• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.283-292
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• 2017

Purpose: Japanese Apricot, a type of plum, has various medicinal and economical applications. Plums are quite popular worldwide, but their deseeding remains a serious impediment to their processing. Therefore, a plum (Japanese Apricot) seed remover (PSR) was developed that can use various types of cutters according to the purpose of the plum processing, and its performance was evaluated. Methods: The proposed PSR, which allows multipurpose cutters, namely, zero-, two-, and four-blade cutters, to be installed, was first designed and manufactured. To identify appropriate parameters related to the cutting pressure, plums were harvested from three regions during three harvesting periods, and their geometrical and mechanical properties were measured. After application of the parameters related to the cutting pressure, a performance test was carried out on both fresh and frozen plums by identifying the ratios of the flesh recovery, seed recovery, seed breakage, deseeding efficiency, and machine efficiency. Results: The results show that, using the proper calculation of the processing parameters, 100% deseeding efficiency was facilitated regardless of the type of cutter used. However, in the case of a four-blade cutter, there are significant differences in the flesh recovery ratio according to the plum setting angle. Between the fresh and frozen plums, all cutters showed a significantly better flesh recovery ratio for the case of fresh plums. Conclusions: This machine will advance the plum processing technology, and eventually help the plum industry flourish.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.378-385
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• 2021

The production of plum jangachi requires the cleaning of plums, immersion in saltwater, separation of seed and pulp, removal of impurities, and addition of sugar. In most farms, the separation of plum seed and pulp is carried out manually, requiring considerable labor, which is why plum jangachi is expensive. To solve this problem, this study designed and manufactured automatic, semi-automatic plum seed and pulp separators. During the design process, the characteristics were compared, and the machine power was determined through on-site test after manufacture. As a result, automatic machines used plums 180° arrayed and six reverse-edged blades, semi-automated plums 180° arrayed, and six blades, each with a 68% and 57% pulp recovery rate and a machine power of 80 kg/h and 62 kg/h respectively. Overall, the mechanization of plum processed food will reduce labor and increase the market value of plums compared to the previous method.