Walnut processing is a profitable business if you choose the right equipment, find a quality walnut seller and a good sales force.
When it comes to industrial processing, the standard equipment consists of a nutcracker, a vibrating sieve and an aspiration column.
The basis of the entire line is a nutcracker. The integrity of the walnut kernel and the volume of processing largely depend on the nutcracker. Industrial walnut cracking machines have a conical principle. It provides gentle cracking with a high whole kernel yield without requiring nut sizing. The productivity of nutcrackers is 50, 100 and 200 kg/h.
To have time to sort out such an amount of nuts, it is necessary to use sorting equipment – vibrating sieve and aspiration.
Vibrating screen sorts split nuts into fractions – 1/2 (butterfly), 1/4, 1/8, crumb and undershoot.
The principle of operation is such that the nut from the hopper is fed to a sieve with holes by means of vibratory feeding. Moving over the sieve, the kernel falls into the holes according to its size. The uncut walnut goes into a separate container and is cracked by hand.
*An uncut walnut is a kernel that sits tightly in the shell in the case of a greedy or wet nut.
The aspiration column separates the shell, partitions, debris and dust from the walnut kernel with an air stream.
As a result of the sorting equipment operation, the kernel of the walnut will be separated from the garbage and sorted into fractions. In general, up to 90% of the work will be completed. The rest of the nut must be hand-picked. This is due to the intricate structure of the walnut.
The percentage of work done by the equipment will depend on the quality of the nut. A high-quality, moderately dry nut will be easily separated from the shell, which means there will be a minimum of manual work. If the nut is fresh, too wet or greedy, the nutcracker will not be able to completely crack it and, accordingly, the equipment will not be able to sort it out qualitatively. Such a nut needs manual handling and bulkhead.
Depending on the possibilities and volumes of processing, the line can be supplemented with a calibrator, a nut cracking table or an inspection table. Separate installations – vibrating sieve and aspiration, can be replaced with one more powerful one – a vibrating sieve with an aspiration system, where an aspiration column is installed for each fraction. This saves time and maintains the integrity of the kernel as it is less prone to shaking during transport.
The calibrator sorts inshell walnuts by size. This sorting makes it easier to customize the nutcracker and increases the yield of the whole kernel. Also, sizing increases the cost of walnut on the market if you do not plan to process it.
Workers who pick and crack nuts need to properly organize their workplace, because it increases efficiency and speed of work. For cracking the nut, it is better to use stationary bulkhead tables. The size and height of the tables, the placement of bulkers, openings and spaces for drawers are designed for comfortable work, while the contrasting tabletop and LED lighting reduce eye strain.
Inspection tables have a moving surface and are designed for visual inspection of the walnut kernel. The walnut is poured into the hopper, a comfortable belt speed and nut feed volume are set, the workers check the quality of the kernel and, if they find shell particles or a damaged kernel, remove it to the side.
Vibrating sieve with aspiration is used in medium and large walnut processing plants. This vibrating sieve model sorts the split nuts (after the nutcracker) into fractions, and the aspiration system blows out shells, debris and partitions. As a result of the operation of the installation, a clean nut kernel is obtained, sorted into fractions and ready for further processing or packaging. Vibrating sieve with aspiration divides the kernel into 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, crumb and uncut walnut. The amount of uncut walnut directly depends on the quality and moisture content of the nut.
When choosing equipment for your production, you need to clearly understand the volumes of the planned processing and the desired result. Based on this, the performance of the equipment and the line configuration are selected. The minimum required set of equipment for an automated workshop consists of a nutcracker, vibrating sieve and aspiration column.