Active substrate as a tool to improve the efficiency of green technology for seeds production

Abstract

The most common and important method of agricultural products processing is drying. The quality of finished product, energy intensity and material intensity of the entire processing depend on the drying process. Drying the seeds of different crops is influenced by many factors: the structure, size, properties and condition. We studied the process of drying oil-bearing small-seeded crops taking rapeseeds as samples. Rapeseed is covered with a hard shell that prevents the release of moisture; in this case the seeds should be dried at low temperatures. High temperature causes rapeseeds to have low quality indicators. Analysis of the existing equipment has shown that nowadays there are no special systems for drying small-seeded crops, and the drying process is carried out on grain dryers which are characterized by large seeds losses, considerable energy costs and high temperatures. The main advantages of the developed infrared dryer of conveyor cascade type are the lack of hot zones, the uniform heating and the minimum percentage of seeds losses because of their blowing out and removal. In addition, the heat carriers used in the dryer of conveyor cascade type help to perform the drying process at the required wavelength, that can affect only the moisture in the seeds.