Abstract
An investigation was carried out on the physical and compositional properties of Horse Chestnut seeds found in Kashmir valley, India. Physical properties such as seed shape and size, geometric and arithmetic mean diameter, sphericity, aspect ratio, bulk and true density, density ratio, porosity, angle of repose and static friction coefficient were determined. The average seed length, width and thickness were 4.7, 4.0 and 3.2 cm, respectively. Geometric and arithmetic mean diameter was 3.92 and 3.97 cm. Average sphericity and aspect ratio was 83.4 and 85.11%, respectively. The average true density, bulk density, density ratio and porosity of the variety was 1072 g/cm3, 518 g/ cm3, 48.32% and 51.68%, respectively. The mechanical property viz., angle of repose values obtained on plywood, mild steel, stainless steel and galvanized sheet were 22.3°, 20.3°, 18.3° and 22.79° for the seed variety. The coefficient of static friction obtained on plywood, mild steel, stainless steel and galvanized sheet were 0.54, 0.52, 0.51 and 0.52, respectively. The force required to break the seed was 328 N. Color and compositional analysis of the seed powder was conducted. The L, a and b value were found to be 92.07, 3.47 and 13.70 with a whiteness value of 83.78. The powder was having moisture (12.71%), protein (6.78%), fat (3.27%), ash (3.16%), fibre (6.34%) and carbohydrate (67.74%) with energy value of 327.51 cal/100 g.
Highlights
Horse Chestnut (Aesculus indica Caleb.) known as handun is a fast growing tree species mainly found in temperate regions of Asia in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan
Physical and mechanical properties of fruit, nut, seed and kernel are important to design equipment for dehulling, nut shelling, drying, oil extraction, and other processes like transportation and storage [18]. Physical properties such as size, shape, sphericity, aspect ratio, true density, bulk density and porosity, and mechanical properties such as coefficient of friction, angle of repose as well as fracture resistance are very important in the design of processing machines for major agricultural crops [19]
Higher sphericity values indicate that seed shape is closed to a sphere, while high aspect ratio indicates that seeds will roll than slide on flat surfaces
Summary
Horse Chestnut (Aesculus indica Caleb.) known as handun is a fast growing tree species mainly found in temperate regions of Asia in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Physical and mechanical properties of fruit, nut, seed and kernel are important to design equipment for dehulling, nut shelling, drying, oil extraction, and other processes like transportation and storage [18]. Physical properties such as size, shape, sphericity, aspect ratio, true density, bulk density and porosity, and mechanical properties such as coefficient of friction, angle of repose as well as fracture resistance are very important in the design of processing machines for major agricultural crops [19]. Many studies have been reported on the chemical and physical-mechanical properties of fruits and kernels, such as apricot kernel, berries, cherry laurel, cornelian cherry, fresh okra fruit, orange, rose fruit, wild plum etc
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