The document outlines the process engineering aspects of harvesting, processing, and storing spices like pepper and cardamom. It details various methods and equipment used for threshing, drying, cleaning, grading, and packaging, highlighting costs, efficiencies, and operational practices. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of moisture control during storage to prevent quality loss and contamination.

1. FPE 301 - PROCESS ENGINEERING OF
SPICES
PLANTATION
CROPS

2. UNNI SREENIVAS
2015-027-044
PROCESSING OF PEPPER AND CARDAMOM

3. UNIT OPERATIONS INVOLVED
EQUIPMENT
PRINCIPLES AND CONSTRUCTION

4. PEPPER – KING OF SPICES

5. HARVESTING
THRESHING
DRYING
CLEANING
GRADING
PACKAGING
STORAGEPROCESSING

6. Trampling with legs to separate
the berries
Involves drudgery to the labourers
and damages the berries
A labourer will be able to trample
about 200 kg of spikes
Empty spikes are disposed to the
compost pit and used as manure

7. MECHANICAL THRESHING
Efficiency of Thresher
•95%
Cost of Thresher
•Rs 30,000
Cost of Operation
•Rs 125 per tonne of pepper
Capacity of Thresher
•320 Kg per hour
2 Hp Electric Motor

8. A - Hopper B - Feeder
C – Threshing
Cylinder
D - Concave
E
Transmission
Compressor
F – Vibrant
Sieve
G – Spike
Outlet
H - Berry
Outlet
I – Source of
Power

9. 1. Feed Hopper
2. Rotating Drum
3. Aluminum Strip
4. Oscillating Strip
5. Eccentric
6. Pepper Outlet
7. Motor
8. Stand

10. HAND OPERATED PEPPER THRESHER
Cost of the Unit
•Rs 7,500
Cost of Operation
•Rs 175 per tonne of pepper
Capacity of Thresher
•60 kg per hour
Efficiency of the Thresher
•96%

11. MECHANICAL PEPPER
THRESHER
EFFICIENCY OF THRESHER – 95%
COST OF THRESHER – Rs 30,000
COST OF OPERATION – 125 per
tonne
CAPACITY OF THRESHER – 320 kg per
hour
HAND OPERATED PEPPER
THRESER
EFFICIENCY OF THRESHER – 96%
COST OF THRESHER – Rs 7,500
COST OF OPERATION – 175 per
tonne
CAPACITY OF THRESHER – 125 kg per
hour

12. BLANCHING
Dipping the mature
berries in boiling water
for a minute
Removes the
extraneous impurities
on the berries
Reduces drying period
Enhances black colour
to pepper due to
resinoids giving
uniformity
Activates phenolase
enzyme responsible for
black colour
Ruptures the cells
allowing moisture to be
removed

13. Freshly harvested berries contain
70% moisture content
Berries are spread out on mats for
drying and periodically turned out
to obtain uniform drying
In 2 days moisture content
decreases to 20-25% and to below
10 % for safe storage
Due to enzymatic oxidation of
colorless compounds present in the
skin, the color of pepper turns black
SUN DRYING
Bamboo Mat Cement Floor
Polyethylene
Fabric

15. DRYING EQUIPMENT
1
• Solar Dryer
2
• Wood Fired Dryer
3
• Solar Cabinet Dryer with Aspirator (CIAE)
4
• ASTRA Dryer - IISc. Bangalore – biomass fuel
5
• Agricultural Waste Fired Copra Dryer (CPCRI)
6
• Mechanical Dryer (Regional Research Laboratory, Trivandrum)

16. In solar tunnel drier the crop is spread on a wire mesh placed 20 mm
above the floor, which is covered with a plastic net to prevent
insects from entering
Axial fans are incorporated to suck ambient air into the collector
depending on the available solar radiation.
In the solar air heater the drying air is heated to a maximum
temperature of about 60°C which is the optimum temperature for
drying pepper.
The crops spread in a thin layer in the drier itself acts as an absorber
enabling the drying air to gain additional heat when passing through
the drier.
The heat loss caused by evaporation of the moisture during drying
are compensated by this additional energy gain resulting in an
almost uniform drying
SOLAR CABINET DRYER

17. MECHANICAL DRYER
1. Electrical
Heating
System
2. Thermostat
3. Control
Switch
4. Cold Air 5. Blower
Source is mainly Electrical or other fuels
Agricultural wastes are also used as fuel
Used to overcome the vagaries of weather
Better quality product can be obtained
Regional Research Laboratory,
Trivandrum, Mechanical Dryer

18. CLEANING AND GRADING
During threshing and drying, extraneous
matters like broken spikes, pinheads, stones,
soil particles etc. creep into the produce.
Multiple sieve - cum air classified type of
machine whereby the impurities are easily
removed is used for grading at the farmers and
traders level such as pinheads
Inclined belt separator, spiral separator can be
used for the removal of foreign impurities

19. INCLINED BELT SEPARATOR SPIRAL SEPARATOR

20. CLEANER CUM GRADER FOR PEPPER
To achieve grading of pepper and cardamom
into three grades according to AGMARK
specifications and separation of smaller and
larger size impurities
Consists of a rotor and it has been divided
into three segments with provision to place
any sieves
Spiral is provided inside the rotor for easy
conveying of the feed materials to the sieve
perforations with outlets being provided
Feed Hopper Capacity – 200 Kg per Hour
Efficiency - 88%

22. PACKAGING
Hygroscopic in nature
Tendency to absorb moisture resulting
in mould attack and insect infestation
Attacks lead to loss of aroma, caking
and hydrolytic rancidity
Packed and Transported in Gunny bags
Dried Pepper can be stored without
any mould growth in jute gunny bags

23. STORAGE
Moisture level in pepper is to be in the range of 10–11 per cent
before it is stored and constructed scientifically
The room should have controlled ventilation and devices for
control of humidity and temperature and properly fumigated
before storage
A good dehumidifier eliminates mould and insect attacks by
keeping the atmosphere always dry and walls should be white
washed regularly
Other spices should not be stored as their strong pungent
smell will spoil the aroma of pepper

24. CARDAMOM – QUEEN OF SPICES

25. HARVESTING
CLEANING
GRADING
PRE TREATMENT
DRYING
COOLING
PACKAGING
STORAGE
PROCESSING FLOWCHART

26. CLEANING
The first stage is to remove dust and dirt
using a winnowing basket to remove dust,
dirt and stones quickly and efficiently
Winnower could clean 100 kg of
cardamom in an eight hour day
After winnowing the crop needs to be
washed in water, all that is needed is two
or three 15 L buckets
For larger quantities a 1 m³ sink/basin with
a plug hole needs to be constructed, this
can be made out of concrete.

27. GARBLING
Capacity : 100kg/hr
Efficiency of garbling : 98%
Cost of equipment : Rs 4,000
Cost of Operation : Rs 150/quintal
Salient Features
• Capacity is 5 kg of Cardamom per batch
and time taken is 2 – 5 minutes per batch
• Percentage broken is less than 5%
• Savings in Time : 50%
• Savings in Cost : 66%

28. PRE - TREATMENT
Soaking the cardamom fruits in 2% washing
soda (sodium carbonate) for 10 minutes prior
to drying
• To inhibit color loss during drying operation
• To extent color retention during subsequent storage
Bleached cardamom is creamy white or
golden yellow in colour
Acidic nature of the soaking solution brings
about the degradation of chlorophyll and
further drying yields yellow colour

29. DRYING
NATURAL DRYING
• Capsules are dried directly under
sunlight for 5 to 6 days or more.
• Frequent turning is done.
• This method can result in surface
blemishes and may not give an
attractive green colour .
• This method is practiced if the
cultivar yields fruits that turn yellow
before they are ready for picking
and where facilities for green curing
are not available
ARTIFICIAL DRYING
• Solar dryer
• Kiln dryer
• Electrical dryer
• UAS (B) model cardamom dryer
• Through flow dryer
• Wood-fired dryer
• Humidity-controlled dryer
• Flue pipe curing
• Bin dryer
• Gassifier dryer

30. The dryer consist of 24 number of aluminum
trays
They are piled one over the other with a gap of
2 cm between trays
The green capsules are uniformly spread in
trays and arranged in the dryer
Uniform distribution is ensured by means of
fans
50 kg of capsules can be dried in 10 – 12 hours
Green color is obtained by maintaining at the
temperature 45 and 50
ELECTRICAL DRYER

31. KILN DRYING
The structure usually consists of walls
made of bricks or stones and tiled roof
with ceiling
A furnace is situated on one side of the
chamber; heat is generated by burning
firewood or farm waste
A pipe made of iron or zinc sheet
starting from the furnace passes
through the chamber and opens
outside the roof

32. KILN DRYING
The heated air currents generated in the
furnace passes through the pipe and increases
the temperature of the room
The fans located on either sides of the wall
uniformly spread the temperature
Inside the room wooden/aluminum trays are
to be piled one over the other with spacing of
20–22.5 cm between the trays

33. KILN DRYING
The fire in the furnace is regulated to
maintain a temperature of 45–50 °C
Using this facility high quality green
cardamom can be prepared in 18–22
hours
A drying chamber of dimension 4.5 m
length and breadth is sufficient for a
plantation producing 1800–2000 kg of
raw cardamom.

34. UAS (B) Model Cardamom
Dryer Wood-Fired dryer

35. PACKAGING
After grading cardamom capsules are
stored, they are packed in clean, dry tin
plate containers or wooden cases
Stored at a moisture content of less than
10 % to retain the original parrot green
colour and to prevent mould growth
Use of 300 gauge black polythene lined
gunny bags improves efficiency of
storage
Optimum Equilibrium RH is 40%
Mould Growth appears at 70% RH

36. A well designed and secure store is essential. The optimal conditions for a
store are low temperature, low humidity and free from pests
The store should be located in a shaded, dry place. To keep humidity as low
as possible only fully dried products should be stored in it
The produce should be checked regularly and if it has absorbed too much
moisture it should be dried again.
To prevent pests entering, the roof should be completely sealed. Mosquito
netting should be placed over the windows, and the doors should be close
fitting.
STORAGE

37. REFERENCES
1. Black Pepper Piper nigrum
Edited by P.N Ravindran, Hawood Academic Publishers
2. Cardamom, The genus Elettaria
Edited by P.N Ravindran and KJ Madhoosudhan, Taylor and Francis Group
3. Processing and Quality of Black Pepper – A Review
P Heathwin Amala Das & V S Korikantimath
4. Spice Science and Technology
Kenji Hirasa & Mitsuo Takemasa

38. TO TEACH IS TO LEARN TWICE
THANK YOU