The objective of this study was to evaluate the drying system using a dryer with furnace automatically fed with eucalyptus chips and another dryer manually fed with eucalyptus firewood, as well as assessing the quality of corn grains. Harvest was mechanically performed and the grains were transported by trucks to the storage unit for drying. Corn grain drying was conducted in mixed-flow dryers with a nominal capacity of 100 tons per hour. For air heating, two direct-fired furnaces were used, one automatically fed with eucalyptus chips and the other manually fed with firewood. Corn grains were evaluated for moisture content, apparent specific mass, thousand-grain weight, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), electrical conductivity and color. Drying corn grains with direct fire using firewood or chips as fuel causes contamination by PAHs. In general, the use of firewood or chips did not influence the quality of thousand-grain weight, apparent specific mass and color, while the use of chips increased electrical conductivity. It is essential that research advances in this subject, prioritizing the contamination of food, with proven carcinogenic activity, which should be treated as a high risk to public health.
Safflower is a crop of high economic value with high oil concentration in its seeds and great industrial versatility, besides various benefits to human health. As with other agricultural crops, it is common to store safflower to make it available in different periods of the year and, due to its hygroscopic characteristics, studies evaluating the effect of temperature and air relative humidity on its moisture content become relevant. Thus, the objective of the present study was to determine the water adsorption isotherms of safflower seeds and analyze their thermodynamic properties. Moisture contents of 6.5, 6.9, 7.3, 7.7, 8.3 and 9.1% (dry basis) were obtained by adsorption under controlled conditions of temperature (30 °C) and relative air humidity (90%). The adsorption isotherms were obtained by the indirect static method at different temperatures (10, 20, 30 and 40 °C). As temperature increased, for the same moisture content, there was an increase in water activity and, for constant water activity, the values of equilibrium moisture content decreased with increasing temperature. Chung-Pfost model showed the best fit to describe the phenomenon of hygroscopicity of safflower seeds. The thermodynamic properties were influenced by the moisture content of the seeds, reducing the energy necessary for water absorption in the product with the increase in adsorption, and the enthalpy-entropy theory was controlled by enthalpy.
Bugs are pest insects that, when not adequately controlled, may cause significant losses in the soybean crop. Their damage to grains compromises delivery in the storage unit and storage success. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate, during storage, the effect of temperature and moisture content on soybean grain quality with high damage caused by bugs in the crop. The experiment was set in a completely randomized design with a 2 x 4 x 5 factorial design, with two moisture contents (11.75 and 13.84% (w.b.)), four storage temperatures (20, 25, 30 and 35 °C), and five evaluation periods (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 months). The percentage of damaged/fermented, damaged, fermented, broken grains, and electrical conductivity were analyzed. It can be inferred that bug-damaged soybean grains have reduced quality when stored at higher temperatures and for more extended periods. It is not recommended to store bug-damaged grains in moisture contents of 13.84% (w.b.) at temperatures above 30 °C for longer than four months. Grains stored at 35 °C when not damaged by bugs, ferment after six months of storage. Bug-damaged grains evolve to fermented grains during storage.
Análises químicas dos grãos de soja avariados por percevejo na lavoura durante o armazenamento em diferentes condiçõesChemical analysis of soybean grains damaged by stink bug in the agriculture during storage in different conditions
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