Location: National Peanut Research Laboratory
Project Number: 6044-30600-001-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Jun 8, 2025
End Date: Jun 7, 2030
Objective:
Objective 1: Resolve underlying issues with commercial peanut handling and processing systems to improve energy, labor, time efficiency, and mitigate hazards while improving product quality.
Sub-objective 1.A: Improve performance of peanut drying equipment.
Sub-objective 1.B: Reduce noise produced by peanut dryers.
Sub-objective 1.C: Develop a forecasting model for risk of aflatoxin contamination in peanut warehouses.
Objective 2: Develop systems to protect farmer’s stock peanuts from loss due to storage facility fires and reduce post-harvest losses due to improper drying, mold growth, aflatoxin contamination and insect infestation.
Sub-objective 2.A: Design a sensor system for the early detection gaseous emissions from pre-fire and combusting peanuts.
Sub-objective 2.B: Develop sensor system to detect CO2 produced by fungus infestation/spoilage in stored peanuts and cottonseed that leads to spontaneous combustion.
Objective 3: Develop systems to enhance and expand the study of the properties and behaviors of peanut plants, pods, kernels, and associated materials.
Sub-objective 3.A: Develop photographic techniques to collect data on peanut plants.
Sub-objective 3.B: Develop mechanical measurement techniques to collect data on peanut plants.
Approach:
The quality of peanut products reaching the consumer is greatly affected by the processing that occurs between the time the crop leaves the farm and is delivered to the manufacturer. Many things can affect peanut quality ranging from the strength of peanut hulls to total loss in warehouse fires. During the postharvest period, the major goal is preserving peanut quality through drying and maintaining peanuts at the moisture level for safe storage. The moisture level of peanuts as they leave the farm varies greatly due to peanut plants producing new unripe peanuts until they are dug from the ground. The moisture content of the peanuts is also affected by varying harvest weather conditions and the amount of time they are allowed to dry in the field after digging. At processing facilities, peanuts are dried in large batches using equipment that has been modified over the years with minimal consideration to moisture removal efficiency or achieving peanut-moisture uniformity. Peanuts are dried to less than 11% moisture content and then moved to bulk-storage warehouses where they will continue to lose moisture until they stabilize in non-climate-controlled warehouses. Peanuts are stored in warehouses from one to nine months. Depending on initial peanut quality, warehouse conditions and environmental conditions, peanut value will decrease from 2 to 15% during storage due to excessive moisture loss, insect damage, and mold. Now available, computerized three-dimensional modeling and computational fluid dynamics simulations make it possible for agricultural engineers to investigate quality deterioration of peanuts by modeling of air and moisture movement through peanuts during drying and storage. The models make it possible to quickly improve equipment design and processes thus increasing the pace of development strengthening the peanut industry.