Solid handling properties of bulgur produced by antep and Karaman/Mut techniques

The interest on bulgur is increasing overall the World due to its nutritional and functional properties. It was one of the traditional product. However, its production has been started to made in modern plants for about 30 years. Due to the lack of the solid handling properties of bulgur in the literature, there are some plant and equipment design problems. The designers and manufacturers need some important solid handling properties. In this study, the solid handling properties of Durum and bread types bulgur were determined at each processing step of Antep and Karaman/Mut bulgur production methods. The sphericity, particle size (mm), packed and loose bulk densities (kg/m3), voidage, angle of repose, sliding angle, particle density, minimum fluidization velocity (m/s), silo discharge capacity, flow regime and size distribution (screen analysis) were measured. Additionally, the moisture (%, w.b.), protein (%, d.b.), ash (%, d.b.) contents and color values (L*, a*, b* and YI) were determined as quality parameters. It was found that the solid handling properties of bulgur during Antep and Karaman/Mut processing significantly (p≤0.05) changed. The changes in raw material, moisture, particle size and shape were very important for the solid handling properties of bulgur. Key Words: bulgur, solid handling property, sphericity, Antep bulgur, Karaman/Mut bulgur, Durum wheat, bread wheat