INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR MODULAR DRYERS

Abstract

If a few years ago, with a twofold increase in yields and a severalfold increase in the export potential of the domesticgrain industry, there was a 140% shortage of capacity and almost 150% of drying capacity [4], now the deficit of thiscapacity has not only not decreased, but also increased. And the reason for this is not the low pace of construction or renewalof the production potential of grain procurement enterprises, but rather the outpacing of the growth rate of gross grainproduction over the pace of construction of new elevators.Given the deficit of the world balance in plant foods and the potential of domestic agricultural production, thedisparity between the rate of growth of grain growing capacity and post-harvest processing technologies will requireoperational research and investment decisions for a long time. An important component of them is the improvement ofexisting and the introduction of innovative technologies to intensify the processes of post-harvest processing of grain.In the period of the formed balance of domestic volumes of production of grain with capacities of grain-harvestingenterprises of the post-Soviet period the dominant share of grain drying units were dryers of mine type. Such well-studieddryers during the half-century period of their operation, domestic scientists have improved if not all parameters, then almostall. And producers have thoroughly studied their features and ways to adapt to the needs of drying different cereals, differentpurposes. However, the last few decades have been marked by the intensive introduction of modular grain dryers. It is theshare of which already accounts for the dominant volumes of dehydration of grain harvested.Of the great variety of manufacturers of modular grain dryers, the most innovative are the American ones. Given thegreat interest in dryers of American production, the peculiarities of their technology and methods of leveling layer-by-layeruneven heat and mass transfer, solutions to reduce energy losses of working gases and layer-by-layer grain differences inmoisture content and temperature, methods of controlling the recovered heat -technological features and attention is paid inthis work.As part of the tasks, the authors tried to identify the most distinctive features of such modular dryers, to analyze thedesign, technological, aerodynamic and thermophysical features on the example of American grain dryers modular type newmodels 40FIDPX. The publication presents an analysis of innovative solutions to improve drying technology and features ofproduction operation of such dryers. The causes of heat-aerodynamic imbalance of modular dryers are established and thedecision on their elimination is given. The reasons for the reduction of the active surface of heat and mass transfer arerevealed and the ways of reducing the energy losses of the working gases and unproductive losses of the heat and masstransfer surface are substantiated.