A hand-operated rotary type cleaner-cum-grader for black pepper and cardamom

A rotary sieve type cleaner-cumgrader was developed and evaluated for black pepper and cardamom. This unit is suitable for removing impurities from the dried black pepper and cardamom and grading them into three grades. The grader was evaluated with black pepper and cardamom at different speeds, viz., 15, 25 and 35 rpm at 12-14 % (w.b.) moisture content. The samples from feed and various outlets were manually analyzed and the effectiveness of the grader unit was estimated. The capacity of the unit was 200 and 150 kg/h of black pepper and cardamom, respectively with grading effectiveness of 0.88 and 0.89. The sieves on the rotor of the unit could be changed according to the variety and grade specifications, and could also be made suitable for other crops by changing the sieves. The cost of the unit is approximately Rs. 10,000/- and the cost of operation per quintal is Rs.40 and 30, for pepper and cardamom, respectively.