JUICE EXTRACTION WITH THE DECANTER CENTRIFUGE - SWEET AND SOUR CHERRIES, PEACHES AND APRICOTS

The decanter centrifuge was shown to be applicable to juice extraction from sweet and sour cherries, apricots and peaches. The machine was f ed fruit mash at incrementally higher how rates and the suspended soli ds in the output juice were measured with a high-speed laboratory cent rifuge. Accepting 3% (w/w) suspended solids as an acceptable level, ma chine capacity was about 0.36 kg/s (2800 lb/h), 0.38 kg/s (3000 lb/h), 0.23 kg/s (1800 lb/h), and 0.1 kg/s (790 lb/h) for peaches, sour cher ries, apricots and sweet cherries, respectively. Peaches required pect olytic enzyme treatment for extraction of low suspended solids juice b ut sour cherries could be processed with or without enzyme treatment. Apricot proved more difficult to juice than peaches, requiring pectina se treatment and slower feed rates to achieve juice separation. Sweet cherries proved difficult to juice, requiring both low feed rates and extensive enzyme digestion for extraction. Nevertheless, with all frui t tested, yields of juice exceeded 80% (w/w) and were usually between 90 and 95%.