Avaliação da eficiência de limpeza em equipamentos de beneficiamento do tomate de mesa utilizando-se sistema hidráulico alternativo.

Abstract

The post-harvesting cleaning process in firesh market tomatoes production is essential to the consumer acceptance, since the degree of dirtiness of the fruits is directly related to its quality. However, the washing stage of the cleaning process of current packinghouse demands an excessive water volume, bringing serious ambient concems. The objective of this work was to evaluate an altemative cleaning system using a spray, full cone, measuring the System efficiency on the cleaning step for fresh market tomatoes, looking for a rational use of water. Therefore, it was evaluated different configurations at the cleaning equipment, changing water flow and standing time under this system. It was observed that cleaning efficiency is not direct related with water volume used, but with water pressure, associate to firuit standing time and brush rotation.