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Chilli drying, powder and flakes
Whole dried chilli, flakes, powder, destemmed stemless chilli, oleoresin feedstock
Chilli drying, powder and flakes line by GEM Foodtech, Kolkata, India — capacity 500 kg to 10 tonnes of fresh chilli per hour, final yield 23% of raw intake, delivered as a turnkey plant with installation and commissioning worldwide.
The commercial reality
Sun-dried chilli loses colour, picks up aflatoxin and cannot be sold into a regulated export market. A controlled dryer holds ASTA colour and capsaicin, kills the microbial load and lets you certify the product. That difference is worth more per tonne than the entire cost of the dryer over a season.
Process flow diagram
Generated for the standard configuration. Yours is redrawn to your product mix, capacity and site.
Process chart
Every stage with the equipment that performs it, the operating parameter and the control point that decides quality.
| # | Stage | Equipment | Parameter | Control point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Reception and pre-cleaning | Grader and size sorter | Destoner and air classifier | Sand, stone and light trash removed |
| 02 | Washing | Fruit and vegetable washer | Bubble wash, ozonated rinse option | Surface microbial load reduced |
| 03 | Destemming | Destemmer and destalker | Roller destemmer, 500–3,000 kg/h | Stem content below 1% |
| 04 | Drying | Belt dryer and dehydration system | Multi-zone belt dryer, 55–70 °C, 75 → 10% moisture | ASTA colour retained, moisture uniform |
| 05 | Grading | Grader and size sorter | Size and colour grading | Grade separation before milling |
| 06 | Grinding | Grinder and pulveriser | Pin or hammer mill, water-cooled | Product temperature under 45 °C to hold volatiles |
| 07 | Sieving | Vibro sifter and grader | 40–100 mesh | Particle size to specification |
| 08 | Blending and packing | Filling, sealing and packing line | Ribbon blender, metal detection | Colour and pungency to declared value |
Mass balance
Basis of 1,000 kg of raw material. Change the tonnage below and the whole table rescales.
| Stage | Output, kg/h | Yield | Loss, kg/h | Where the loss goes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh chilli received | 1,000 | 100% | 0 | — |
| After cleaning and washing | 970 | 97% | 30 | Trash, stone and spoiled pods |
| After destemming | 920 | 92% | 50 | Stems to biomass fuel |
| Dried at 10% moisture | 240 | 24% | 680 | Water evaporated |
| Powder after milling and sieving | 230 | 23% | 10 | Mill losses and oversize recycle |
By-products: Stems and rejected pods to biomass fuel; seed separated for oil or replanting.
Equipment schedule
Core machines for this line. Conveying, tanks, CIP and utilities are added to suit the layout.
| Equipment | Capacity range | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Grader and size sorter | Separation | Separates by size or specific gravity before or after processing. |
| Fruit and vegetable washer | Preparation | Removes field soil, latex and surface load with recirculated, filtered water. |
| Destemmer and destalker | Preparation | Strips stalks and calyx from chilli, tomato and similar produce. |
| Belt dryer and dehydration system | Drying | Multi-zone drying with controlled curve — the GEM core competence. |
| Grinder and pulveriser | Size reduction | Hammer, pin or cryogenic milling to a controlled mesh. |
| Vibro sifter and grader | Separation | Mesh separation into grades; oversize returns to the mill. |
| Filling, sealing and packing line | Packing | Weighing, filling, sealing, metal detection and case packing. |
Questions we get on this line
Why not sun dry?
Sun drying takes 10–15 days, loses colour, and exposes the crop to rain and aflatoxin. A belt dryer does it in hours with a certifiable microbial and moisture result.
How is ASTA colour protected?
By keeping product temperature below about 70 °C and minimising exposure time. That is a drying-curve question, which is where a multi-zone dryer earns its price.
What capacity range does the chilli line cover?
Standard GEM Foodtech builds cover 500 kg to 10 tonnes of fresh chilli per hour. Larger duties are engineered to order — the right size is set by the raw material supply through the season, not the nameplate figure.
Is this supplied as a complete turnkey plant?
Yes. The Chilli drying, powder and flakes line is delivered end to end — feasibility, pilot trial on your own material, engineering, manufacture in Kolkata, installation, commissioning and operator training — or as individual machines to fit an existing plant.
Want this line costed for your tonnage?
Send the raw material specification and the capacity you are targeting. You get a flow diagram, an equipment schedule and a budget number.