Cauliflower and broccoli floretting machine
Krzysztof Jadwisieńczak
Zdzisław Kaliniewicz
University of Warmia and Mazurydr hab. inż. Zdzisław Kaliniewicz, associate professor
Department of Heavy Duty Machines and Research Methodology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn
Interests: construction and operation of agricultural and forestry machinery, cleaning and sorting seed mixtures, seed losses, physical properties of seed, seed germination, correlations between features
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0428-6312
Stanisław Konopka
Dariusz Choszcz
Joanna Majkowska-Gadomska
Abstract
Florets are the main edible parts of cauliflowers and broccoli, but stalks and leaves are also used in the production of vegetable soup mixes. In industrial processing lines, large cauliflower and broccoli inflorescences have to be separated into smaller florets with a diameter of 2 to 6 cm. Simple and inexpensive machines for floretting cauliflowers and broccoli, including devices that can be used in small-scale production, are in short supply on the market. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design a floretting machine composed of a load-bearing frame, a processing table, a crushing chamber and a horizontal conveyor. In the first stage of the process, one of the two conical knives is used to separate florets and leaves from stalks. The stalks fall into a container under the processing table, and the leaves are picked manually from the material on the table and are placed in a separate container. In the second stage, the separated florets are manually fed into the crushing chamber where larger florets are separated into smaller parts. The crushing chamber is composed of a rotating crushing roller and a fixed screen at the bottom. Florets that have been cut into the appropriate size pass through the screen and fall onto a conveyor belt under the crushing chamber. The quality of the floretting process can be inspected visually by the operator, and impurities or excessively damaged florets can be removed from the conveyor belt. In the final stage, the separated florets are transported to a container. The designed machine can be operated directly on the farm; therefore, the resulting produce is fresher than products that are transported and separated in a food processing plant.
Keywords:
floret separation, machine design, machine prototype, product crushingSupporting Agencies
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University of Warmia and Mazury
<p>dr hab. inż. Zdzisław Kaliniewicz, associate professor</p> <p>Department of Heavy Duty Machines and Research Methodology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn</p> <p><strong>Interests</strong>: construction and operation of agricultural and forestry machinery, cleaning and sorting seed mixtures, seed losses, physical properties of seed, seed germination, correlations between features</p> Poland
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0428-6312
dr hab. inż. Zdzisław Kaliniewicz, associate professor
Department of Heavy Duty Machines and Research Methodology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn
Interests: construction and operation of agricultural and forestry machinery, cleaning and sorting seed mixtures, seed losses, physical properties of seed, seed germination, correlations between features
