Diseño de una máquina popeadora para amaranto por contacto directo

Abstract

The Amaranth grains (Amaranthus cruentus) burst if they are submitted to high temperatures, improving its sensory and nutritional properties. A rotary pruning machine is designed for popping amaranth seeds, determining the residence time of the seeds, the speed of rotation and the cylinder inclination angle. To evaluate the efficiency, the volume and rate of popped seeds is measured. The morphology of the burst seeds and then classified according to the number of folds results in: for a rotational speed of 37 rpm, residence time of 30 seconds, the inclination angle of 3.90° close to the real 4° calculated and that the cylinder surface temperature of 370 °C, is higher than the popping temperature required for the Amaranth seeds. Under these conditions, the obtained volume of popped seeds is quintupled, reaching a yield of 80 % for the double fold morphology, representing the best operation condition for the machine performance.