RU2288561C1 - Apparatus for presowing treatment of plant seeds - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: seed growing, in particular, technique used for presowing treatment of farm crops.

SUBSTANCE: apparatus has plasma chamber equipped with charging and feeding hoppers, transporting mechanism, and two electrodes. One of electrodes is placed in plasma chamber above transporting mechanism. Electrodes are connected to high-frequency generator. At least one reservoir containing inorganic gas and vacuum system are joined to plasma chamber. Electrode positioned within plasma chamber above transporting mechanism is designed for reciprocation relative to surface of transporting mechanism. Said electrode has length l and width b complying with following ratios: l=(0.5-0.9)·L, mm; b=(0.5-0.7)·B, mm, where L is length of plasma chamber, mm; B is transverse size of plasma chamber, mm.

EFFECT: increased efficiency, uniform distribution of plasma discharge over seed surface, and provision for preventing seeds from damage during treatment.

18 cl, 4 dwg, 1 tbl

Description

The invention relates to the field of seed production, and more particularly to equipment used in the pre-sowing treatment of seeds of various crops.

For biologically active effects on plant seeds, they are treated with various physical methods.

A device for presowing treatment of seeds is known (see RF patent No. 2246814, IPC A 01 C 1/00, published February 27, 2005), which comprises a drum horizontally mounted rotatably mounted on two hollow axles with a loading opening with a lid. Inside it are counter-inclined ribs in pairs. An electromagnetic energy emitter, which is connected to a source of electromagnetic energy, is installed outside the drum near its side wall, which is made of radiolucent material.

The known device can improve the uniformity of seed treatment and reduce leakage of electromagnetic energy, but at the same time only the flow of electromagnetic energy is processed, the humidity of the seeds does not change, and there is no fungistatic or bactericidal effect on the seeds.

A device for treating seeds with cold plasma is known (see US patent No. 6543460, IPC B 08 B 7/04, published 04/08/2003), including a horizontally mounted rotatably cylindrical pyrex reaction chamber closed at the ends by stainless steel disks. Coaxial to the drum there are two semi-cylindrical copper electrodes. The upper electrode is connected to a high-frequency generator, and the lower electrode is grounded. The reaction chamber is connected to containers for various gases, such as air, argon, oxygen, carbon tetrachloride, water vapor.

The known device is intended for etching the surface of the seeds to remove fungicides and insecticides from it, but is not intended for biologically active influence on the seeds. In the known device with prolonged exposure to seeds by plasma, the outer protective shell of the seeds can be destroyed, which can lead to a loss in the sowing quality of seeds, the seeds are easily infected with various infections, the seeds rot during storage, and the shelf life of seeds after such treatment is reduced.

A device for presowing treatment of plant seeds with gas discharge plasma is known (see US patent No. 5281315, IPC H 05 F 3/00, published January 25, 1994), including a plasma chamber connected to a vacuum system, inside of which there are flat electrodes connected to a high-frequency generator . Inorganic gas tanks are connected to the plasma chamber. A shallow tray is installed between the electrodes to accommodate a batch of plant seeds. An inorganic gas or a mixture of inorganic gases is injected into the chamber to a pressure of 0.05 Torr to 5.0 Torr and a low-temperature gas discharge plasma is created between the electrodes when a high-frequency voltage of 1-40 MHz and an electric discharge power of 0.003 W / cm ^{3 are} applied to the electrodes up to 1.5 W / cm ³ . Exposure to seeds by a gas discharge plasma is carried out for 5-500 s.

The known device has low productivity, because it does not provide a continuous process of seed treatment, since it is necessary to turn off the device to cool it, as well as to unload the seeds that have been processed and load a new batch of seeds. The device does not allow to create optimal treatment modes for seeds of various plants, the possibility of overheating of the seeds is not excluded.

A device for the plasma treatment of plant seeds is known (see RF patent No. 2076555, IPC A 01 C 1/00, published April 10, 1997), which coincides with the claimed technical solution for the largest number of essential features and selected as a prototype. The device includes a plasma chamber with loading and receiving hoppers connected to an inorganic gas source, electrodes placed in the chamber and a vacuum system. One of the electrodes is made in the form of a hollow metal element with the possibility of circulation of a cooling agent in it, the metal case of the plasma chamber is used as the other electrode, and a transport mechanism is placed inside the plasma chamber.

The inventive device provides a continuous process of plasma treatment of seeds without overheating. However, its design does not allow to take into account the biological differences of seeds of different crops during processing and to create optimal treatment modes for seeds of various plants. At the same time, the seeds of vegetable, grain, fodder, flower, decorative, medicinal plants, tubers, bulbs, seeds of woody plants differ in size, weight, structure and hardness (strength) of the protective shell, dormancy.

The objective of the invention was the development of such a device for presowing treatment of seeds, which would ensure uniform distribution of the plasma discharge over the volume of the plasma chamber, increase the effectiveness of biologically active effects on the seeds of various plants by creating the desired configuration of the plasma discharge area for the seeds of each plant species, taking into account biological differences , size, weight, structure of seeds of different crops and would exclude the possibility of damage to seeds or deficiency full-time exposure to plasma seeds.

The problem is solved in that in the device for pre-sowing treatment of plant seeds, including a plasma chamber equipped with loading and receiving hoppers, a transporting mechanism located in the plasma chamber, two electrodes, one of which is placed in the plasma chamber above the transporting mechanism, a high-frequency generator connected to the electrodes, at least one container for inorganic gas and a vacuum system connected to the plasma chamber. In this case, the electrode located in the plasma chamber above the transport mechanism is mounted with the possibility of reciprocating movement relative to the surface of the transport mechanism and is made of length l and width b, satisfying the relations:

l = (0.5-0.9) · L, mm;

b = (0.5-0.7) · V, mm,

where L is the length of the plasma chamber, mm;

In - the transverse size of the plasma chamber, mm

The electrode located in the plasma chamber above the conveying mechanism is preferably installed at a distance h satisfying the ratio:

h = (0.2-0.4) · V, mm.

The transporting mechanism is preferably located in the plasma chamber at a distance c from the chamber wall, satisfying the ratio:

c = (0.2-0.5) · V, mm.

The electrode placed above the conveying mechanism in the plasma chamber can be made flat, as well as with the possibility of its cooling, for which the electrode can be made hollow with the possibility of circulation through its cavity of the cooled agent.

As a second electrode, a plasma chamber or a transport mechanism can be used.

The plasma chamber may be configured to cool it.

A water tank may be installed inside the plasma chamber to create a more favorable gas atmosphere when treating old or overdried seeds.

For the same purpose, the plasma chamber may be provided with a spray connected to the water supply system.

The transporting mechanism can be equipped with a vibrator, due to which the seeds located on the transporting mechanism are mixed, which eliminates the possible negative effect of screening the upper layer of the treated seeds below the seeds and accordingly eliminates the uneven treatment of seeds.

The transporting mechanism may be made of an inert non-magnetic material, such as cotton or stainless steel.

The electrodes of the device are made of an inert non-magnetic electrically conductive material, for example, copper or aluminum.

As the author’s studies showed, the ratio of the length l and width b of the electrode is due to the fact that, at a shorter length than the above, length l and width b, a highly compressed concentrated plasma discharge occurs in the plasma chamber, and the seeds undergo a very severe plasma discharge during processing, which can lead to destruction - "burning" of seeds and to uneven processing of seeds.

With a larger length of the length l and width b of the electrode, electrical “breakdowns” between the electrodes can occur, while in the plasma chamber it is not possible to create a plasma discharge with the necessary parameters for seed treatment.

The installation of an electrode over the conveyor mechanism with the possibility of its reciprocating movement relative to the surface of the conveyor mechanism allows you to quickly change the configuration and parameters of the plasma discharge depending on the different types of treated seeds, taking into account their biological and physical differences.

The inventive device is illustrated by drawings, where

figure 1 shows one of the variants of the claimed device in longitudinal section;

figure 2 shows in cross section along aa variant of the device shown in figure 1;

figure 3 shows a second variant of the inventive device in longitudinal section;

figure 4 shows a third embodiment of the inventive device in longitudinal section.

The inventive device for pre-sowing treatment of seeds of plants (see figure 1) includes a plasma chamber 1, equipped with a loading hopper 2 and a receiving hopper 3 with a valve 4 for collecting treated seeds. Inside the plasma chamber 1 there is a transporting mechanism 5 in the form of a conveyor belt 7 worn on rollers 6, made, for example, of cotton. One of the rolls 6 is driven by a drive (not shown). A flat electrode 8 is placed above the conveyor belt 7, and a second flat electrode 9 is installed under the belt 7. The electrodes 8 and 9 are connected to a high-frequency generator 10. The holder 11 of the electrode 8 is passed through the insulator 12, and the electrode 8 is mounted with the possibility of reciprocating movement vertical direction relative to the surface of the conveyor belt 7, for example, using a reversing drive 13. The electrode 8 is made of length l and width b, satisfying the relations:

l = (0.5-0.9) · L, mm;

b = (0.5-0.7) · B, mm

and predominantly mounted above the conveyor belt 7 at a distance h, satisfying the ratio:

h = (0.2-0.4) · B, mm.

Preferably, the transporting mechanism 5 is located in the plasma chamber 1 (see figure 2) at a distance c from its walls 14, satisfying the ratio:

c = (0.2-0.5) · V, mm.

The device is also equipped with several containers 15, equipped with valves 16, for the inlet into the plasma chamber 1 of various inorganic gases, for example oxygen, nitrogen, argon, mixtures thereof, as well as air. The chamber 1 is connected through a valve 17 to a vacuum system 18 to create a given pressure in the chamber 1. The electrodes 8 and 9 are made of any known inert non-magnetic electrically conductive material, for example, copper or aluminum.

The second variant of the device for pre-sowing treatment of plant seeds (see Fig. 3) differs from the variant depicted in Fig. 1 in that the plasma chamber 1 is provided with a sprayer 19 connected through a valve 20 to the water supply system 21, the conveyor belt 7 is provided with a vibrator 22, the electrode 8 and the walls of the chamber 1 are hollow to cool them by circulation of the coolant supplied through the valve 23 from the tank 24 and returned through the valve 25 (pipelines for supplying the coolant to the cavity of the walls of the chamber 1 and returning the coolant from the cavity code 8 not shown). As a vibrator 22, any known vibrator can be used: mechanical, sound, ultrasonic. As the electrode 9, the plasma chamber 1 itself is used.

The third version of the device for pre-sowing treatment of plant seeds (see figure 4) differs from the variant depicted in figure 1, in that the conveying mechanism 5 is made in the form of a tray 26 made of stainless steel mounted on an eccentric drive 27, during rotation of which the tray 26 performs simultaneous reciprocating movements in the vertical and horizontal planes, tossing the seeds 28 and moving them towards the receiving hopper 3. The plasma chamber 1 is also equipped with a container 29 with water, and the tray 26 connected to a high with a frequency generator 10, performs the function of an electrode 9.

The inventive device for presowing seed treatment works as follows (for example, the device shown in figure 1 and figure 2).

Seeds 28, previously cleaned of the earth, foreign matter, impurities of seeds of other varieties, are preliminarily cleaned from the usual varieties of seeds, dried to their natural moisture content (7-13%), loaded into the loading hopper 2. In the plasma chamber 1, previously evacuated using a vacuum system 18, create the necessary environment of inorganic gas or a mixture of inorganic gases at a pressure in the range of 0.2-1.13 Torr, letting the corresponding gas from the tanks 15. Depending on the type of seeds, the electrode 8 is installed at a predetermined distance from the surface These conveyor belts 7, which are optimal for the treatment of seeds of this type of plant, and using a high-frequency generator 10 create a plasma discharge between electrodes 8 and 9 with an electric discharge frequency in the range of 1-40 MHz with an electric discharge power of 0.01-0.1 W / cm ³ . Seeds 29 are fed into the processing chamber 1 from the hopper 2 in a continuous layer with a thickness of not more than 2-3 average sizes of the treated seeds on a moving conveyor belt 7. At a mass-average (gas) temperature in the plasma chamber 1 of 20-40 ° C, plasma processing of seeds 29 is carried out. plasma treatment, seeds 29 are carried out to the end of the conveyor belt 7 and, with the shutter 4 open, enter the receiving hopper 3, from which the seeds 29 go to packaging.

A verification of the effect of plasma treatment using the inventive seed device on the growth, development of plants and on the crop obtained from seeds that have undergone plasma processing in the inventive device has shown that the device provides high efficiency for seeds of various crops and tree species. The processing parameters of seeds of various plants in the inventive device are shown in the table, while the actual germination of seeds of the control batch (processed on the installation in which the electrode had a length l <0.5 · L and a width b <0.5 · B) and obtained from them the crop was taken as 100%.

With an electrode length of length l> 0.9 · L and width b> 0.7 · V, electrical breakdown of the interelectrode space occurred in the device.

Table Type of seeds Frequency of electric discharge, MHz Power of electric discharge, W / cm ³ Gas pressure, Torr The gas environment, the content of components,% Processing time, s Germination increase,% / yield increase,% one 2 3 four 5 6 7 1 / L = 0.5; b / B = 0.5; s / V = 0.2; h / B = 0.2 Radish one 0.10 0.2 O ₂ 10 7/13 Peas 10 0.05 0.2 O ₂ twenty 8/9 Tomato one 0.10 0.2 O ₂ fifteen 5/6 Turnip 13 0.10 0.5 air twenty 8/10 Beet 5 0.10 0.5 air fifteen 5/8 Barley 10 0.05 0.2 O ₂ twenty 6/11 Radish 40 0.01 1.13 (O ₂ + N ₂ ) * thirty 8/12 Cabbage fifteen 0.05 0.5 O ₂ twenty 5/9 Lentils 13 0.05 0.5 N ₂ twenty 5/8 Pumpkin 2 0.1 0.2 N ₂ fifteen 6/7 Pine 5 0.10 0.5 air 45 8/ Celery 13 35 9/7 l / L = 0.7; b / B = 0.6; s / B = 0.3; h / B = 0.3 Radish 40 0.01 1.13 (O ₂ + N ₂ ) * thirty 11/15 Peas thirty 0.01 1.13 N ₂ 35 10/13 Tomato 40 0.01 1.13 (O ₂ + N ₂ ) * 35 9/12 Turnip twenty 0.02 0.2 N ₂ 10 10/18 Beet thirty 0.01 1.13 N ₂ 35 11/12 Barley thirty 0.01 1.13 N ₂ 35 10/13 Radish fifteen 0.05 0.5 O ₂ twenty 10/13 Cabbage 40 0.01 1.13 (O ₂ + N ₂ ) * 35 8/12 Lentils one 0.10 0.2 O ₂ fifteen 9/14 Pumpkin 40 0.01 1.13 (O ₂ + N ₂ ) * thirty 9/12 Pine 40 0.01 1.13 (O ₂ + N ₂ ) * 35 9/ Celery 40 45 12/11 1 / L = 0.9; b / B = 0.7; s / V = 0.5; h / B = 0.4 Radish 13 0.05 0.5 N ₂ twenty 6/8 Peas 5 0.10 0.5 air fifteen 9/10 Tomato 13 0.05 0.5 N ₂ twenty 6/9 Turnip 40 0.05 1.13 O ₂ thirty 7/14 Beet 10 0.05 0.2 O ₂ twenty 8/9 Barley 5 0.10 0.5 air fifteen 8/11 Radish 2 0.1 0.2 N ₂ 10 5/7 Cabbage 2 0.1 0.2 N ₂ fifteen 9/10 Lentils 40 0.01 1.13 (O ₂ + N ₂ ) * 35 10/11 Pumpkin fifteen 0.05 0.5 O ₂ twenty 10/11 Pine 13 0.05 0.5 N ₂ 25 6 / Celery 5 0.10 0.5 air 25 4/8

Claims (18)

1. A device for plasma treatment of plant seeds, comprising a plasma chamber equipped with loading and receiving hoppers, a transport mechanism mounted in the plasma chamber, two electrodes, one of which is placed in the plasma chamber above the transport mechanism, a high-frequency generator connected to the electrodes, at least at least one container for inorganic gas and a vacuum system connected to the plasma chamber, characterized in that located in the plasma chamber above the transport mechanism The electrode is mounted with the possibility of reciprocating movement relative to the surface of the conveying mechanism and is made of length l and width b, satisfying the relations: l = (0.5-0.9) · L, mm; b = (0.5-0.7) · B, mm, where L is the length of the plasma chamber, mm; In - the transverse size of the plasma chamber, mm 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said electrode located in the plasma chamber is mounted above the conveying mechanism at a distance h satisfying the ratio: h = (0.2-0.4) · B, mm. 3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveying mechanism is located in the plasma chamber at a distance c from the chamber wall, satisfying the ratio: s = (0.2-0.5) · V, mm. 4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said electrode placed above the conveying mechanism in the plasma chamber is made flat. 5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said electrode located in a plasma chamber above the transporting mechanism is arranged to cool it. 6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that said electrode located in a plasma chamber above the transport mechanism is hollow with the possibility of circulation through its cavity of the cooled agent. 7. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that a plasma chamber is used as the second electrode. 8. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the transporting mechanism is used as the second electrode. 9. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that the plasma chamber is configured to cool it. 10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that a water tank is installed inside the plasma chamber. 11. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the plasma chamber is equipped with a spray connected to the water supply system. 12. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveying mechanism is equipped with a vibrator. 13. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveying mechanism is made of an inert non-magnetic material. 14. The device according to item 13, wherein the conveying mechanism is partially made of cotton. 15. The device according to item 13, wherein the conveying mechanism is made of stainless steel. 16. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the said electrodes are made of an inert non-magnetic electrically conductive material. 17. The device according to clause 16, wherein said electrodes are made of copper. 18. The device according to p. 16, characterized in that the said electrodes are made of aluminum.

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