August 19, 2019
On the internet we read that Turmeric, a member of the ginger family, is a common spice and a major ingredient in curry powder. Its primary active ingredients, curcuminoids, are yellow and used to color foods and cosmetics. Turmeric’s underground stems (rhizomes) are dried and made into capsules, tablets, teas, or extracts.
We can attest to the fact that it colors things yellow. Our engineer’s cuticles were still yellow a week after we ran our tests. These can be seen in this video link: TURMERIC III live at: https://youtu.be/4OzopV5qwsY
Vincent has customers who run turmeric through our screw presses. Two processes are used. The turmeric can be soaked in alcohol and then pressed to recover the solubles. (Turmeric juice measures 6º Brix.) Or, the shredded material can be pressed to reduce the moisture content of the fiber.
We tried pressing the turmeric root without first shredding it. In the video you can see that the press plugged due to co-rotation, and we got no throughput at all. After shredding, we ran at high speed and low discharge cone air pressure (38 rpm, 10 psi). That got us 580 pounds an hour going through the press, but only 47% juice yield. So we switched to 14 rpm and 45 psi: that resulted in 190 pounds an hour with 56% juice yield.
The next thing tried was steam injection. Steam from our new boiler was piped through holes drilled through the resistor teeth of a CP-4 lab press. Mechanically, it worked extremely well and made good video. The turmeric came out blanched. Unfortunately it caused the press to stop working: nothing more than a few drops of liquid were extracted.
Excellent shredding was achieved using a horizontal shredder. The discharge screen of our VS-8 shredder had 3/4″ square-round holes.
It was interesting to read the medicinal properties of turmeric:
“Turmeric is used for arthritis, heartburn (dyspepsia), joint pain, stomach pain, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, bypass surgery, hemorrhage, diarrhea, intestinal gas, stomach bloating, loss of appetite, jaundice, liver problems, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gallbladder disorders, high cholesterol, a skin condition called lichen planus, skin inflammation from radiation treatment, and fatigue.
“It is also used for headaches, bronchitis, colds, lung infections, hay fever, fibromyalgia, leprosy, fever, menstrual problems, itchy skin, recovery after surgery, and cancers. Other uses include depression, Alzheimer’s disease, swelling in the middle layer of the eye (anterior uveitis), diabetes, water retention, worms, an autoimmune disease called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), tuberculosis, urinary bladder inflammation, and kidney problems.
“Some people apply turmeric to the skin for pain, ringworm, sprains and swellings, bruising, leech bites, eye infections, acne, inflammatory skin conditions and skin sores, soreness inside of the mouth, infected wounds, and gum disease.
“Turmeric is also used as an enema for people with inflammatory bowel disease.”
Issue #316