Vegetable Seed Processing

Bratney's expertise in seed cleaning, sorting and sizing was awarded a design, procure, install contract to clean and size multiple species of vegetable seeds. Two different processing lines, a main cleaning line and a laboratory line were developed to condition over 10 different species of seeds.

Project Background

With flexibility and automation in mind, Bratney's process engineers developed a unique and automated process flow from receiving through conditioning. The receiving line handles either 42 cubic feet per hour or 600-1,600 pounds per hour depending on the seed species. A combination of pneumatic conveying, valving and spouting delivered the flexibility to convey each species of seed to the specific cleaning and conditioning equipment appropriate for that seed. An additional benefit of the flexible pneumatic conveyors was gently handling of the seed to protect and preserve it as it travels through the processing line. Bratney's designers took extra care to ensure access to equipment and material handling systems for easy cleanout between species.

To deliver this high-quality seed cleaning line, Bratney engineers integrated equipment from select manufacturers around the globe including: Denmark, Austria, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Germany, USA and Canada. Project management was critical to the success of this project. Careful planning and frequent communication were paramount to finish the project within the 6-month construction window.

Project Scope

process engineering
project management
construction management
millwright services
equipment selection
equipment installation
facility start-up and commissioning
operator training

Project Details

design, procure and install an automated seed cleaning and sizing line
flexible process flow to handle more than 10 species of vegetable seed
42 cubic feet per hour or 600-1,600 pounds per hour receiving line (species dependent)
integration of select equipment from eight countries across the globe
laboratory line for small production batches and process flow testing for future seed species
detailed project management to integrate many equipment solutions and meet project timeline
six-month construction schedule