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TAMARIND is the fruit of a
large tropical tree grown in forests, orchards and as an avenue tree along the
roads. It is mainly planted in the region of South India and some other parts of
India. It takes more than 10 years for the tree to start yielding. Tamarind
trees bloom once a year, during July-August and the Tamarind fruits are ready to
harvest by January-February.
Each tree yields thousands of fruits. The size of each fruit is 10 cm to 15 cm
long and 15 to 20 mm broad in a curved form. Each fruit contains 6 to 8 seeds.
The fruit is protected with an outer shell of brown colour. These are called
pods.
Seeds are taken out of Tamarind manually with the help of a sharp knife.
Tamarind seed is very strong and is covered with a black-brown hull/husk. The
villagers collect and sell these raw seeds to the merchants in their nearest
town who store the seeds in their go down and sell in the market. The average
crop size of Tamarind kernel seeds is 100,000 tons per year. Major part of this
goes to cattle feed industry within India. The seeds are de-husked, broken,
cleaned and ground to obtain Tamarind Kernel Powder.
Uses & Applications of
Tamarind Kernel Powder
TEXTILE INDUSTRY:
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Sizing: TKP is an
ideal sizing material and is extensively used for sizing in textile
industry.
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Thickener: One of
the biggest use of TKP in the international market is as a textile
thickener. Many companies modify TKP in order to have better results in
specific end uses.
JUTE INDUSTRY:
OTHER USES:
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Soil Stabiliser: TKP can be
used along with other chemicals for stabilising soil, earth or clay. The
stabilised mixture can also be moulded into strong bricks.
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Explosives: TKP is used in
the Explosives industry.
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Plywood Glue: TKP is used
in making adhesives for making plywood.
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Paper adhesives: TKP mixed
with other chemicals can make high quality paper adhesives.
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