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Experimental Method to Quantify Residual Sand in Produce

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 23(3): 315-318. (doi: 10.13031/2013.22673) @2007
Authors:   A. F. Knowles, K. D. Dolan
Keywords:   Residual sand, Produce, Incineration, ISDR method, Wet flotation technique

A procedure was developed to determine the amount of sand in produce. The incineration, separation by density, and rinsing method (ISDR ) was developed in our laboratory. This is a simple, inexpensive, and a reliable technique for quantifying the amount of sand in a sample of organic material. A sample of fresh produce is first weighed, and then dosed with a known mass of acid washed/ignited sand. The samples are reduced to ashes in ovens at 200C and 400C for 5.0 and 0.5 h, respectively. The majority of the ash is removed from the samples by rinsing with water. The remaining ash is removed through separatory funnels using salt and sugar solutions.

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