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. ^[1] A working hemp decorticator from 1890, manufactured in Germany, is preserved in a museum in Bologna. ^[2]

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. ^[3]

In 1919, George Schlichten received a U.S. patent on his improvements of the decorticator for treating fiber bearing plants. ^[4] 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. ^{[5] [6]}

Newer, high-speed kinematic decorticators, use a different mechanism, enabling separation into three streams; bast fibre, hurd, and green microfiber. ^[7]

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. ^{[8] [9]}

References

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