Design and Development Low Sodium Fish Sauce Distillation Machine for Traditional Fish Sauce Product.

Abstract

The objective of this research is to design and construct a fish sauce distillation apparatus as an alternative
for low-sodium fish sauce production using a physical method, employing inexpensive tools and a straightforward
working principle. We intend to use the apparatus to distill traditional fish sauce from the seafood processing group
at Ban Talat Lang, Bang Phra, Sriracha, and Chonburi. The fish sauce distillation apparatus consists of three main
components. Firstly, there is a fish sauce boiling tank with a diameter of 280 mm and a height of 240 mm. Secondly there is a conical steam separator with a diameter of 33.4 mm at the base of the cone, as well as a stainless-steel
lid. Lastly, there are four pipes for steam separation, each with a diameter of 10.3 mm and a length of 50 mm. The
apparatus also includes two double-ended capped pipes with a diameter of 114.3 mm and a length of 1300 mm,
and inside these pipes are four steam-carrying pipes with a diameter of 10.3 mm and a length of 1400 mm, passing
through both ends of the capped pipes. We tested the distillation efficiency by distilling 2,500 ml of fish sauce at
a controlled heating temperature of 150°C. The average time required for the distillation process using the designed
and constructed fish sauce distillation apparatus was 286.67 min. The distilled fish sauce has a darker reddishbrown color compared to the non-distilled fish sauce. The color characteristics are as follows: The color brightness
(L^*) has a value of 0.49±0.06, the redness-yellowness (a^*) has a value of 2.89±0.20, and the yellowness-blueness
(b^*) has a value of -0.67±0.13. This is in contrast to the non-distilled fish sauce, which has the following color
characteristics: The color brightness (L^*) has a value of 26.45±0.11, the redness-yellowness (a^*) has a value of
39.54±0.04, and the yellowness-blueness (b*) has a value of -45.27±0.14. The distilled fish sauce had a maximum
average salt content of 17.57±0.25% w w^-1, which is lower than the salt content of the non-distilled fish sauce,
which is 8.17% w w^-1. The distilled water obtained had a clear appearance similar to regular water, with an average
salt content of 0.26±0.00% w w^-1. Furthermore, the residue left after distilling the saltwater solution had a clumpy
brown appearance and a maximum average salt content of 62.56±3.49% w w^-1