THE EQUILIBRIUM MOISTURE CONTENT OF PRODUCTS OF PROCESSING ALFALFA

Abstract

One of the reasons braking the development of animal husbandry in Ukraine is the poor state of feed production. In most farms feed production remains marginally profitable, the protein content in the feed is significantly less than 110 g per 1 fodder units, as required by agrozootechnical. One of the ways of increasing the productivity of forage production is the introduction of new technologies that allow you to obtain food with high protein content and balanced amino acid condition. An example of this technology can be fractional processing from alfalfa green mass to a protein-vitamin concentrate and pulp for the efficient use of these forages need to preserve. The best method of preservation is drying, the moisture content is reduced to the level at which it can be stored for a long time without losing the nutritional qualities. One of the parameters that determine the energy efficiency of the drying process is the equilibrium moisture content of the material. Because the process of transferring thermal energy from the coolant to the material makes sense only until the equilibrium moisture content of the material. Further transfer of thermal energy to material that is inappropriate, because it does not reduce its moisture content. Experimental studies on the estimation of the equilibrium moisture content of the protein concentrate and pulp from alfalfa on the temperature and the relative humidity is done according to the method N. E. Pestova. For conducting experiments used desiccators, which created the desired humidity level, and put the hanging of the pulp and concentrate. For fixing the temperature experience desiccators with tightly closed lids was mounted in a thermostat and kept at a constant temperature 6-8 hours. The change in mass of the samples was determined by weighing. Schedule weight change of the samples from the moisture content of the air is a straight line, the intersection of which with the axis of moisture content and defines the equilibrium state of the material under the given parameters of air. From the experimental results, the empirical dependence of the equilibrium moisture content of the protein concentrate and pulp from alfalfa from relative humidity and air temperature in the range 10-70% for humidity and 298-323k temperature. It is noted that the size and shape of particles of the protein concentrate did not significantly influence the magnitude of the equilibrium moisture content. The results were used in the preparation of animal feed from alfalfa protein concentrate and press cake.