Solar-Powered Winnower for Resource Use Efficiency and Sustainable Agricultural Development

Abstract

Winnowing is an age-old agricultural practice that involves separating grain from impurities such as chaff, straw, and husk. The traditional method of using shovels and a sieve to allow the dried grains to fall from a height is time-consuming, uncomfortable, and requires significant manual labour.To overcome this problem developed solar photovoltaic powered winnower was developed and evaluated. The performance evaluation of the winnower was conducted  for wheat at feed rates  were 110 kg/h, 130 kg/h, 150 kg/h, 170 kg/h, and 190 kg/h, while for pearl millet, they were 480 kg/h, 520 kg/h, 560 kg/h, 600 kg/h, and 640 kg/h. 110 kg/h feed rate was found to be the most suitable for wheat as it resulted in the highest cleaning efficiency of 95.86%, with the lowest grain loss of 0.36% and operating cost of 0.83 ₹/kg. After conducting various tests for pearl millet, it was determined that a feed rate of 480 kg/h was the most suitable. This rate resulted in the best cleaning efficiency of 96.17%, the lowest blow of grain at 0.67%,. The total cost of the Solar Powered Winnower was ₹ 56515.