Escarificado seco de quinua en lecho fluidizado pulsante

Quinoa is an Andean grain with high protein content that has achieved, in recent years, a great acceptance in the international market. However, the presence of saponin and its toxicity in the grain surface makes necessary its elimination for human consumption. This article deals with the elimination of saponin in fluidized bed for the bitter Chimborazo quinoa, with an initial saponin content of 0.45%, and compared to traditional wet methods. The experimental equipment is controlled by the Data Capture Unit of the National Instruments NI cDAQ-9139, which makes the interface between the reactor and the internal computer through Lab VIEW software, with High level of automation. A 3 factorial experiment was designed, where the independent variables were the surface roughness, air speed, pulse of air flow and dependent variable was the saponin content of the final product. The statistical processing showed significance for the 3 independent variables. Saponin content values of 0.08% were obtained and only a slight rinse was necessary to achieve recommended for human consumption value of 0.06%. It was determined that both protein values as color, do not change with process desaponification used. The proposed method significantly reduces water consumption compared to traditional wet desaponification method widely used.