Development of Power Operated Garlic Peeler

Abstract

Garlic bulbs are highly valued for their flavor and hold significant commercial importance due to their extensive medicinal properties and applications in food and pharmaceutical preparations. One of the essential preliminary steps before any subsequent processing activity is garlic peeling. Traditional methods such as hand peeling, flame peeling, oven peeling, and chemical peeling are commonly used in processing industries, large restaurants, hotels, and kitchens. However, these methods are laborious, time-consuming, cost-intensive, and limit the speed of processing activities. Due to its unique shape, mechanical peeling of garlic has not yet been effectively addressed by process engineers. Additionally, this task requires special care and skill to minimize material damage. With this in mind, a study was conducted to develop a power-operated garlic peeler aimed at alleviating the issues associated with traditional peeling methods and enhancing the processing and export of garlic and its products. The developed garlic peeler features a feed hopper, rubber pad, concave mechanism, and power transmission system. Its performance was evaluated at various combinations of shaft speed, feed rate mechanism, and operating speed. Based on the results, optimal values for the study variables were recommended for the prototype garlic peeler, considering peeling efficiency and the yield of peeled and unpeeled garlic cloves. The performance of the prototype garlic peeler with the recommended specifications was then evaluated. The developed garlic peeler achieved an effective peeling efficiency of 71.93%, with a minimal percentage of damaged garlic at a speed of 850 rpm and an operating time of 80 seconds, with a capacity of 2.88 kg/hr at 850 rpm. Additionally, it was observed that the cost of operation for the developed garlic peeler was Rs. 1.89 per hour to peel 1 kg of garlic, which is lower than the cost associated with hand peeling.