Physical properties of ackee apple ( Blighia sapida) seeds

Abstract

Physical properties often required for the designing of hopper, dehuller and sundry grain processing machineries were determined for ackee apple seeds at a moisture content of 9.88% (wet basis). The average seed length, width and thickness were 24.30, 19.70 and 12.90 mm, respectively, while sphericity, roundness and aspect ratio were 75.50%, 74.44% and 81.15%, respectively. True density, bulk density and porosity were 888.73 kg m −3, 556.91 kg m −3 and 37.07%, respectively. On three different surfaces, static coefficient of friction varied from 0.38 to 0.46, while the angle of repose was essentially 25°. The suspension air velocity for the seed, kernel and hull were 9.95, 9.78 and 5.45 m s −1, respectively. The specific heat of the seed at 80°C was 2.83 kJ kg −1 K −1.