Decorticator

{{Short description|Plant processing machine}} alt=Non-stop operation for one shift can be considered as full-automatic|thumb|Fully-automatic decorticator alt=No difference from the appearance between two types but with different rotation direction design|thumb|Robitzsch sisal decorticator

A '''decorticator''' (from Latin: ''cortex'', bark) is a machine for stripping the skin, bark, or rind off nuts, wood, plant stalks, grain, etc., in preparation for further processing.

==History==

In 1933, a farmer named Bernagozzi from Bologna manufactured a machine called a ''"scavezzatrice"'', a decorticator for hemp.<ref name="rananlli">{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-004-4749-8|title=Hemp as a raw material for industrial applications|first1=Paolo|last1=Ranalli|first2=Gianpietro|last2=Venturi|date=Jan 1, 2004|journal=Euphytica|volume=140|issue=1|pages=1–6|via=Springer Link|doi=10.1007/s10681-004-4749-8|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A working hemp decorticator from 1890, manufactured in Germany, is preserved in a museum in Bologna.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hempology.org/DECORTICATORS/1890%20DECORT.html|title=1890 GERMAN DECORTICATOR}}</ref>

In Italy, the''"scavezzatrice"'' faded in the 1950s because of monopolisation from fossil fuel, paper interests, synthetic materials and from other less profitable crops.

Many types of decorticators have been developed since 1890.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

In 1919, George Schlichten received a U.S. patent on his improvements of the decorticator for treating fiber bearing plants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hempology.org/DECORTICATORS/1919%3B%20SCHLICHTEN%27S%20DECORT.HTML|title=1919: SCHLICHTEN'S DECORTICATOR}}</ref> Schlichten failed to find investors for production of his decorticator and died in 1923, a broken man. His business was revived a decade after death in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://userpages.bright.net/~fixit/history5.htm|title=Modern Times|website=userpages.bright.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite patent|title=Control mechanism for decorticating machines|pubdate=Mar 1, 1949|inventor-last=V|inventor2-last=C|inventor-first=Johansen John|inventor2-first=Westergaard Carl|country=US|number=2463278 }}</ref>

Newer, high-speed kinematic decorticators, use a different mechanism, enabling separation into three streams; bast fibre, hurd, and green microfiber.

==Current usage==

In some decorticators, the operation is "semi-automatic", featuring several stops during operation, while more modern systems, such as high-speed kinematic decorticators, are fully automatic.

There are companies who produce and sell decorticators for different crops.

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Agricultural machinery