X-Ray Inspection System for Foreign Objects in Bulk Peanuts

From Field to Factory: Potential Foreign Object Risks

After harvesting, peanuts are transported and processed as bulk material. During harvesting, transportation, and processing, various foreign objects may accidentally enter the peanut production line.

Foreign objects from harvesting: Direct contact with soil and field environments may introduce stones, glass, ceramics.

Metal contamination from processing equipment: Mechanical harvesting, shelling, screening, and conveying equipment may generate metal fragments, wires, or worn components.

Peanuts Defects: Beyond foreign objects, peanuts may also contain defective products such as empty shells, damaged peanuts, or mold-affected peanuts.

If these contaminants or defective peanuts enter subsequent processes such as roasting, grinding, or packaging, they may affect product quality, damage processing equipment, and increase peanut safety risks.

Client Requirements

To reduce these risks, the peanut processing company wanted to inspect bulk peanuts before packaging and subsequent processing. The client was looking for an automated inspection solution that could:

1. Detect different types of foreign objects, including metal and other foreign objects.

2. Handle continuous, high-volume bulk peanut production.

3. Provide reliable detection of foreign objects under actual production conditions.

4. Support additional product-quality inspection, such as identifying empty shells, damaged peanuts, and mold-affected peanuts.

COSO Solution

To meet the client’s requirements, COSO provided the XR600-6010B X-ray inspection system for bulk material, designed for inspection of bulk products such as nuts, dried fruits, grains, and other loose materials.

The peanuts are evenly fed into the inspection area, where the X-ray inspection system continuously detects the product flow. X-rays penetrate peanuts and foreign objects with different densities, resulting in variations in the X-ray intensity received by the detector.

Key Features

1. Even Product Feeding

The feeding system helps distribute peanuts evenly before they enter the inspection area. A more uniform product layer reduces product overlap and provides more consistent X-ray imaging conditions.

2. Real-Time X-ray Imaging

The inspection results are displayed on the 21.5-inch HD touchscreen in real time, allowing operators to clearly monitor the product flow and detected contaminants.

3. Automatic Rejection

Upon detection of a foreign object, the system triggers the high-speed air valve rejection device, utilizing a 96-nozzle air rejection system to eject the contaminated peanuts from the product stream.

4. Inspection Beyond Metal

Unlike conventional metal detectors, X-ray inspection system can be used to identify not only metallic contaminants but also other high-density foreign objects, including stones, glass, bones, and ceramics, depending on the product and inspection conditions.

Key Benefits

By adopting the COSO X-ray inspection solution, the client achieved:

1. Reduced manual labor: Automate inspection replaced manual labor, freeing up operators for cost-effective.

2. Improved detection accuracy: Metal, stone, glass were reliably identified, eliminating the blind spots of traditional metal detectors.

3. Zero downstream contamination risk: Contaminated peanuts were automatically rejected before entering packaging, protecting end-product quality and brand reputation.

4. Higher production efficiency: X-ray inspection system handled bulk peanut flow continuously without slowing down the production line.

5. Consistent, repeatable results: Unlike manual inspection, the X-ray inspection system delivered the same high standard of detection.

COSO can also customize the feeding, inspection, and rejection configuration according to the product characteristics, production capacity, and specific inspection requirements.

For peanut processors handling large volumes of bulk products, automated X-ray inspection system provides an effective way to monitor foreign-object risks during production. The COSO XR6010B X-ray inspection system for bulk material combines continuous X-ray inspection with automatic rejection, helping processors improve quality control while maintaining an effective production flow.

Beyond peanuts, COSO can provide inspection solutions according to the product characteristics, production capacity, specific inspection requirements and production line requirements.