"Pelformance study of sorting and separating machine used in producing seeds"

Abstract

Grain grading is the process key of determining the grain's marketability. Grain cleaning is a basic procedure in the grain grading system in which impurities or contaminants are separated from sound grains. Clean grain reduces problems that occur during storage and handling. Clean grain also save storage space and increases marketability. Over the last few years, grain production per feddan was improved significantly as a result of using better seeds and new techniques of mechanization. The modern seed processor is basically interested for the following: a)-Complete separation (removal of all contaminating or undesirable material from the seeds); b)-Minimum s ed loss (some good seeds are removed along with contaminants in almost every operation, but this loss must be kept at a minimum value; upgrading quality) improvement of seed quality not only through removal of contaminating seed, but also removal of rotten, cracked, broken, insect damaged or otherwise injured crop seeds of low quality; c)-Efficiency (the highest consistent capacity with effectiveness of separation).; and d)-Minimum labor requirement (labor is a direct operating cost and cannot be recovered). Cleaning and grading are two extremely important steps in the production of high quality grains. Established cleaning and grading procedures have enhanced an orderly marketing of grain and seeds. The purpose of the laboratory gravity separator is to separate light particle form heavy ones. It is therefore possible to separate heavy kernels with high ability to germinate from light and less valuable kernels. In order to seed to be separated, cleaned or processed, the components of the lot or mixture must differ in some physical characteristic. In most machines separations are made on the basis of differences in only one physical characteristic. The cleaning and sorting of particles is an important industrial function and is affected by the size of the particles and the screen apertures, the relative particle to screen velocity, the mean particle velocity, and the orientation of oblong particles. The particle velocity in tum is a function of the frequency and amplitude of oscillation, the screen slope and hanger angle and the friction between the particle and the screen. Seed crops contain assorted contaminants when harvested. These include weed seeds, unwanted crop seeds, broken plant parts, fungal bodies, and soil particles. The function of seed conditioning or seed cleaning operations is to remove or reduce these contaminants to a level