Engineering, Energy, Transport AIC

Elchyn ALIIEV – Doctor of Technical Sciences, Senior Researcher, Professor of the Department of Technical Systems Engineering of Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University (St. S. Efremova, 25, Dnipro, Ukraine, 49000, e-mail: aliev@meta.ua, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4006-8803). 
Valentyn HOLOVCHENKO – Postgraduate Student, Junior Research Associate of the Department of Technical Systems Engineering of Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University (St. S. Efremova, 25, Dnipro, Ukraine, 49000, e-mail: golovchenkov@i.ua, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9719-126X). 

The study addresses the pressing issue of improving the efficiency of post-harvest processing of castor (Ricinus communis), particularly the cleaning of its seeds. Castor is a valuable industrial crop, the seeds of which contain up to 50% oil that is widely used across various industries. Despite the growing demand for castor oil, the widespread introduction of this crop into agricultural production is hindered by the lack of effective technical means for seed cleaning, which would take into account its specific physical and mechanical properties. Existing grain cleaning machines are insufficiently effective for processing castor seeds, resulting in significant losses of planting material and reduced oil yield.
The aim of the research is to develop an experimental prototype of a machine for cleaning castor seeds and to determine the optimal operating parameters. The study presents the design and working principle of the experimental setup, which consists of a mechanical seed separation unit, an aerodynamic cleaning system, and a control system with a frequency converter. To evaluate the performance of the machine, experimental studies were conducted in which the following parameters were varied: the distance between the crushing cones, their rotational speed, and the air flow velocity.
As a result of the experimental studies of the processes of seed separation and cleaning, the dependencies of the main operational indicators of the developed machine – productivity Q, power consumption P, specific energy consumption E, share of unhulled fruits ξf, and content of valuable seed in the receiver ψs-s – on the design and operating parameters (distance between the return and crushing cones δ, rotational speed of the crushing cone n, and air flow velocity V) were determined. Statistical analysis of the obtained regression equations allowed for the assessment of the influence of each studied factor on the output indicators, identification of the most significant parameters, and development of adequate mathematical models.
Parameter optimization was carried out using the scalar ranking method with minimization of a multiplicative objective function in the Wolfram Cloud environment. This made it possible to determine the optimal values of control parameters (δ = 10.8 mm; n = 563 rpm; V = 3.6 m/s) that provide the best combination of energy efficiency and technological quality of the process (E = 0.0394 MJ/kg; Q = 163.4 kg/h; P = 1861 W; ξf = 0.099; ψs-s = 0.958). The obtained results confirm the efficiency of the proposed machine design and the feasibility of its further implementation in industrial conditions for cleaning castor seeds.

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