ENERGY EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY OF DRYING AND STORAGE OF SEEDS OF GRAIN CROPS WITH THE USE OF HEAT PUMPS

Abstract

Energy efficiency of the drying process today is the main parameter that affects the choice of drying mode. Seed requires more careful selection of technology and equipment, which is associated with quality characteristics. Seed material to maintain high germination is dried at low temperatures, the operation of the grain dryer at high temperatures significantly reduces the quality and requires the development of special technology for the production and storage of seeds of cereals. The article reviews the increase in energy efficiency of equipment for drying grain seeds. Traditional seed drying technologies are too expensive and significantly increase the cost. The developed energy-efficient technologies are more aimed at drying food grain with a process at high temperature, which allows to use the high temperature potential of spent coolant at the outlet of the dryer, which can be recycled and re-directed to heat the drying agent at the dryer. When drying the seeds of cereals, it is necessary to carry out the process at low temperatures, which reduces the efficiency of the temperature potential of the spent coolant. Therefore, to increase the energy efficiency of the drying process and technology, it is proposed to use heat pumps that ensure the quality of seed material. The article also analyzes heat losses and recommends measures to reduce losses during drying, which provide for the use of heat pump units. Energy-efficient technology of drying and storage of seeds of grain crops provides operations of sifting, drying, storage, division into fractions, pickling, packing in bags. A 5-zone grain dryer with step drying modes using a heat pump and a generator motor has been developed for seed grain. Comparison of energy efficiency of different drying units showed that the proposed technical solutions are verified by calculations and heat consumption is much lower and is 3024 kJ / kg vip . moisture.