Development of composite mechanical peeler cum juice extractor for kinnow and sweet orange.

A mechanical peeler cum juice extractor was designed and developed for simultaneous peeling and juice extraction of kinnow and sweet orange fruits. Based on the designed components and prior optimization of operational parameters for peeling of both the fruits, a functional machine was developed. Major components of the machine include spur gear assembly (Φ 102 mm and Φ 76 mm), two fruit holders (Φ 30 mm), revolving shaft with length 570 mm, clearance of the tool for peeling 25 mm and cutting knife with length 80 mm, respectively. This peeler was operated using a motor, gear assembly and the combination of pulleys. The juice extractor was also fitted with a conical hopper having a flattened base to facilitate the juice extraction of peeled fruits. For performance evaluation, fruit rotation speed was considered as independent parameter and was varied at 220, 260, 280, 300, 360 rpm, whereas peeling time (s), peeling efficiency (%), peel remained on fruit (%) and juice loss (%) were taken as dependent parameters. The machine resulted in best performance at fruit rotational speed of 220 rpm (kinnow) and 260 rpm (sweet orange) with higher peeling efficiency and minimum juice loss. The capacity for peeling and juicing operation was 60-90 kg/h (kinnow) and 50-60 kg/h (sweet orange), respectively. This composite peeling cum juice extractor machine can find its applicability in cottage citrus fruit juice processing industries as well as for the domestic juice sellers.