Design and Evaluation of Biomass Combustor and Solar Dryer for Turmeric Processing

Boiling and drying of raw turmeric rhizomes is essentially very important for development of an attractive yellow colour and the aroma. The quality of the final product turmeric depends largely on curing process (Purthi, 1992). The post harvest unit operations for turmeric processing are boiling and drying carried out by conventional method which are slow, tedious and labour intensive. Use of petroleum fuel or electricity for drying of turmeric is an expensive process at village scale in developing countries. Therefore, an appropriate technology for boiling and drying of turmeric was developed and was evaluated for the boiling and drying of turmeric rhizomes. The results indicate that boiling and drying practice as intensified the colour and curcumin content. It was observed that time required to reduced moisture content in turmeric from 82% to 8% in solar drying was 42 h while 56 recommended that the improved biomass combustor and solar dryer be used for turmeric processing.