Development of a Mechanical Wet Parchment Coffee Demucilager

Kelvin Michael  Crystal,; Rossana Marie  Amongo,; Arthur  Fajardo,; Glenn  Baticados,

Development of a Mechanical Wet Parchment Coffee Demucilager

Kelvin Michael Crystal | Rossana Marie Amongo | Arthur Fajardo | Glenn Baticados

Abstract:

Coffee ranked as the second most traded global commodity in 1953 and dropped to 98th rank in 2015 due to low production of quality produce. The quality and volume of coffee products largely depend on postharvest processing and handling. A mechanical wet parchment coffee demucilager is developed to mechanize coffee wet postharvest processing. Design criteria and results from the coffee farmers' survey were used in crafting the design. The machine was fabricated using locally available materials and was evaluated based on PNS/PAES 253:2011 and 252:2011 but was tailored for the demucilaging process. Arabica and Robusta coffees were used as test materials. Three speeds and three angles were used to determine the optimum characteristic of the machine. The machine was evaluated in terms of demucilaging efficiency, demucilaging recovery, and output capacity. Additional indicators such as mechanically damaged green beans, purity, scattering loss, and undemucilaged loss were considered to further understand the effect of speed and angle on the overall machine performance. Results showed that the best setting for Arabica and Robusta was 650 rpm at 15 degrees worm shaft inclination, and 650 rpm at 30 degrees worm shaft inclination, respectively. Statistically, the effect of speed or angle or both is highly significant on the effect on demucilaging efficiency, demucilaging recovery, and output capacity.