Effect of self-heating on the processing quality of rapeseed

Abstract

Abstract The paper concerns the effect of adverse thermal phenomena on the processing quality of rapeseed. A measurement station was developed for the study, composed of a model cylindrical silo with a capacity of 3.85 m3, which was filled with seeds of winter rape cv. Suzy (2.5 t). In the conducted experiment, the silo was filled with three layers of seeds, the bottom layer witha moisture content of 7%, the middle layer with a moisture content of 12.7%, and the top layer with a moisture content of 7%. The experiment was carried out with temperature and humidity sensors in the vertical and horizontal axes, placed in a distance of 0.15 m from one another. The increase in temperature in the intergranular space measured during the self-heating pheno-menon can be divided into two stages: I – slow (up to approx. 150 h)and II – significant (from 150 h, 2-3ºC per day). As a result of the development of the self-heating phenomenon, the processing quality of rapeseed deteriorated. Indeed, under increased temperature the quality changes were so significant that they rendered the seeds unfit for any kind of consumption purposes.