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. 2022 Aug 28;8(8):e10412.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10412. eCollection 2022 Aug.

A combined machine for collecting and chopping rice straw

Mahmoud Awad  1 , Osama Fouda  1 , Wael Fathy  1 , Wael El Balkemy  1 , Mohsen Egela  1 , Walied El-Fakhrany  1 , Mahmoud Okasha  1
Affiliations

A combined machine for collecting and chopping rice straw

Mahmoud Awad et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Due to the recent high prices of livestock feed in the world and the new sustainable management practices of rice straw, livestock farmers are obligated to either use or purchase rice straw and cut it to desired lengths to feed ruminants. Therefore, this study aimed to construct a combined machine for collecting and chopping rice straw for lengths preferred in feeding ruminants. The combined machine comprises three main units: a picking up unit, a chopping unit, and a takeout unit. Field experiments were performed on average rice straw moisture content of 25% (w.b.) to evaluate the performance of the combined machine, under factors of 1.3, 1.6, 1.9, and 2.2 km h-1 forward speeds, elevator velocities of 0.79, 0.94, and 1.10 m s-1, and chopping knives rotational speeds of 1600, 2000 and 2400 rpm. The obtained results indicated that the consumed specific energy was 90.94 kWh ha-1 to achieve the highest field capacity of 0.24 ha h-1, with collecting efficiency of 95.30% at a forward speed of 2.2 km h-1, elevator velocity of 1.10 m s-1 and rotational speed of 2400 rpm for chopping knives. In order to achieve the highest chopping quality of 95%, it is recommended to operate the elevator velocity at 0.79 m s-1, rotate chopping knives at 2400 rpm, and drive the tractor at a forward speed of 1.3 km h-1. The total operating cost of the combined machine is lower than the traditional methods by about 49.84%.

Keywords: Chopper; Chopping quality; Collecting efficiency; Rice straw.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Photos and (B) diagram of the combined machine.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The picking up unit.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The cutting knives drum.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The takeout high-speed fan.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The uncut portion of rice straw after harvest (the stubble); manual transplanting (A), and direct seeding (B).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of forward speeds on collecting efficiency at different elevator velocities for different cutting knives speeds.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effect of different cutting knives speeds on chopping quality neglected the effect of forward and elevator velocities.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The animals' preference chaff sizes into a uniform length ≥15 mm and ≤30 mm.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Effect of forward speeds on actual field capacity at different elevator velocities for different cutting knives speeds.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Effect of forward speeds on the specific energy at different elevator velocities for different cutting knives speeds.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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