SIMULATION OF THE PROCESS OF VIBRATING SUNFLOWER DRYING

Abstract

This work is devoted to the research and substantiation of the technology of drying sunflower seeds and the development of technological and technical proposals for the creation of drying equipment that would ensure work on this crop, both in seed and food modes. The technological value of sunflower seeds is determined by their oil content. Therefore, it is important to preserve the quantity and quality of oil. Under optimal drying conditions, the oil content in sunflower seeds increases. Therefore, the question of selecting technological equipment for the drying process arises. Analysis of the mechanical and technological parameters of series-produced dryers showed that these machines are mainly intended for the processing of grain crops. The disadvantages of well-known mine grain dryers are low moisture removal during one pass of the material through the dryer, overheating of the seed and a decrease in its quality in the area of contact with the surface of the intake boxes, increased fire hazard. Drum grain dryers when drying sunflower seeds are very fire-hazardous and do not allow obtaining seeds with uniform moisture content, and the use of high-temperature modes leads to a decrease in the sowing qualities of seeds due to overheating. When drying sunflower seeds in recirculation type dryers, it is very important to evenly distribute the seeds over the entire cross-section of the chamber, as well as to prevent the accumulation of oil dust in the heating chamber and to eliminate the ingress of sparks from the furnace into the heating chamber. One of the promising methods of drying bulk materials is the method of drying in a vibrating fluidized bed, which can be achieved on vibrating dryers of various types. A number of experiments were conducted to substantiate the technological and technical proposals for the process of drying sunflower seeds and to determine the operating parameters of the dryer. Based on the results, graphs were constructed. The results of the research proved the expediency and necessity of using vibrating dryers during drying of sunflower seeds. The best parameters of the infrared radiation drying process with a selected wavelength of 1,5-3,0 μm , a sunflower seed layer height of 15 mm, and a heat flow density of IR radiation were found. 5 kW/m 2 , the height of the placement of the IR generator blocks relative to the layer of the irradiated product is 25 mm, while the drying time will be 11 minutes.