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Post-Harvest Education & Research Center

Facilities

The Post-Harvest Education & Research Center includes a fully functional grain handling center (built in 1984) and a new 16-bin state-of-the-art pilot facility (built in 1997). Both are located at the Purdue University Agronomy Research Center near the main campus.

Facility Description

Pherc Facility
The Post-Harvest Education & Research Center includes a fully functional grain handling center (built in 1984) and a new 16-bin state-of-the-art pilot facility (built in 1997). Both are located at the Purdue University Agronomy Research Center near the main campus. Additionally, a second fully functional PHERC facility dedicated to the segregation and handling of value-adding grains and oilseeds is under development at the Animal Sciences Education and Research Center. The first phase of this new project consisting of the construction of two new wet grain receiving bins, a 800 bph automatic column grain dryer, and a pneumatic transfer system was dedicated in October 1999.

Grain Handling Center

Corn to Bin
  • Grain Handling Center Storage Capacity - 50,000 bu in 8 storage bins (2,900-9,000 bu capacity each)
  • Leg - galvanized 4500 bu/h (15 HP) bucket elevator with 75' discharge and gravity delivery to all 8 bins plus overhead load-out bin
  • Cleaner - cascade (gravity type with leg-top installation; fines are spouted to a 9' diameter hopper bin with suction fan; also have a notary screen cleaner to pre-clean corn before natural air bin drying
  • Pit Conveyor - 4,500 bu/h (5 HP) mass flow conveyor
  • Grain Return - 4,000 bu/h (15 HP) grain pump with approx 160' of chain in 8" diameter tubing horizontally installed
  • Corn to Bin
  • Bin Unloading - 8" diameter underfloor augers and gear-powered sweeps in each bin
  • Wet Holding - 3,200 bu 15' diameter x 7 ring hopper bottom bin (45 degrees) with ½ cfm/bu aeration
  • Wet Grain Auger - 6" diameter inclined auger conveyor (3 HP)
  • Dryer - Continuous-flow column dryer with two fans (15 HP top, 10 HP bottom) and two burners (4.6 MM Btu/hr top, 2.3 MM Btu/hr bottom); rated at 515 bu/hr full heat and at 300 bu/hr dry and cool with 10 point moisture removal; dryer also has a suction bees wings removal system and automatic moisture control system
  • Air Conveyor - 400-750 bu/hr (15 HP) 4" tube positive pressure pneumatic conveyor delivering grain to three dryeration bins and the overhead load-out bin
  • Corn to Bin
  • Dryeration Bins - 3 of the 8 bins are designed as dryeration steeping and cooling bins each holding 6,000-7,000 bu of hot corn steeped for 8-12 hours before cooling; airflow is designed to deliver 0.5-1 cfm/bu with 3 to 5 HP fans
  • Natural Air Drying Bins - 2 of the 8 bins are designed as natural air drying bins each holding about 2,900 bu; airflow can be adjusted between 1-2 cfm/bu with 3 HP fans; fan operation is controlled by a computer-based temperature monitoring and control system

Pilot Bin Facility

  • Pilot Bins - 16 x 500 bu, 9' diameter x 4 rings sealable corrugated steel bins with 30 degree roofs located on four separate concrete pads
  • Fans - 16 x 3/4 HP axial flow fans with self-sealing shutters delivering up to 2 cfm/bu; fans are automatically controlled from a remote PC utilizing a range of pre-programmed strategies
  • Floors - Zip-loc type removable floors to ease under-floor cleaning between experiments; floors can be re-configured to evaluate other aeration system layouts
  • Vents - Single goose-neck vent on each man hole cover; covers can be replaced to completely seal each bin for fumigation or modified atmosphere research
  • Temperature Monitoring - Each bin has five temperature cables (center and 4 compass points, each 1' from side walls) with five thermistors on each cable; temperatures are recorded with a commercial process control software program using a graphical interface on a remote PC
  • Weather Station - In addition to a temperature and relative humidity sensor connected to the PC-based fan control system, wind speeds and solar radiation are also recorded at the site
  • Motor Control Center - The fan motors are controlled through a stand-alone motor control center that is equipped with hand-off-auto switches and digital watt meters for each fan
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| Post Harvest Grain Quality & Stored Product Protection Program |
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