Fumigation of grain at given coordinates using the Dmytro Nedvyha method

Fumigation of grain at given coordinates using the Dmytro Nedvyha method

Grain fumigation method at specified coordinates

Storage of grain and high-quality preservation of grain products is a priority for the global grain processing industry. Fumigation of grain products is an important part of their storage and transportation. Chemical fumigation of grain remains the most common and affordable method of controlling grain pests worldwide. Most of the world’s grain is stored in so-called vertical grain silos—grain elevators made of reinforced concrete or metal, with grain storage heights ranging from 6 에 30 meters.

Chemical fumigation in vertical elevators (silo type) is quite 비싼: the process requires full or partial pumping of grain between silos, and it is during the loading of grain into another silo that fumigants – phosphides – are added to the grain (grain fumigation occurs) 그리고 long-lasting: the fumigation time is proportional to the time and speed of grain movement from a full bin to an empty grain bin; and is unsafe for the environment and personnel – highly toxic phosphine gases during fumigation (with the layer-by-layer introduction of phosphides into the thickness of grain in grain storage facilities to a height of up to 30 meters) spontaneously fill not only the body (upper and lower technical galleries of the elevator), 그리고, due to wind diffusion, spread beyond the grain elevator, into the surrounding area and into the atmosphere.

For short-term storage of grain, focal (spot) fumigation of grain would be useful, in the emerging source of infection in the thickness of the grain at a certain depth (height). The source (epicenter) of grain infestation by insect pests is determined by the increase in grain temperature in the silo of a grain elevator at a certain depth (height) of the grain layer. But it is not possible to introduce fumigants in the form of tableted phosphides to a given depth (height) without moving this grain from one silo container to another.

The technology of grain fumigation “at specified coordinates” at a specified point without moving the grain is a priority, safe and economical method of grain fumigation in vertical grain storage facilities.

The grain fumigation method developed by Dmitro Nedvyha in 2008 – “Fumigation of grain at given coordinates”(Fumigation of grain at a given point) in a silo grain storage without moving the grain is consists of fumigating stationary grain in a filled grain storage facility; the grain does not need to be moved; a special automated robotic device, a self-immersing grain fumigator, will itself be immersed in the layers of grain to a specified depth (height) of the silo,delivers fumigants Phosphides to a given point (예를 들어, in the epicenter of a cluster of insect pests, diagnosed by an elevated temperature of the grain layer) or to all grain layers, to several given pointsunloads fumigated phosphides and returns back to the upper part of the silo. The robotic device moves along a vertical trajectory (from top to bottom) from a starting point in the uppermost layer of grain from the top of the silo storage, where there is access to the upper layer of grain, 그리고, having delivered fumigants (phosphides) to a specified point at a depth (height), returns back.

The use of this grain fumigation technology and the creation of such a robotic automated device, self-immersing in grain, will allow in the future to carry out chemical fumigation of grain very quickly, safely and economically (without moving the grain), both at a separate point in the thickness of the grain in the grain storage facility, and layer by layer of the entire volume of stored grain in a separate silo of the grain elevator.

따라서, the new technology (Fumigation at a given point) allows for chemical fumigation of grain products in a vertical elevator (silo storage) both at one point – at one source of contamination, and the entire volume of grain storage in a separate silo container: layer by layer, at several specified points along the entire, without moving the grain, but by moving a robotic device (Self-immersing grain fumigator) inside the stationary grain to deliver fumigants (phosphides) to the desired points in the thickness of the grain.

What will the “Fumigation of grain at given coordinates” method bring to the global development of grain farming?

+ Cost and labor savings on chemical grain fumigation;
+ The ability to selectively fumigate individual silos;
+ The possibility of spot fumigation: one individual source of contamination or one individual layer of grain;
+ Eco-friendly fumigation: phosphine gases do not spread within the grain elevator’s technical rooms or penetrate outside, as the device delivers the phosphide gas into the grain, and diffusion does not extend beyond the grain in the silo.
+ Safety: Since phosphine gas does not spread beyond the fumigated grain in the silo, it does not pose a hazard to the environment or impact personnel safety during fumigation, exposure, or decontamination;
+ Cost-effectiveness: savings are achieved by reducing the cost of the fumigation work itself through the use of robotics and reducing the time required to carry out fumigation.
+ Savings are achieved by reducing the energy consumption of the grain storage facility itself by eliminating the use of energy-intensive elevator equipment for pumping grain for fumigation. 이 “Method of grain fumigation at given coordinates” (at a specific point) eliminates the need to move grain for grain fumigation in vertical bins.

The first prototype of a robotic automated self-immersing grain fumigator, called GAF ​​(Gas Automated Fumigator), was created in 2008 and patented in Ukraine. (the device is shown in the photo on the left).

The first model of the SGFOne self-immersing grain fumigator was the “SGFone Mite”, named after the grain mite (Siteroptes graminum), a pest that is particularly dangerous to grain during storage 🙂 The device had technical flaws, did not pass all tests, and was not put into mass production.

It is expected that the “Grain Fumigation at Specified Coordinates” method will become not only scientific, but also commercial and highly profitable, and will become available to all operators in the global grain and fumigation market.
The serial industrial model of the self-immersible grain fumigation SGF One of the second generation will have the name: SGF One Weevil, in honor of the most dangerous grain pest, the Granary Weevil (Sitophilus granarius), due to the elongated body of the device and its external resemblance to the pest 🙂 Serial production of the “SGFOne Weevil” self-immersing grain fumigator is planned for 2025–2026. The SGFOne project is currently seeking investment to implement a new, technologically advanced, and safe grain fumigation system in vertical grain silos. The technical details of the GFOne Weevil device are still hidden by the developers (until the presentation); this is a rare photo of the device on the left.

The developers are confident that, thanks to the high economic and environmental efficiency and safety of the “Grain Fumigation at Specified Coordinates” method and its industrial fumigation technology andThanks to the growing interest in new technologies in agriculture, this grain fumigation technology will quickly spread and will be implemented to vertical grain storage facilities worldwide commercially, will be in demand by global grain market operators.

And given the growing global demand for food, the reduction of post-harvest losses, and technological progress (the use of modular grain storage structures), the construction and use of vertical silo (bin) type grain storage facilities is increasing worldwide.

tags: grain fumigation method at specified coordinates , Self-Loading Grain Fumigator , Method of grain fumigation at the specified coordinates