Archive - Abstract
Vol.55 No.1 (March, 2024)
- Technical Papers (Japanese)
Mobile Grain Dryer Performance with Emphasis on Corn Drying
- Genta KANAI， Yoshiya SHINOTO， Kazuhiro TAKEKURA and Yoshimichi YAMASHITA
- In recent years， whereas domestic grain dryers for corn have begun to be marketed， some foreign-made mobile dryers， which can achieve mass drying through high-temperature， high-speed drying， are also being used. After conducting drying tests of corn， paddy rice， and wheat with a foreign-made mobile circulating dryer to provide a reference for Japanese farmers who wish to introduce foreign-made dryers for general-purpose use， we obtained the following findings based on several drying temperature measurements taken at 1 or 2 points.
For corn， at drying temperatures higher than 75–80 °C， the energy consumption of a burner for removing 1 kg water tended to be lower， at 3.5 and 4.7 MJ/kg， than the 5.5–6.0 MJ/kg found from a trial of a domestic circulating dryer when no blow-through occurred. Quality met the criteria for US Grade No. 3.
For rice， the drying temperature was higher than 65–70 °C. The energy consumption of the burner for removing 1 kg water was 4.2 and 4.5 MJ/kg， which were both higher than 4.08 MJ/kg at the drying temperature of 70 °C described in an earlier report. The grain cracking ratios were 19.4% and 57.3%. As explained in the earlier report， the high cracking ratio caused by high-speed drying with high temperature can only be justified for rice intended for use as feed.
For wheat， the energy consumption of a burner for removing 1 kg water was 5.8 MJ/kg at a drying temperature of 79 °C. Because blow-through occurred from insufficient charging of grain， the energy consumption is regarded as even lower when a sufficient quantity is charged. The falling number value， which is an indication of starch quality， was 377. No starch degradation was found.
Keywords: high temperature drying， mobile dryer， corn， rice， wheat
Vol.55 No.2 (June, 2024)
- Research Papers (Japanese)
Measuring Temperature Distribution Using Ultra-Sonic Probe in Pigpens
- Yuki FUJITA, Tadashi EBIHARA, Naoto WAKATSUKI, Koichi MIZUTANI, Ryoh NAKAKUBO, Mitsuyoshi ISHIDA and Yasuhiko NISHIJIMA
- Daily monitoring and control of temperature distribution in a piggery with significant temperature variations is essential to maximize the productivity of temperature-stress-sensitive pigs. In our previous research, we focused on an ultra-sonic probe suitable for measuring air temperature distribution in a large space and explored its design for practical use in a pigpen. This ultra-sonic probe, as mentioned earlier, can be easily constructed by utilizing the signal input/output interface of a general-purpose single-board computer. It can precisely measure the average air temperature in a space, making it suitable for operation in a pigpen where installation space is limited. However, we have not yet demonstrated the measurement of average air temperature and air temperature distribution in a pigpen. Therefore, in this paper, we conducted an experiment to measure the average air temperature and air temperature distribution in a pigpen and evaluated the accuracy of the measurement. The experimental results revealed that the ultra-sonic probe could measure the average air temperature along a 6.83 m line with an error of 0.55 °C and the air temperature distribution (on six surfaces) with an error of 0.73 °C. This indicates that the ultra-sonic probe possesses sufficient measurement accuracy for monitoring and controlling the air temperature in the pigpen. From these results, it can be expected that the proposed ultrasonic probe will contribute to the efficient fattening of healthy pigs and the reduction of the workload of the keepers by controlling the air temperature in the piggery.
Keywords:pigpen, ultra-sonic probe, measuring temperature distribution, single-board-computer
Vol.55 No.3 (September, 2024)
- Research Papers (Japanese)
Investigating Global Trends in Agrivoltaics: Literature Database Survey
- Ryota TSUCHIYA , Yuta OHASHI , Hideki MORIYAMA and Masahisa ISHII
- Agrivoltaics is the system of simultaneously engaging in agriculture while generating electricity from photovoltaic panels installed above the same piece of land. Agrivoltaics is becoming increasingly common around the world, including in Japan. However, techniques to achieve the optimal balance between agriculture and photovoltaics have not been systematized. In this study, we conducted a literature survey to clarify the situation of agrivoltaics as practiced in Japan and the world and the trends in research activity. Our literature survey revealed that research in this field, both within Japan and internationally, has only been active since 2020, and only 31 Japanese papers had been published by 2022. In addition, the content of the published agrivoltaics papers focused more on the photovoltaics aspect than on the agricultural aspect; among the Japanese papers listed on CiNii, the majority focused on the social and economic aspects, rather than the technical aspects. From the perspective of agricultural production, a portion of the solar radiation impinging on farmland is distributed to the photovoltaic panels in agrivoltaics. Therefore, to reduce as much as possible the negative impact on food production, it is necessary to conduct research that will contribute to the systematization of crop cultivation techniques under agrivoltaics.
Keywords:renewable energy, photovoltaics, arable land, land use, crop production, bibliometric survey
