WO2016016873A1

WO2016016873A1 - A method for removing contaminants from agricultural products and an apparatus thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2016016873A1
Application number: PCT/IB2015/055847
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karunakar NARAYAN; Balasubramanium Kirupakara VETRIVEL
Original assignee: Indian Products Limited
Priority date: 2014-08-01
Filing date: 2015-08-01
Publication date: 2016-02-04

Abstract

Embodiments herein relate to a method and apparatus for removing contaminants from agricultural products. The apparatus comprises a cleaning chamber, one or more transducers, heaters and container. The contaminated agricultural products are placed in a container and immersed in the aqueous solution inside the cleaning chamber. The transducers generate ultrasonic waves which cause formation of plurality of bubbles of the aqueous solution for 10 bombarding with the agricultural products resulting in the separation of the contaminants. The cleaned agricultural products are rinsed in a rinsing container with the hot water and then dried by passing hot air to remove surface water.

Description

A METHOD FOR REMOVING CONTAMINANTS FROM AGRICULTURAL

PRODUCTS AND AN APPARATUS THEREOF

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter is related, in general to agricultural products, and more particularly, but not exclusively to a method for removing contaminants from agricultural products.

BACKGROUND

Generally, agricultural products for example spices are usually bound with the extraneous matter/contaminants like dust, stones, vegetable and mineral oil, grease, chemical impurities like pesticides/fungicides, dirt, insects, insect parts, bits of plastic and metal, excreta etc. These contaminants may come along with the agricultural products during harvesting, drying and packing operations. Most of the agricultural products are consumed directly and therefore it is very important that such agricultural products should be absolutely clean and safe for direct consumption. The contaminants bound to the agricultural products are harmful for human health and therefore should be removed.

In the food sector, the hygienic and sanitary characteristics of the marketed agricultural products have a fundamental role in giving assurance to consumers not only of food having an excellent taste but also of high quality and safety. Therefore, cleaning of the agricultural products is necessary.

The process of cleaning agricultural products can be as simple as washing them before they are either packed in raw form or used as an ingredient of another processed agricultural product. However, washing alone is obviously a less effective process which cannot be used for removal of wide variety contaminants like hydrocarbons, mineral oil and oils of vegetable origin and other firmly bound dirt stuck in the folds or grooves of the agricultural products. The existing methods for cleaning agricultural products use X-ray detection systems for locating solid contaminants and removing solid contaminants. However, these systems are costly and are much more complex. Therefore, there exists a need for an effective method and an apparatus for removing the contaminants from the agricultural products such that all kind of contaminants are removed without deteriorating the quality of the agricultural products.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for removing contaminants from agricultural products. The contaminated agricultural products are placed in a container and immersed in the aqueous solution present inside a cleaning chamber. One or more transducers configured inside the cleaning chamber generate ultrasonic waves which cause formation of plurality of bubbles of the aqueous solution. The plurality of bubbles bombard with the agricultural products which result in the separation of the contaminants. The cleaned agricultural products are then rinsed in a rinsing container with the hot water and then dried by passing hot air to remove surface water.

Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to a method for removing contaminants from one or more agricultural products. The method comprises heating, by the one or more heaters, the aqueous solution present inside a cleaning chamber to a predefined temperature value. The method further comprises immersing a container comprising one or more agricultural products, attached with contaminants in the aqueous solution. Further, the method comprises generating, by one or more transducers, ultrasonic waves in the aqueous solution, wherein the ultrasonic waves form plurality of bubbles of the aqueous solution for bombarding with the one or more agricultural products causing separation of the contaminants from the one or more agricultural products. A control unit is operably interfaced with the one or more heaters for maintaining predefined temperature value of the aqueous solution throughout the cleaning process of one or more agricultural products. Further, the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for removing contaminants from one or more agricultural products. The apparatus comprises a cleaning chamber containing aqueous solution and one or more heaters configured for heating the aqueous solution to a predefined temperature value. The apparatus also comprises one or more transducers. The apparatus further comprises a container comprising the one or more agricultural products, attached with contaminants, wherein the container is immersed in the cleaning chamber. Thereafter, the one or more transducers generate ultrasonic waves in the aqueous solution, wherein the ultrasonic waves form plurality of bubbles of the aqueous solution for bombarding with the one or more agricultural products causing separation of the contaminants from the one or more agricultural products. The apparatus also comprises a control unit, operably interfaced with the one or more heaters, to maintain the predefined temperature value of the aqueous solution throughout cleaning process of the one or more agricultural products.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

Fig.l shows an exemplary representation of an apparatus for removing contaminants from one or more agricultural products in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; Fig.2 shows an exemplary representation of a rinsing container for rinsing the cleaned agricultural products in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig.3 illustrates a flowchart showing a method for removing contaminants from one or more agricultural products in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", "containing" or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.

In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. Fig.l shows an exemplary representation of an apparatus 100 for removing contaminants form one or more agricultural products in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 100 comprises of a cleaning chamber 101, one or more heaters 103

(collectively referred as 103) namely heater 1 103i and heater 2 103₂, a container 105 with one or more agricultural products, one or more transducers (collectively referred as 107) namely Tl 107i and T2 107₂ and a control unit 109. The cleaning chamber 101 comprises of aqueous solution. As an example the aqueous solution is water. In an embodiment, the one or more agricultural products may include, but not limited to, spices. The contaminants may include, but not limited to, hydrocarbons, mineral oil and oils of vegetable origin and other firmly bound dirt stuck in the agricultural products. As an example, the container 105 may be a stainless steel wire mesh or a perforated sheet basket. The pore size of the mesh is based on the size of the agricultural product. As an example, the one or more ultrasonic transducers Tl 107χ and T2 107₂ are configured on the sides of the cleaning chamber 101.

In an embodiment, the control unit 109 is operably interfaced with a plurality of heaters 103. The transducers 107, control unit 109 and the heaters 103 are connected to a power source 111. As an example, the one or more agricultural products to be cleaned are placed in a container 105. The container 105 is immersed in the aqueous solution, for a predefined interval. The time interval is based on the level and kind of contamination of the agricultural products. The aqueous solution is mixed with one or more food grade surfactants. The food grade surfactants/cleaning agents, for example ¾(¾_, facilitate in removal of contaminants from the agricultural products. In an embodiment, the aqueous solution is heated using heaters 103i and 103₂, to a predefined temperature value based on the predetermined level of contamination of the agricultural products. As an example, the temperature in the aqueous solution is between 40° Celsius to 50° Celsius. The control unit 109 maintains the predefined temperature value of the aqueous solution throughout the cleaning process of the agricultural products. The ultrasonic transducers 107 generate the high frequency ultrasonic waves when activated by the power supply 111. As an example, the frequency of the generated ultrasonic waves is in the range of 680 KHz to 1000 KHz. The generated high frequency ultrasonic sound waves create compression waves in the aqueous solution forming millions of microscopic bubbles of the heated aqueous solution. These bubbles bombard into the surface of the one or more agricultural products, immersed in the aqueous solution, thus, weakening the bonds of the attached contaminants. After a predefined time interval, the container 105, containing the cleaned agricultural products, is taken out from the cleaning chamber 101 and all the contaminants, separated from the agricultural products, settle down at the bottom of the cleaning chamber 101 leaving behind only the cleaned agricultural products in the container 105.

Fig.2 shows an exemplary representation of a rinsing container 201 for rinsing the cleaned agricultural products in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The representation shows a rinsing container 201. The rinsing container 201 is filled with hot water with a temperature level of 80° Celsius to 100° Celsius. The container 105, containing the cleaned agricultural products, is immersed in the hot water contained in the rinsing container 201 to remove any traces of residual contaminants remaining on the surface of the cleaned agricultural products. The rinsed agricultural products are then dried by passing hot air, generated from a hot air dryer, to a required level of moisture.

Fig.3 illustrates a flowchart showing method for removing contaminants from one or more agricultural products in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The order in which the method 300 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

At block 301, the aqueous solution stored in the cleaning chamber 101 is heated to a predefined temperature value. The heating process is carried out with the help of heaters 103 placed in the aqueous solution. The desired level of temperature in the aqueous solution ranges between 40° Celsius to 50° Celsius. At block 303, the container 105, containing the one or more agricultural products to be cleaned, is immersed in the heated aqueous solution. The container 105 is kept in the cleaning chamber 101 for a predetermined time period. At block 305, the ultrasonic transducers 107, activated by a power source 111, generate ultrasonic waves. These ultrasonic waves cause the formation of a series of compression waves in the aqueous solution. The compression waves, in turn, result in the formation of millions of microscopic bubbles of the aqueous solution. The bubbles bombard with the surface of one or more agricultural products, contained in the container 105, resulting in removal of surface bound contaminants attached to the agricultural products.

At block 307, the control unit 109, operably interfaced with the one or more heaters 103, maintains the predefined temperature value throughout the cleaning process. At block 309, the cleaned agricultural products are rinsed in a rinsing container 201, containing hot water, to remove any residual surface bound contaminants on the cleaned agricultural products. As an example, temperature of the hot water ranges between 80° Celsius to 100° Celsius to ensure effective cleaning. After rinsing, the wet agricultural products are dried using a hot air dryer to retain only the required amount of moisture on the agricultural products.

The terms "an embodiment", "embodiment", "embodiments", "the embodiment", "the embodiments", "one or more embodiments", "some embodiments", and "one embodiment" mean "one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)" unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to", unless expressly specified otherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean "one or more", unless expressly specified otherwise.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention. When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself. Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description

100 Apparatus

101 Cleaning chamber

103 Heaters

105 Container

107 Ultrasonic transducers

109 Control Unit

111 Power supply

200 Rinsing apparatus

201 Rinsing container

Claims

We claim:

1. A method for removing contaminants from one or more agricultural products, the method comprising: heating, by one or more heaters, aqueous solution present inside a cleaning chamber to a predefined temperature value;

immersing a container comprising the one or more agricultural product, attached with contaminants, in the aqueous solution;

generating, by one or more transducers, ultrasonic waves in the aqueous solution, wherein the ultrasonic waves form plurality of bubbles of the aqueous solution for bombarding with the one or more agricultural product causing separation of the contaminants from the one or more agricultural product and

maintaining, by a control unit operably interfaced with the one or more heaters, the predefined temperature value of the aqueous solution throughout cleaning process of the one or more agricultural product.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic waves are generated after a predetermined time interval upon immersing the container in the aqueous solution.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predefined temperature value is based on predetermined level of contamination of the one or more agricultural product.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprises adding one or more food surfactants in the aqueous solution for facilitating in cleaning of the one or more agricultural product.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprises:

rinsing the cleaned one or more agricultural products in a rinsing container, wherein the rinsing container contains hot water; and

drying the rinsed one or more agricultural products by passing hot air through the rinsed one or more agricultural products.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more transducers generate the ultrasonic waves when activated by a power source.

7. An apparatus for cleaning one or more agricultural product, the apparatus comprising: a cleaning chamber comprising aqueous solution;

one or more heaters configured inside the cleaning chamber for heating the aqueous solution to a predefined temperature value;

a container comprising the one or more agricultural products, attached with contaminants, wherein the container is immersed in the cleaning chamber;

one or more transducers configured inside the cleaning chamber for generating ultrasonic waves in the aqueous solution, wherein the ultrasonic waves form plurality of bubbles of the aqueous solution for bombarding with the one or more agricultural product causing separation of the contaminants from the one or more agricultural product; and a control unit, operably interfaced with the one or more heaters, is configured to maintain the predefined temperature value of the aqueous solution throughout the cleaning process of the one or more agricultural products.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cleaning chamber comprises one or more surfactants for facilitating in cleaning of the one or more agricultural products.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further comprises:

a rinsing container configured to rinse the cleaned one or more agricultural products in hot water; and

a hot air dryer to dry the rinsed one or more agricultural products by passing the hot air through the cleaned one or more agricultural products.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the one or more transducers is activated by a power source.