Assessing and Reducing Energy Consumption of Grain Cleaning and Drying Equipment

Abstract

Reducing energy costs of using grain cleaning and drying equipment is an urgent, but difficult task for agricultural producers. When organizing the operation of grain drying equipment, the problem arises of forming optimal configuration options for production lines from the standpoint of energy saving, taking into account the properties of the source material and commercial products, the condition and technical level of the equipment, and other factors. The use of the energy-saving optimization method to increase energy efficiency and reduce the energy consumption of grain drying equipment in the scientific and methodological literature is not sufficiently covered. ( Research purpose ) To adapt the criteria and algorithm of energy-saving optimization of field technology to assess and improve the status of energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption and identify the maximum available energy saving potential of grain drying equipment during energy audit. ( Materials and methods ) The authors examined the problem of reducing the energy intensity of the production lines of grain drying equipment. They justified the applicability of the method and particular criteria for the energy efficiency of post-harvest technologies to the task of its energy-saving optimization. They also developed an optimization algorithm with a mathematical description and a set of input data. ( Results and discussion ) The authors determined the requirements for grain drying equipment to be considered energy efficient. It was established that when using the reference basic analogue, the manufacturer’s shortage of financial resources and the absence of sponsors, this status is unattainable, and the expected direct energy saving potential is practically unachievable. The authors proposed the target function of energysaving optimization of grain drying equipment - the maximum available direct energy-saving potential and the calculation method. ( Conclusions ) The paper provides the offered criteria and a developed algorithm for energy-saving optimization of grain drying equipment, which reduces the direct energy consumption of production lines and energy costs. The authors developed methods for determining and analyzing input and output data, evaluating energy efficiency status, and principles for updating equipment. They proposed a method for calculating the direct energy-saving potential taking into account the existing technical, technological and financial limitations. The practical application of the study results will ensure correct, reliable and efficient assessment of energy costs of using grain drying equipment and their reduction to an affordable minimum.