Separador de espiral estático e rotativo no beneficiamento de sementes de soja

Abstract

Seed processing is a set of steps and processes aimed at improving a batch of seeds physical and physiological quality. Among the different equipment used in processing, static and rotary spiral separators play an important role in selecting seeds based on their shape, mainly discarding the malformed and shriveled seeds. Therefore, it is essential to understand the performance differences of this equipment on the utilization and physiological quality of soybean seeds, whether standardized or not, according to sieve sizes. Thus, in view of the above, the objective was to evaluate the benefit of processing and the physical and physiological quality of soybean seeds, processed in a static and rotating spiral separator, from seeds previously classified or not. Using a randomized block design, two experiments were conducted to assess the utilization and discard of seeds and the physical and physiological quality of two batches of soybean seeds processed in static and rotary spiral separators, with and without prior standardization based on sieve size. The static and rotary spiral separators show distinct performance in terms of seed utilization and discard, which affects the physical and physiological quality of soybean seeds that were previously standardized by size or not before the processing in the equipment. Seed standardization is recommended prior to processing in static or rotary spirals.