Abstract
As a traditional processing method, the Nine-Steam-Nine-Bask method has been widely used in the special processing of Chinese medicinal materials. With the highly integrated design and innovation of infiltrating equipment, steaming equipment, drying equipment, and other equipment, a new type of integrated equipment for the Nine-Steam-Nine-Bask method was finally developed and successfully applied in Polygonatum cyrtonema processing. Moreover, seven new processes were explored. The longer the steaming time was, the more steaming and drying cycles, the lower the product recovery rate and the higher the energy consumption. The higher the steaming pressure was, the lower the product recovery rate, the higher the energy consumption and the shorter the drying time. The longer the drying time was, the lower the product recovery rate and polysaccharide content, and the higher the energy consumption. The best new process was XGY1, which had the highest overall score. The steaming process was the most time-consuming and energy-intensive production process, followed by the drying process. The obtained results can provide knowledgeable guidance for the further optimization of the integrated equipment of the Nine-Steam-Nine-Bask method and the development and application of technology for processing characteristic Chinese medicinal materials.