Flotation-cum-sedimentation system for skin and seed separation from tomato pomace

Skin and seeds were separated from the pomace in a newly designed and fabricated flotation-cum-sedimentation system consisting of one mixing tank, three settling tanks, a water-collecting tank and a recirculation pump. The dispersion time at various feed rates revealed that with the increase in pomace level from 5% to 20% the dispersion time also increased from 1.6 to 31.31 s. The system was operated at various feed (6-12 kg/min) rates and quality of the separated skin and seeds was evaluated. The separation efficiency increased from 58% to 71% for skin and 42% to 65% for seeds respectively as the feed rate varied from 12 to 8 kg/min. Results revealed that the system could be operated with a feed rate of 500 kg/h.