limesorter

A limesorter is a piece of post-harvest equipment designed to separate limes on a production line according to defined criteria such as size, weight, color, or quality. It is commonly used in citrus packing houses and juice processing facilities to prepare fruit for packaging, juicing, or market.

A typical limesorter consists of an infeed hopper or conveyor, a sensing station, and one or more sorting actuators that direct fruit into separate output chutes. The sensing station may combine optical cameras, color sensors, laser or infrared measurements, and load cells to assess properties such as diameter, surface color, blemishes, and sometimes internal defects. A central control unit analyzes sensor data in real time and triggers the appropriate ejector mechanism, which can be an air jet, a pneumatic gate, or a servo-driven diverter.

Sorting methods commonly include size-based classification, color or ripeness assessment, and defect detection for surface blemishes. Some systems also include weight-based sorting or combinations of criteria to create multiple product streams. The design emphasizes gentle handling and sanitary construction, with stainless steel materials and easy cleaning to meet food safety standards.

Applications cover the full citrus value chain, from fresh-market packing to juice production and research. Benefits include increased throughput, improved consistency, and reduced manual labor, while challenges include initial cost, system calibration, and occasional mis-sorting requiring downstream correction.