Optimization of the process of pressing safflower seeds in an ultrasonic field

The article gives a mathematical description of the process of pressing safflower seeds in an ultrasonic field in the form of a regression equation found by static methods on the basis of experiments and described by a polynomial of the second degree. As the main factors influencing the efficiency of the process, the ultrasound frequency, the amplitude of the ultrasound, the pressure and the press created in the green chamber were selected. And as a criterion for assessing the effect of the selected parameters, the residual oil content of the cake is used. To assess the adequacy of the mathematical model, the variance analysis (ANOVA) of the experiment in the Design Expert v. 10 and the regression equation is obtained, the analysis of which allowed us to identify the factors that most influenced the process under consideration. Found that when the pressure in the press to a value higher than 14 MPa, a further increase in efficiency was observed together with increased values as the ultrasound frequency and its amplitude. The maximum and most effective value residual oil content in oil cake obtained in the frequency 35-40 Hz and amplitude of more than 40 mm and the pressure in the press from 10 to 11 MPa. which are obviously directly dependent on the behavior of grain and movement of its internal parts during the supply of the ultrasound. Graphical interpretation of the equation is represented by curves of equal values and response surfaces for input parameters. A numerical and graphical optimization procedure is also proposed to predict the optimal level of input factors and to obtain the maximum yield of oil relative to the mass of the original feed. To test the adequacy of the model, the results of a number of parallel experiments are presented that fall within the calculated confidence intervals for all quality criteria.