A novel alternative method for pistachio nuts splitting using conical spouted beds

Abstract

Closed shell pistachio nuts must be split for their commercialisation, which is conducted in processing plants designed on purpose. Given that current industrial processes have limitations, and pistachio is a booming product, new opening mechanisms alternative to the traditional ones are being developed. Thus, thermal processing has recently gained attention, but the high energy consumption required in these processes has boosted the search of new alternatives. To our knowledge, there is no information about the treatment of pistachio nuts in conical spouted beds. Accordingly, we propose a novel alternative method for pistachio nuts splitting by involving the mentioned technology. Hydrodynamic runs have been conducted to ascertain the configurations that lead to stable operation, and therefore are suitable for low temperature batch drying and splitting of pistachio nuts. The results show that a single cycle of wetting, drying and cooling of pistachio nuts allows attaining splitting percentages of up to 35%.