Sal (Shorea robusta) seed is a nontimber forest product, mainly processed for its oil. This oil is used in various food and nonfood industries. Prior to extraction of oil, sal seeds are manually broken to obtain sal kernel. This traditional manual de-shelling process is very tedious, time consuming and unhygienic. Hence, in this research, a sal seed decorticator was designed, fabricated and its performance was evaluated. The performance parameters of the machine were tested with varying moisture content from 10.49% to 21.95% (d.b) and different concave clearance varying from 10 mm to 19 mm. The decorticating efficiency, machine efficiency, and kernel percentage were
Physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of Shorea robusta seed with wing, seed without wing, and kernel were investigated in the present work. The physico-chemical composition of sal oil was also analyzed. The physico-mechanical properties and proximate composition of seed with wing, seed without wing, and kernel at three moisture contents of 9.50% (w.b), 9.54% (w.b), and 12.14% (w.b), respectively, were studied. The results show that the moisture content of the kernel was highest as compared to seed with wing and seed without wing. The sphericity of the kernel was closer to that of a sphere as compared to seed with wing and seed without wing. The hardness of the seed with wing (32.32, N/mm) and seed without wing (42.49, N/mm) was lower than the kernels (72.14, N/mm). The proximate composition such as moisture, protein, carbohydrates, oil, crude fiber, and ash content were also determined. The kernel (30.20%, w/w) contains higher oil percentage as compared to seed with wing and seed without wing. The scientific data from this work are important for designing of equipment and processes for post-harvest value addition of sal seeds.
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