Energy Modelling of a Continuous Mw Pilot Plant for the Disinfestation of Chickpeas

The energy sustainability of food transformation processes is a continuous subject of research. Numerical modelling is often used, as in the present work, to validate application models; specifically, a numerical model was validated against experimental data, demonstrating improved energy efficiency consumption of the MW prototype for chickpea disinfestation.MW technology is based on a physical process which is a valid alternative to treatments with fumigants and chemical dusts to guarantee 100% mortality of pest insects at different life stages during the post-harvest storage phase, as already investigated with previous studies. Experimental tests were carried out on the continuous MW pilot plant to measure the electrical consumption in different operating conditions, a function of the overall electrical power supplied by the system (range 2.25-7.50 kW) and the mass flow rate of the plant range (130-340s). The present work has therefore generated and developed an energy mathematical model, based on the results of the experimental tests and capable of predicting and validating the possible energy consumption of the plant in the different operating process conditions for chickpea disinfestation, identifying the conditions to work with energy efficinecy for the pilot plant and highlighted the possibility of reducing electricity consumption by up to approximately 20% for the magnetron electrical consumption.