What Are The Applicable Scenarios for Grain Air Coolers?

What Are the Applicable Scenarios for Grain Air Coolers?

Long-Term Storage Scenario for Reserve Grains (1-3 Years, Core Requirements: Low Loss, Mold Prevention)

This represents the most critical application scenario for grain cooling systems, primarily targeting bulk grains like wheat, rice, and corn stored in national reserve warehouses and local grain storage centers. The primary objectives are maintaining grain quality over extended periods and minimizing losses.

Challenges: During extended storage, grain piles continuously generate heat through respiration (especially in summer), creating “localized hot spots” that foster mold growth (e.g., aflatoxin contamination in corn, Fusarium head blight in wheat) and insect infestations (corn weevil, rice weevil proliferation). Traditional ventilation fails to maintain stable temperatures, resulting in loss rates of 5%-10%.

Function: By maintaining grain temperatures between 15-20°C (low-temperature storage standard) and humidity ≤75%, grain respiration intensity is reduced by over 60%. This suppresses fungal and insect activity, controlling loss rates below 1% while stabilizing bulk density, moisture content, and other indicators. This meets reserve grain requirements for “regular rotation and quality compliance.”

Typical Scenarios: Wheat storage silos in reserve grain warehouses; constant-temperature corn storage silos in reserve grain warehouses.

High-Moisture Grain Temporary Storage / Pre-Treatment Scenario (1-3 months post-harvest; core requirements: rapid moisture reduction, prevention of heating and sprouting)

For freshly harvested “high-moisture grain” (e.g., corn at 25%-30% moisture, rice at 20%-25% moisture), direct long-term storage is impossible. Traditional reliance on “natural air-drying” is weather-dependent (prone to mold during rainy periods) and inefficient.

Challenge: High-moisture grains exhibit vigorous respiration, causing grain temperature to rise by 5-10°C within 24 hours. This triggers “heating and clumping” or even sprouting, particularly during southern China's rainy season or northern regions' post-harvest low-temperature, high-humidity conditions where sun-drying is impractical.

Function: Grain coolers achieve “rapid dehumidification + gentle cooling” to reduce grain moisture to 13%-14% (safe moisture standard) within 1-2 weeks while maintaining grain temperature ≤25°C, preventing heating and sprouting. Compared to natural drying, processing efficiency increases 3-5 times and operates independently of weather conditions, enabling “harvest-to-storage” and reducing space requirements.

Typical Scenarios: Temporary corn storage silos after autumn harvest on farms; high-moisture raw grain pre-treatment silos in rice processing plants.

Pre-Processing Quality Adjustment Scenario (1-7 days before processing; core requirements: stable temperature/humidity, improved processing quality)

Before grain processing (e.g., wheat milling, rice processing, corn starch extraction), grain temperature and humidity must be adjusted to the “optimal processing range.” Failure to do so leads to high processing losses and poor product quality.

Challenges: If wheat exceeds 25°C or falls below 12% moisture, milling produces “broken flour” and reduced flour whiteness. If rice exceeds 15% moisture, processing causes blade sticking and increased broken grain rates. Traditional storage cannot precisely control pre-processing conditions.

Function: Customizes temperature and humidity parameters based on processing requirements (e.g., wheat milling requires 18-22°C and 13%-14% moisture; rice processing requires 20-24°C and 14%-15% moisture). Grain coolers stabilize grain pile conditions, reducing milling breakage rate/broken rice rate (typically by 3%-5%) and enhancing product texture and commercial value.

Typical Scenarios: Wheat pre-treatment silos in flour mills, brown rice conditioning silos in rice processing plants, corn starch raw material pre-treatment silos.

High-temperature/high-humidity or special climate storage scenarios (year-round, core need: overcoming climate constraints)

In subtropical regions or high-temperature/high-humidity summer environments, traditional ventilation equipment (e.g., axial fans) cannot effectively cool or dehumidify, leading to grain moisture absorption and mold growth. Conversely, in severely cold winter regions, large temperature differentials between storage interiors and exteriors cause grain pile “condensation” (moisture accumulation on surface grains).

Pain points: Southern regions with year-round humidity ≥80% and summer temperatures ≥35°C result in grain moisture exceeding standards after absorption; Northern winters: With indoor temperatures at 20°C and outdoor temperatures at -10°C, the convergence of cold and warm air causes surface condensation on grain piles, triggering localized mold growth.

Function:

Southern Regions: Utilize “high-dehumidification” grain coolers to reduce indoor humidity below 70% and maintain grain temperatures under 22°C, overcoming high-temperature and high-humidity constraints.

Northern Winters: Employ “gentle temperature control + humidity regulation” to minimize indoor-outdoor temperature differentials, prevent condensation on grain piles, and maintain grain dryness.

Specialty Grains / High-Value Grain Storage Scenarios (Long-Term, Core Requirement: Preserving Unique Quality)

For “high-value grains” such as oats, buckwheat, barley, organic rice, and premium soybeans, storage demands go beyond preventing mold growth. Maintaining texture, nutritional content (e.g., protein, vitamins), and overall quality necessitates stricter environmental control.

Pain Points: Conventional storage often causes “staling” in high-value grains (e.g., organic rice losing flavor, soybeans undergoing protein denaturation) or triggers “increased fatty acid values” due to humidity fluctuations (compromising food safety).

Function: Precise temperature control (typically 12-18°C) and constant humidity (65%-70%) slow staling, preserving the texture and nutritional value of specialty grains. For example: Organic rice retains near-fresh texture after 6 months in this environment; premium soybeans limit protein loss to under 2%.

Typical Applications: Organic rice storage silos at farms, temperature-controlled oat grain warehouses at processing plants, export storage facilities for premium soybeans.