Grain Cleaning and Drying Station

a complex of machinery and equipment for the mechanized postharvest processing of grains at kolkhozes and sovkhozes.

At the grain cleaning and drying station the grain is weighed, cleaned by machines, and if necessary stored temporarily for preliminary drying and then dried. Grain intended for seed is cleaned a second time and sorted, disinfected, and put in bags. The entire area of a grain cleaning and drying station includes a production structure containing the grain cleaning and drying machines and transport devices, a grain storage area, truck scales, auxiliary structures, and open areas. Depending on the farm type and size, climatic conditions, and the designation of the grain being processed, grain cleaning and drying stations will differ in capacity and equipment. In zones with a moist harvest period, grain will be dried by artificial heat, whereas in zones with a dry harvest period drying equipment is not necessary and the installations are referred to as grain cleaning stations. The basis of the grain cleaning and drying station is the flow line, which has a specific complement of machinery arranged in a specific sequence. One or several lines will be organized at the stations depending on seasonal productivity, the number of crops, and the varieties of grain. At two-line grain cleaning and drying stations, one line is used to process grain and legume crops, sunflower seeds, and other large-seed crops and the other handles small-seed crops such as flax, millet, and clover. In the USSR grain cleaning and drying aggregates are produced with capacities of 40, 20, and 10 tons per hour. Table 1 gives the characteristics of some grain cleaning and drying stations for processing food grain.