Some Engineering Properties of Selected Ethiopian Chickpea Varieties as Function of Moisture Content

Background and Objective: Ethiopia ranks sixth globally in chickpea production, with chickpeas valued for their nutritional richness and affordability as a protein source. As Ethiopia's food industry progresses, there’s ample opportunity for chickpea processing. This study aims to explore how moisture levels (10%, 15% and 20% w.b) affect engineering properties of four chickpea varieties. Materials and Methods: Four chickpea varieties (Arertin, Hora, Eshete and Geletu) sourced from Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Centre underwent thorough cleaning to remove impurities and were sorted to exclude damaged seeds. Only normal seeds were utilized. Moisture levels of 10, 15 and 20% (w.b) were attained through conditioning, adjusted according to the initial moisture content of each variety. Various engineering properties of chickpeas were subsequently evaluated. Results: The chickpea seed length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, surface area, volume, hundred seed weigh, porosity, angle of repose and static coefficient of friction on stainless steel for the four varieties increased with the increase in moisture content while the bulk and true density of chickpea seed were decreased with increase moisture content within range of 737.82 to 819.48 kg/m³ and 1276.79 to 1338.38 kg/m³, respectively. Conclusion: The moisture level of seeds is an important factor to consider when designing equipment for agricultural processing.