VIABILIDADE TÉCNICA E ECONÔMICA DA UTILIZAÇÃO DO EQUIPAMENTO DE AR REFRIGERADO EM TRIGO ARMAZENADO

Abstract

It has been recorded that alternative techniques used to keep the product on and control plagues countwith a concept that is getting better day by day. It is a chilling process of grains. Therefore, a freezing unit was used in order to cool the environmental air before injecting it into the aeration system of the structure that stores the product. This is an strategy applied to reduce the grains¿ temperature to such low values that it can inhibit or even avoid the bugs¿ development, also despite the climatic conditions.. This trial was carried out in a storing Plant from a cooperative named CONTRIGUAÇU, in Palotina-PR, from November, 28th to December, 23th , 2003. Three experimental silos were used. The first one with 5,000 tons static capacity, while the others capacity was of 2,500 tons each. The concluding results showed that the layers reached a final chilling temperature in sequence, which means that, when the first one got into this point the same happened to the next ones. This result points out the existence of a chilling zone that takes part of the inner part of the grains as time passes by due to the temperature gradient among the temperature of the product, the chilling air temperature and the flow of air supplied by the equipment. The specific consume of energy was of 5.12 kW.h/ton of wheat to the first silo and of 4.48 kW.h/ton of wheat the the other ones. It was also recorded the chilling cost, which was of R$ 0.53/ton of chilled wheat.