The relative frequency of immersion of rye grains in liquid

Abstract The grain heap of rye, in addition to high-grade grain, contains weeds and harmful impurities. Poisonous ergot sclerotia are harmful impurities. Modern grain cleaning machines do not provide the allocation of ergot sclerotia in one technological process by air flow and on sieves. Ergot sclerotia have a specific gravity lower than that of rye grain. Purification of rye seeds from ergot sclerotia by specific gravity is possible in a salt solution. To create a machine for the insulation of toxic ergot from grain, practical experiments were carried out on throwing single grains of winter rye of the Falenskaya 4 variety into a liquid with a specific gravity of ρ zh = 1.0·103; 1.09·103; and 1.15·103 kg/m3. Sodium salt of hydrochloric acid (NaCl) was used to create the solution. The results obtained are presented in the form of the distribution of the relative frequency of grains when immersed in a liquid from the height h of fall. It was found that 100% immersion of grains in water occurs at a height h of not less than 43·10−3 m, and an aqueous solution of salt – 58·10−3 m. When developing a device for the isolation of ergot sclerotia by specific gravity in a salt solution, it is necessary to take into account that the grain will move in a flow and exclude the appearance of an undesirable trapping of an air bubble by a grain, which will worsen the results of separating impurities from the grain.