ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF POST-HARVEST PROCESSING OF PUMPKIN SEEDS IN UKRAINE

Abstract

One of the important stages of growing seeds of agricultural crops is its post-harvest processing, which includes the drying process, is the main and one of the most effective methods for storing and processing agricultural raw materials. The use of vibration drying equipment is especially effective in high-tech processes taking place in the seed industry, where product moisture is the most important condition for the implementation of technology. The object of research in this article was the technological process of post-harvest processing of high-moisture pumpkin seeds, in particular drying. The purpose of the work was to analyze the current state of post-harvest processing of high-moisture pumpkin seeds and to establish promising methods and means for intensifying this process with a simultaneous increase in the quality of the final raw material obtained. The task of the work was: to review research and publications on the state of post-harvest processing of pumpkin seeds in Ukraine, to establish the features of its post-harvest dues, in particular drying, to get acquainted with the technical means and technologies for performing the technological process of drying pumpkin seeds, to establish the main disadvantages of the existing drying equipment, to determine and to propose new promising technologies and technical solutions for intensifying the drying process of pumpkin seeds with a simultaneous increase in the quality of the final raw material with minimal energy consumption and translate them into a developed model of a vibration dryer, which sequentially implements filtration and convection stages of drying. The research methodology was based on a review analysis of existing studies and publications on the state of post-harvest treatment of pumpkin seeds in Ukraine and the search for ways to intensify this process with a simultaneous increase in the quality of the final raw material obtained. In scientific work, based on the results of the study, it was found that the existing grain drying equipment does not meet the requirements for drying high-moisture pumpkin seeds, therefore there is a need for the development, research and implementation of energy-efficient schemes and structures. The existing samples of domestic equipment for post-harvest processing of high-moisture pumpkin seeds are morally and physically obsolete, do not provide flexibility in the execution of the technological process, are energy- and metal-intensive and cannot be used in processing lots of seed material. The proposed design of a vibrating dryer, which sequentially implements filtration and convection stages of drying pumpkin seeds. The developed installation provides an intensification of this process with minimal energy consumption while increasing the quality of the final raw material obtained.