Digital Re-print March | April 2013

Super chilled grains

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FEATURE

Super chilled grains P

by Joan Rius, managing director Conserfrio, Spain

roducts such as grains, seeds, oilseeds, nuts, and similar are still alive when stored after harvest. Their vital activity consumes their own mass and oxygen, generating carbon dioxide, water and heat. This can create a multitude of well-known troubles such as stored product weight loss and quality decrease. Insect infestation is a particular problem in poorly stored grains. Insects eat and infect the stored product, which is also reheated due to their vital activity. Insects start their presence from 13C, although the real insect infestation occurs from 18C with a peak between 30C and 40 C for most insect species. Mould presence and subsequently dangerous toxins, some of them carcinogenic, may enter into the food chain. Unfortunately, not all micro-flora presence is avoided by chilling the grain, since some species can survive below zero degrees centigrade. However, for the most part, micro-flora growth stays under control since most micro-flora species develop at temperatures between 20C and 40C. In addition, water condensation inside silos and warehouses, can make grains stick to the silo/warehouse wall and rot. In the case of grains with a high oil or fat content, their quality decreases quickly due to the fat oxidation. Heat speeds up this unwanted process. Some products change colour under inadequate storage conditions. For example rice changes colour from white to yellowish, and later to orange. The colour change is a clear indication of product damage during storing, and its price drops a lot.
Table 1: Weight loss of grain during its storage Case: Product: corn Amount: 1.000 MT Moisture: 15% Storage time: 3 months

Grain temp C

Weight loss, MT

Chilled grain Temperate grain Non-chilled grain Non-chilled grain

10 C 20 C 30 C 40 C

0.5 6 9 30

Graph 1: Adequate conditions for grain storage

tions of temperature and water content. From the graph it is evident that a high product temperature or moisture, or both, will damage the grain irreversibly. Table 1 shows the weight loss that occur during any grain storage depending on different grain conditions. In just three months, the weight loss may be the 3 percent of all storage. Quality loss occurs also although is not accounted in the table.

Solving storage issues

Traditional methods to try and solve these issues include natural aeration. Under cold weather, ambient aeration is an excellent practice. It must however be expertly used since the different ambient air conditions between day and nights may create uncontrolled dryings or re-wettings of the stored product. Under hot or hot and humid weather conditions, aeration is not applicable since the air does not have the right conditions to be blown into the stored product. If air is blown into the product under such conditions, there is a high risk of product reheating and product rewetting that will damage it soon.
Grain

Graph 2: Silo chilling sketch

The evidence
Graph 3: Sketch of grain chilling in a warehouse
36 | march - april 2013

Graph 1 shows different effects of storing a product (in this case the graph is suitable for wheat and corn) under different condi-

&feed millinG technoloGy

FEATURE Grain chilling in a flatbottom metal silo Warehouse grain chilling Refrigeration of a hopper silo Grain chilling in a concrete silo

To reduce insect infestation, a common practice is the use of fumigation. The chemical products used have to expertly and carefully managed, for safety reasons. And do not decrease grain temperature.

The Conserfrio system

The Conserfrio system can be used

All of these benefits give a very quick payback of the capital investment in the chillers, typically achieved in one or two years. Our system is suitable to be used in silos (made of metal or concrete, flat bottom or conical bottom) and warehouses, not needing additional civil works. The cooling units need only electrical energy. The chiller replaces the fan. The chilled, dry air is introduced into the silo through existing ducts. In warehouses, the chilled air may be introduced through ducts placed under or over floor. In both cases a ducting system must be previously installed.

and grain storage facilities can all benefit of our technology. Consergra is pioneer in the application of chilled aeration in many products. Throughout the years, we have gained lots of experience in the bulk preservation of products such as paddy rice in all its varieties and lengths, cargo rice, milled rice, maize, wheat, barley, sunflower seeds, cotton seeds, beans, soybeans and green coffee beans to name but a few. In benefit of the human and animal health and of the environment as well, grains and seeds must be responsibly treated as food. More inforMation:
Website: www.consergra.com

Conclusion
The system has demonstrated to be the most natural and cost-effective to preserve grains, seeds and perishable granulates during storage. A low storing temperature not only reduces the product vital metabolic activity but also most of the troubles of a storing without control. Typical users of chilled aeration are from small farms with as little as 100 ton storage up to large plants with storing capacities of around 100,000, 500,000 or even 1,000,000 mt. Rice mills, flour mills, feed mills, malting plants, oilseed crushing plants

A low temperature is key point for a good storage

independently of ambient weather conditions. Even under rain or fog theres no risk of rewetting the grain. Our system is based on the making of constant conditions under which the grain storage is easy, natural, safe and profit earning. Practices like turning the grain to cool it have weak success and waste lots of energy, also breaking some percentage of grains. There are many direct savings and benefits related to a correct chilled conservation. The most important are: Avoiding fumigation means cost savings Less weight loss, in other words higher product output at the end of storage time Higher product quality means a higher selling price Higher head grains after the milling process. This point is especially important in the rice industry Energy savings in the drying process. It is possible and safe to store product with a higher moisture content if grain temperature is low. A drying-cooling combination achieves relevant energy savings.
Grain

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march - april 2013 | 37

This digital Re-print is part of the March | April 2013 edition of Grain & Feed Milling Technology magazine. Content from the magazine is available to view free-of-charge, both as a full online magazine on our website, and as an archive of individual features on the docstoc website. Please click here to view our other publications on www.docstoc.com.
March - April 2013

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In this issue:
Measures for increasing the energy efficiency of UFA feed mills in Switzerland Importance of trace minerals for nutrient stability in feed Managing mill maintenance - Maintenance
options and challenges

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Additives for flour standardisation

Part I: Enzymes

Fine grinding and BS3 Xylanase improve productivity in weaners

Super chilled grains

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