At a modern elevator built almost entirely with Ukrainian equipment, operators demonstrated the operation of solid-fuel heat generators for grain dryers. There are no long plumes of smoke here — only light steam, and the transition to working power after ignition takes just 4–5 minutes.

«We were mostly afraid that hot gases would enter the grain. Here that’s impossible: the mixer immediately brings the drying agent to safe temperatures», explains the engineer.

The key to stability is the low-temperature vortex burner and the mixer: the dryer receives not 300–500 °C, but exactly the temperature required for the crop. Thanks to separated heating and cooling zones, the grain warms up and dries gently, allowing 26–27% moisture reduction in a single pass without cracking.

«Right now we’re doing 20–25 t/hour and can go up to 40 t/hour. Corn at 26-27% passes in one go — and without damage», the elevator manager notes.

The heat generators run exclusively on wood pellets. Quality fuel ensures clean combustion: operators say that with proper pellets, a short technical cleaning every 5–7 days is enough, and ash volume is minimal.

«We wanted independence from gas and diesel. Pellets gave us both autonomy and lower operating cost — drying service rates become truly competitive», the enterprise adds.

The designer emphasizes that the unit was created specifically «for pellets», not as a “universal burner”: air and power control hold the drying-agent temperature within ±2–3 °C, while the burner itself scales from tens of kW to megawatts.

«We achieved a fast start similar to gas/diesel burners — 4–5 minutes — and a clean flame that does not touch the concrete. That’s why the components last for years», the developer notes.

The economics are simple: typical consumption is up to 2 kg of pellets per ton-percent, and electricity usage of the heat generator is low (screw feeder + blower). Based on these numbers, the elevator sets fixed service prices while remaining cheaper than gas/diesel per ton-percent.