Development of Turmeric Slicing System for Implementation in Bangladesh to Eliminate Use of Lead Chromate By Enhancing Root Color Through Preservation of Curcumin Content
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Bangladesh has the world’s fourth highest rate of premature deaths due to lead poisoning. A key contributor is the addition of toxic lead chromate in turmeric root processing to artificially improve the color of subpar turmeric. The distinctive golden-orange turmeric color derives from the compound curcumin, which is reduced by at least 10-15% in processing during the traditional boiling step [1]. This loss of turmeric root color incentivizes use of lead chromate. This paper investigates how to maintain curcumin content in turmeric through slicing, which replaces the boiling step to increase turmeric’s color desirability and removes the need to add lead chromate from the polishing step. From user and stakeholder interviews, prototyping, testing data, and background research, we have developed slicing mechanisms and tested key metrics for a slicing device and a corresponding process intended to improve curcumin retention and ease production. Our results indicate that a 6.5 millimeter slice is the optimum size for drying, considering that smaller slices dry faster but have high degrees of warping, unacceptable for packaging density, and that our proposed system of slicing devices has a throughput capacity of 294 kilograms per hour. In addition, our process, which eliminates the traditional polishing and boiling steps, improves curcumin preservation by an estimated 15-50% and increases drying speed by at least 3.3 times, as well as increasing the L* and b* values in the color system L*a*b* and reducing the a* values, all of which corresponds to higher quality turmeric with increased curcumin. This paper also discusses our slicing device, which validates the mechanism’s motion and the device’s operating process, along with a comparison between our developed process and the existing process in their abilities to maintain desirable turmeric color and curcumin content. The device consists of loading turmeric onto a blade grid through a chute and then pulling down a lever with mechanical advantage, which pushes a comb onto the turmeric roots and forces them through the blades, creating slices which then fall into a collection container located underneath the device. Successful implementation of this device and adoption of this process will increase the quality of turmeric roots sold and dis-incentivize lead chromate usage and subsequent lead poisoning in Bangladesh.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | 2021 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Harron, Faith |
|---|---|
| Author | Herrera, Joel |
| Author | Pitzer, Lauren |
| Author | Williams, Jadal |
| Advisor | Liu, Joanna Jin |
| Advisor | Wood, Jeff |
| Sponsor | Forsyth, Jenna |
| Sponsor | Machala, Michael |
| Sponsor | Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment |
| Primary advisor | Howard, John |
Subjects
| Subject | turmeric |
|---|---|
| Subject | curcumin |
| Subject | slicing |
| Subject | Bangladesh |
| Subject | lead chromate |
| Subject | Stanford Mechanical Engineering Capstone |
| Genre | Student project report |
Bibliographic information
| Related Publication | Jenna E. Forsyth, Syeda Nurunnahar, Sheikh Shariful Islam, Musa Baker, Dalia Yeasmin, M. Saiful Islam, Mahbubur Rahman, Scott Fendorf, Nicole M. Ardoin, Peter J. Winch, Stephen P. Luby, Turmeric means “yellow” in Bengali: Lead chromate pigments added to turmeric threaten public health across Bangladesh, Environmental Research, Volume 179, Part A, 2019, 108722, ISSN 0013-9351, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.108722. |
|---|---|
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/kw593jm5175 |
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- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Harron, Faith; Herrera, Joel; Pitzer, Lauren; Williams, Jadal. (2021). Development of Turmeric Slicing System for Implementation in Bangladesh to Eliminate Use of Lead Chromate By Enhancing Root Color Through Preservation of Curcumin Content. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/kw593jm5175
Collection
ME170 Mechanical Engineering Design
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