Agricultural Structures and Process Engineering (ASPE) Division is involved in designing and developing equipment and machinery for higher-level processing of agri-bio-products. The main aim of the division is to develop the suitable technologies for higher-level processing of agro-bio-produce in the rural catchment. Presently, the division hosts a major research program on the design and development of technologies for processing, storage, packaging, and transportation while ensuring quality and safety of products with adequate emphasis on rural industrialization. Division acts as a repository of the technologies developed on processing and value addition of various agro-bio-produce, especially natural resins and gums. Division is also involved in the transfer of technology through training, demonstration and consultancy of developed technologies/ machineries/ processes.
The division has a multidisciplinary team of scientists having specialization in various engineering disciplines. Division has small scale lac processing unit, integrated small scale lac processing unit, and pilot plants for lac dye extraction, bleached lac production, aleuritic acid production etc. The division has also created a small facility for fabrication of machines, tools and gadgets.
The Project coordinating unit of ‘Network Project on Harvesting, Processing and Value Addition of Natural Resins & Gums’ functions from this division. The project acts as an outreach activity of the institute to carry out the location-specific and multidisciplinary research on different aspects of resins and gums, having nine cooperating centre across India with ICAR NISA as a lead centre.
Mandate:
- Design and development of equipment and machinery for advanced processing of agri-bio-products and co products
- Development of protocols and technologies for complementing downstream processing
- Development of packaging, storage and transportation technologies for ensuring quality, safety and traceability of processed products
Objectives:
- Development of suitable technologies for higher-level processing, packaging, storage and transportation of agro-bio-produce with emphasis on rural industrialization
Labs and facilities:
Available facilities/instruments
- Manufacturing of seedlac (100 kg/day)
- Manufacturing of bleached lac (40 kg/batch)
- Manufacturing of aleuritic acid (capacity 2 kg/batch)
- Manufacturing of Technical & Pure Grade lac dye (capacity 4 kg & 1 kg per batch)
- Hunter colorimeter
- Texture analyzer
- Dehumidified dryer
- Desiccant dryer
- Vacuum packaging machine
- Disintegrators for resins and gums
- Automatic fat analyzer
Major technologies developed
- Small scale lac processing unit (capacity: 100 kg/day of sticklac)
- Integrated small scale lac processing unit
- Improved tapping devices for gums
- Roller type tapping device for guggul
Services provided
- Human Resource Development to entrepreneurs on primary processing of lac
- Human Resource Development to entrepreneurs on production of lac dye, bleached lac and aleuritic acid
- Incubation centre for entrepreneurs associated in lac processing