Physical And Aerodynamic Properties of African Breadfruit Seeds

The processing of African breadfruit seeds is laborious as the hulls are separated from the seeds manually. This research work was conducted to provide a mechanical solution to the problem by studying the physical and aerodynamic properties of the African breadfruit seeds within a moisture level of 12.50% - 20.10% (w.b). Results indicated a strong correlation between moisture content and physical/aerodynamic properties of the seeds. A set of prototype machines was developed to determine the parboiling time and temperature of the seeds and the terminal velocity of the hulls. The optimum parboiling time, temperature and moisture content for hulling the seeds were determined as 7.5minutes, 57.5oC and 20.10% (w.b) respectively. Terminal velocities of seed, kernel and hull ranged from 12.50m/s - 17.02m/s, 11.40m/s - 13.36m/s and 3.0m/s - 9.5m/s respectively within the moisture range. This indicates that mechanical separation of the kernels from the hulls and other foreign matter is possible by pneumatic means. This information will be useful for agricultural, mechanical, food and bio-process engineers in design and development of machinery for processing African breadfruit seeds.