Coconut Sweetening Process Elizabeth Casey Justin Dillingham Mohd - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Coconut Sweetening Process Elizabeth Casey Justin Dillingham Mohd Hussain Brady Stewart BAE 4012 – Fall 2005

Mission Statement • Palm Tree Processing is a consulting group that strives to help family owned and operated food businesses achieve the highest quality food products available. 8/30/2017 2

About Griffin Food Company • Founded in Muskogee, OK in 1908 by John T. Griffin • Major products available – Syrups – Jellies and preserves – Mustards – Coconut flakes 8/30/2017 3

Coconut Flakes • Popular confectionary product • Enhances food properties – Texture – Flavor – Visual appeal 8/30/2017 4

Problem Definition • Consumers demand the longest length of coconut flakes possible • Flake length of Griffin’s coconut degrades during processing Before After 8/30/2017 5

Project Goals • Pinpoint and quantify degradation • Make recommendations to: – Prevent flake length degradation – Increase processing capacity – Improve quality of work for employees 8/30/2017 6

Process Steps • Delumping • Conveyance to cooker • Cooking and blending • Tempering • Packaging 8/30/2017 7

Delumping • Clumps of coconut form during storage • Delumper used to separate clumps – Rotating spikes • Employee designed and built 8/30/2017 8

Delumper 8/30/2017 9

Conveyance to Cooker • Auger transports coconut from delumper to cooker – Contained within PVC pipe • Frequently clogs • Limits processing speed 8/30/2017 10

Cooking and Blending • Double ribbon agitation cooker • Blends slurry, sugar and coconut • Runs continuously during delumping and conveying 8/30/2017 11

Tempering • Barrels store coconut overnight • Allows for uniform moisture distribution • Large clumps often form 8/30/2017 12

Packaging • Barrels unloaded – Extensive manual labor required • Auger conveys coconut to packaging machine – Frequently clogs 8/30/2017 13

Design Criteria • Recipe may not change • Production capacity must not decrease • Simple transition from existing to improved process line • Minimal cost 8/30/2017 14

Concept Development • Quantifying coconut flake length – Modified ASAE Standard S424 – Image Analysis with MatLab • Potential Solutions – Proposal A – Steam Injection – Proposal B – Replacement of Auger Conveyor – Proposal C – Replacement of Cooker 8/30/2017 15

Modified ASAE Standard S424 • Sieves separate coconut flakes • Average geometric mean length calculated using:      M log X    i i  log 1 X  gm   M   i X gm = geometric mean length geometric mean length of particles on i th screen X i = mass on i th screen M i = 8/30/2017 16

Image Analysis with MatLab • Picture taken of coconut flake sample • Average flake length calculated with MatLab – Morphological Operations in Image Processing Package 8/30/2017 17

Results Average Length of Coconut Flakes 20 Average Flake Length (mm) Red V 16 Phildesco 12 8 4 0 Initial Delumper Auger Cooker Process Step 8/30/2017 18

Results Phildesco Red V Sample % Degradation % Degradation Initial - - Delumper 5.18 8.94 Auger 18.87 23.98 Cooker 10.62 30.41 8/30/2017 19

Proposal A – Steam Injection • Steam injected into bags of coconut to break up clumps • Replaces delumping and conveying process steps • Pros • Cons – Less handling of – May change coconut coconut properties 8/30/2017 20

Proposal B – Replacement of Auger Conveyor Pneumatic Conveyor Bucket Conveyor • Pressurized air moves • Buckets carry coconut coconut flakes flakes • Pros • Pros – High capacity – High capacity – Minimal stress on – Gentle on product product • Cons • Cons – Maintenance – High power requirement 8/30/2017 21

Proposal C – Replacement of Cooker • Replaces cooker with tumble blender – Rotating chamber mixes ingredients • Types of tumble blenders – Slant-Cone – V-Shaped – Double-Cone 8/30/2017 22

Proposal C – Tumble Blenders Slant-Cone • Pros: Fast and uniform blending • Cons: Requires large headspace V-Shaped • Pros: Efficient blending • Cons: Difficult to clean Double-Cone • Pros: Minimal space requirements • Cons: Longer blending time 8/30/2017 23

Spring Schedule • Continued development of flake length measurement methods • Further investigation of proposals • Evaluation and testing of proposals • Final recommendations 8/30/2017 24

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following people for their help and support: Griffin Food Company BAE Faculty and Staff • Richard Hall • Dr. Paul Weckler • Craig Duncan • Dr. Gerald Brusewitz • David Clary • Dr. Tim Bowser • John Trammel • Dr. Glenn Brown • Roshani Jayasekara 8/30/2017 25