Post-Harvest Education & Research Center

Research Projects

Extension Projects

Extension Publications

Related Sites

Mission Statement

The Purdue University Post-Harvest Education & Research Center is committed to serving crop and food producers, handlers and processors, and their allied manufacturing and service industries in Indiana and the Midwestern U.S. by supporting:

• basic and applied research
• undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education
• hands-on diagnostic training
• technology transfer activities and extension activities
• analysis and problem identification services

Research

The Purdue University Post-Harvest Education & Research Center is used by professional and post-doctoral staff, and graduate and undergraduate students engaged in basic and applied research in the areas of:

• grain quality
• stored product protection
• alternative pest control
• grain drying, conditioning and storage
• molds and mycotoxins
• value-added grains and processing
• insect behavior and control
• worker protection and safety

Projects are supported by the grain handling and processing industry, allied equipment manufacturers, supply and service companies, grower organizations, and state and federal agencies.

Education

The Center staff actively develops new educational resource materials, examples are:

• Post-Harvest Pocket Guide
• Post-Harvest IPM Educator software CD
• Grain Quality Fact Sheet series
• SLAM brochure and poster 

In collaboration with industry, grower organizations, other universities, the Cooperative Extension Service, and state agencies, the Center offers on and off-site training opportunities, such as:

• Fumigation Certification & Hands-on Training
• Grain Quality & Pest Management Hands-on Workshops
• Grain Grading & Quality Schools

Service

The Post-Harvest Education & Research Center offers several services through on-campus laboratories, such as:

• Grain Composition Analysis
• Stress Crack Testing
• Stored Product Insect Identification
• Mold Identification
• Mycotoxin Analysis

The Center staff provides extensive technical assistance and problem solving services to the grain producing, handling and processing industries.

Facilities

The Post-Harvest Education & Research Center includes a fully functional grain handling center (built in 1984) and a new 16-bin state-of-the-art pilot facility (built in 1997). Both are located at the Purdue University Agronomy Research Center near the main campus.

Facility Description

The Post-Harvest Education & Research Center includes a fully functional grain handling center (built in 1984) and a new 16-bin state-of-the-art pilot facility (built in 1997). Both are located at the Purdue University Agronomy Research Center near the main campus. Additionally, a second fully functional PHERC facility dedicated to the segregation and handling of value-adding grains and oilseeds is under development at the Animal Sciences Education and Research Center. The first phase of this new project consisting of the construction of two new wet grain receiving bins, a 800 bph automatic column grain dryer, and a pneumatic transfer system was dedicated in October 1999.

Grain Handling Center

• Grain Handling Center Storage Capacity - 50,000 bu in 8 storage bins (2,900-9,000 bu capacity each)
• Leg - galvanized 4500 bu/h (15 HP) bucket elevator with 75' discharge and gravity delivery to all 8 bins plus overhead load-out bin
• Cleaner - cascade (gravity type with leg-top installation; fines are spouted to a 9' diameter hopper bin with suction fan; also have a notary screen cleaner to pre-clean corn before natural air bin drying
• Pit Conveyor - 4,500 bu/h (5 HP) mass flow conveyor
• Grain Return - 4,000 bu/h (15 HP) grain pump with approx 160' of chain in 8" diameter tubing horizontally installed
• Bin Unloading - 8" diameter underfloor augers and gear-powered sweeps in each bin
• Wet Holding - 3,200 bu 15' diameter x 7 ring hopper bottom bin (45 degrees) with ½ cfm/bu aeration
• Wet Grain Auger - 6" diameter inclined auger conveyor (3 HP)
• Dryer - Continuous-flow column dryer with two fans (15 HP top, 10 HP bottom) and two burners (4.6 MM Btu/hr top, 2.3 MM Btu/hr bottom); rated at 515 bu/hr full heat and at 300 bu/hr dry and cool with 10 point moisture removal; dryer also has a suction bees wings removal system and automatic moisture control system
• Air Conveyor - 400-750 bu/hr (15 HP) 4" tube positive pressure pneumatic conveyor delivering grain to three dryeration bins and the overhead load-out bin
• Dryeration Bins - 3 of the 8 bins are designed as dryeration steeping and cooling bins each holding 6,000-7,000 bu of hot corn steeped for 8-12 hours before cooling; airflow is designed to deliver 0.5-1 cfm/bu with 3 to 5 HP fans
• Natural Air Drying Bins - 2 of the 8 bins are designed as natural air drying bins each holding about 2,900 bu; airflow can be adjusted between 1-2 cfm/bu with 3 HP fans; fan operation is controlled by a computer-based temperature monitoring and control system

Pilot Bin Facility

• Pilot Bins - 16 x 500 bu, 9' diameter x 4 rings sealable corrugated steel bins with 30 degree roofs located on four separate concrete pads
• Fans - 16 x 3/4 HP axial flow fans with self-sealing shutters delivering up to 2 cfm/bu; fans are automatically controlled from a remote PC utilizing a range of pre-programmed strategies
• Floors - Zip-loc type removable floors to ease under-floor cleaning between experiments; floors can be re-configured to evaluate other aeration system layouts
• Vents - Single goose-neck vent on each man hole cover; covers can be replaced to completely seal each bin for fumigation or modified atmosphere research
• Temperature Monitoring - Each bin has five temperature cables (center and 4 compass points, each 1' from side walls) with five thermistors on each cable; temperatures are recorded with a commercial process control software program using a graphical interface on a remote PC
• Weather Station - In addition to a temperature and relative humidity sensor connected to the PC-based fan control system, wind speeds and solar radiation are also recorded at the site
• Motor Control Center - The fan motors are controlled through a stand-alone motor control center that is equipped with hand-off-auto switches and digital watt meters for each fan
• Grain Chiller - A custom-built grain chiller with a 7.5 HP compressor and 5 HP blower is automatically controlled by the remote PC system and is ducted to chill up to four bins at once

Current Sponsors

The Purdue University Post-Harvest Education & Research Center was established through financial and equipment support from the following companies and organizations:

CTB Brock, Milford, Indiana
FFI, Indianapolis, Indiana
General Mills, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Indiana Farm Systems, Russiaville, Indiana
OPIsystems, Calgary, Canada
Purdue Ag Alumni Trust Fund
Ripco, Otwell, Indiana
Sukup, Sheffield, Iowa
The GSI Group, Assumption, Illinois

Cooperating Purdue Departments:
Agricultural Research Programs
Agricultural & Biological Engineering
Agronomy
Botany & Plant Pathology
Cooperative Extension Service
Entomology

Cooperating Institutions

Iowa State University, Iowa Grain Quality Initiative
Kansas State University, Grain Science and Industry Department
Oklahoma State University, Stored Product Research Education Center
U.S. Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, Manhattan, Kansas

For more information and partnering opportunities, contact:

Dr. Dirk E. Maier
Agricultural & Biological Engineering
Phone: (765) 494-1175
e -mail: maier@purdue.edu

Dr. Linda J. Mason
Entomology
Phone: (765) 494-4586
e -mail: linda_mason@entm.purdue.edu

Dr. Charles P. Woloshuk
Botany & Plant Pathology
Phone: (765) 494-3450
e -mail: woloshuk@btny.purdue.edu