In almond processing, shelling is one of the key links. Whether the pre-treatment is in place or not, it directly affects the shelling efficiency, the integrity of the kernel, and the stability of the whole production line.
This article will introduce several common almond preprocess methods and their impact on the shelling effect.
Why is almond preprocessing important?
Almonds that are not pre-treated tend to have the following problems:
- Shells are hard or unevenly moist, increasing the difficulty of breaking the shell.
- The kernel is easily broken or deformed, reducing the integrity rate.
- Clogging the sheller or causing screening difficulties.
Reasonable pre-treatment can improve the physical condition of almonds and make them more suitable for entering the automatic shelling process. It also improves the kernel yield and reduces the equipment failure rate.
Main pretreatment methods
Natural drying or low-temperature drying
Purpose: to reduce the moisture content of almonds, making the shell more brittle and easier to break.
Suggested moisture content: 8-12% is the best range.
Method: sun drying or a mesh belt low-temperature dryer can be used.
Cleaning and decontamination
Purpose: to remove impurities such as peel, dust, stones, twigs, etc., to prevent damage to the sheller.
Recommended equipment: washing machine, air separator.
classification and screening
Purpose: to classify almonds of different sizes in order to select shelling equipment of different specifications or adjust the gap.
Advantage: prevents big almonds from crushing and small almonds from empty shells, and improves the adaptability of the whole machine.
Recommended equipment: vibrating screen, tumbler screen.
Front-end processing determines back-end efficiency
For a modern nut processing plant, pretreatment is not only the key to improving the shelling efficiency, but also the basis to ensure the stable operation of the whole production line. We suggest that customers match reasonable cleaning, drying, grading, and other pre-treatment equipment according to the raw material to form a complete almond shelling solution.
We can provide a complete set of almond processing equipment from raw material pretreatment to shelling and sorting with technical guidance. Welcome to contact us to get the test machine video and quotation programme!