Otimização do consumo de água na lavagem de tomates de mesa em equipamentos de beneficiamento.

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 contribute with technical information, searching for the washing system optimization. The conventional washing System currently used in cleaning equipment, was compared with a proposed system using commercial sprays. The characteristic curves (flow versus pressure) for both systems were determined in lab conditions and the respective water consumptions were compared. The results confirmed the excess of water consumption in the conventional washing systems, however the proposed system proved that is possible to reduce it. The use of sprays allowed the rational use of the water, showing them as a technical altemative.