steel welded onto the shaft. The
serew shaft is usually a jointless tube with thick sides and a high tensile shtrength to
reduce the weight. The thickness of the steel strip helix decreases from the innter edge to
the outer edge.

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Troughs of screw conveyor have different shapes. Most commom is U-shaped trough. In
an enlarged or flared trough the side walls become wider at the top. This type of trough is
usually used for conveying non-easy flowing materials which may have lumps. The
tubular trough is completely closed with circular x-section and mostly used for conveying
materials at inclination or for vertical lift.

For operational reasons, some gap is provided between the edge of the screw blade and
the trough walls. Due to this gap, it is not possible to completely empty the trough of a
horizontal screw conveyor. If the screw conveyor is used to convey different materials,
mixing of products is possible. Also, when the kernels are pressed between the serew
edge and trough walls, they can be damaged. During conveyance, the kernels are also
subjected to continuous friction with the trough walls. Screw conveyor may be designed
for clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation. The change in direction of roatation does not
affect the capacity.
The capacity of screw conveyor is influenced by the screw diameter, inclination of the
screw blade, speed of the blade, shaft diameter and cross-section of loading. The
theoretical conveyance capacity of the screw conveyor can be calculated by the following
equation.

Capacity ,
Where,

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D = screw diamter, m
d = shaft diameter, m
p = pitch, m
n = rpm
The power requirement of screw conveyors for horizontal operation may be deternimined
by the following equation.

Where,

Q = conveyor capacity,
L = conveyor length, m

W = bulk material weight,

F = material factor
Screw conveyors can be operated in an inclined position. In this case, the material will be
conveyed upward. The capacity of inclined screw conveyor decreases than the horizontal
operation. Loading and discharge of a screw conveyor can be take place at sevaral places.
The product supply should be regular to avoid overfilling and congestion in a screw
cpnveyor. To regularize product flow an adjustable opening at the feeding point should be
provided. The product can be discharged either at the end of the screw or the intermediate
discharge can be achieved through an opening in the bottom of the trough.
Pneumatc Conveyor
The pneumatic conveyor moves granular materials in a closed duct by a high velocity air
stream. Pneumatic conveying is a continuous and flexible transportation method. The
material is carried in pipelines either by suctuion or blowing pressure stream. The
granular materials because of high air pressure are convayed in dispersed condition. For
dispersion of bulk material, air velocities in the range of 15 – 30 m/s is necessary.

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The pneumatic conveying system needs a source of air blowing or suction, means of
feeding the product into the conveyor, ducts and a cyclone or receiving hopper for
collection of product. There are three basic systems of pneumatic conveying. These are
pressure or blowing system, suction or vacuum system and combined push-pull or suck
blow system.
In blowing or positive pressure systems, the product is conveyed by using air pressures
greater than the atmospheric pressure. The selection of air mover is the most important
aspect of the design of a pneumatic conveying system. Two factors, supply air pressure
and the volumetric flow rate of air should be considered in designing.
For separation of product particles from air, air-product separators are used. Cyclones are
mostly used to collect the particles. Cyclone is a device which removes the bulk of the
product particle from the conveying air stream by centrifugal force. In some cyclone, a
fabric filter is attached to remove residual dust and fine product particles from the air
stream.

The volumetric flow rate of air depends on the necessary air velocity and pipe or duct size
used in the system. In pneumatic conveying systems, fans and blowers with high
voulmetric flow rates and lowe pressures to positive displacement compressors producing
high pressures are used.

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