INFLUÊNCIA DE UM TRITURADOR FRONTAL DE BIOMASSA NO DESEMPENHO DE DUAS ENFARDADORAS DE PALHIÇO DE CANA DE AÇÚCAR

Abstract

Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, with notable potential for the production of renewable energy. Sugar cane straw is a by-product of the mechanized harvest which has excellent calorific value and can be used for various purposes in the industry. The present work had the objective of evaluating the performance of two balers in the collection of cane straw, equipped with and without frontal crushing system. The balers were driven by an agricultural tractor with 191 kW of power, model 4x2 equipped with auxiliary front traction (TDA). The variables of fuel consumption (Lh-1), operating speed (km h-1), operating performance of the mechanized set (ha h-1), volume (m³) and mass (kg) of the bales produced were measured. Without the frontal grinding system (ST), the bundles presented larger volumes, due to the larger particle size of the collected straw, but the fuel consumption and the operational speed of the set were lower than the grinding system (CT). The use of the front crusher allowed a 25% increase in the operating performance of the powertrain assembly, but increased fuel demand by 38%.