ECOFRIENDLY – USE OF BIOMASS

The efficient use of the planet's fossil hydrocarbon resources and the application of eco-friendly technologies are the current global trends

The largest exhibition Agritechnica shows the best developments and outlines the current areas and trends in the development of agricultural machinery. According to Yurii Fareniuk, the director of TEFF, Ukrainian elevator manufacturers offer the most innovative developments, which break the stereotypes and, at the same time, correspond to the modern trends.

- Held for the first time since 2019, Agritechnica-2023 is as large and impressive as ever. It presents all the latest products of companies from all over the world. Compared to 2019, the number of Ukrainian manufacturers participating in the exhibition has increased many times over. And that's despite the fact that our country is in a state of war. The Ukrainian stand was represented by 16 companies. In addition, such Ukrainian manufacturers as Kobzarenko Factory, Lubnymash, Zernova Stolytsia, Khorol, OLIS, etc. had their own stands. The presence of Chinese companies has also increased.
Agritechnica-2023 demonstrated a growing trend in the popularity of eco-friendly technologies. The exhibition featured tractor equipment powered by renewable energy sources such as hydrogen and electricity. Our company also participated in this trend.

- What equipment was presented by TEFF at Agritechnica-2023?

- We presented heat generating units for grain dryers and steam boilers for technological purposes. These units were developed in cooperation with manufacturing companies. Both dryers and steam boilers use renewable and non-fossil biomass as fuel, which is an excellent alternative to gas and other hydrocarbons. The interest in our products is very high. This is a European trend, but our 5kW+ units are a novelty in Europe. Because farmers there do not have large acreages, they do not need high-capacity dryers. However, we showed them that more than 70 European-made dryers are successfully operating on TEFF generators in Ukraine.
We also presented the development of the control system of our units. This means full automation and compliance with the technologies our customers require. Our system fully meets the control requirements of dryers manufactured both in Ukraine and abroad.

- What know-how did the company present?

- We presented our new steam boilers with a capacity of 20-30 tons per hour, and also demonstrated new fourth-generation generators with heat exchangers that allow grain to be dried with clean air. These are unconventional plate heat exchangers that work with our biomass-fueled generators.
The plates significantly increase the heat exchange surface area, reducing manufacturing costs, weight, etc. They are up to 40% lighter than traditional heat exchangers, such as tubular heat exchangers.

- Eco-friendliness is a global trend. Tell us: How does TEFF equipment contribute to the environment?

- Our equipment burns biomass that has already consumed carbohydrates from the atmosphere. When burned, the same amount of carbohydrate is released into the environment. This means that we do not disturb the balance of carbohydrates in the environment. To ensure complete oxidation of all hazardous chemical compounds containing carbon and nitrogen, which can pose a threat to the grain and the environment, our equipment provides a combustion temperature of up to 1000 degrees. In addition, our solutions not only reduce carbon emissions, but also significantly reduce the energy component of drying costs. After all, 7 million tons of biomass can be used as a substitute for 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

- The equipment of your company works in all regions of Ukraine. What are the markets that TEFF is currently entering?

- Compared to the last year, the number of orders for our equipment have increased. This is due to the focus on domestic production. Since eco-friendliness has become a greater motivation, we are now active in the European direction and have reached some preliminary agreements that are now in the process of being signed.
Our ideology is to locate our manufacturing facilities in countries where the sales volume allows it. Kazakhstan is such a territorial center for us, with the further prospect of exporting our products to the Central Asian countries. We are already fulfilling our third contract for large oil production facilities in this country.
Previously, they had used biomass combustion technologies, but they were much less efficient and environmentally friendly. Now the company has ordered more efficient equipment from us with minimal environmental impact. They even received funding from a special loan program for companies using eco-friendly technologies. Therefore, the eco-friendly trend is also present in Kazakhstan and we are spreading it everywhere.
The steam boilers for the plants were manufactured in Kazakhstan in accordance with our technological requirements and solutions, which are manufactured in Ukraine and then exported to this country. And from there we focus on the countries of Central Asia. We maintain the production of technical and technological solutions in Ukraine, and the entire management system for the technologies we produce there is manufactured in Ukraine and exported to Kazakhstan.

- How often do you modernize existing equipment models?

-We do it all the time, there is no other way. In fact, every single order during the month takes into account the innovations that we have and that we can use, based on the experience of previous facilities. After all, all of our developments are automated and, if the client allows it, we can actually see them online. In addition, we receive ongoing reports from our facilities and promptly implement any improvements requested by the operator.

- The participants of the Agritechnica-2023 exhibition recognize that the Ukrainian manufacturers are at a very high level in terms of technological and design solutions.

- It seems to me that we, the Ukrainians, are considered adventurous. It's because of our determination and willingness to develop innovative components. When gas prices rose sharply in 2013-2014, Ukraine was developing technologies to use its own fuel to meet heat needs without the use of expensive natural gas in order to keep grain drying costs down. We took an unusual path and broke stereotypes. In Europe, they are comfortable with fluctuating natural gas prices and are not looking for other solutions. We, on the other hand, saw the economic viability of alternative fuel sources, paying attention to stereotypes. And this is a sustainable trend in Ukraine. Our motto is: We may not break the laws of physics, but we do break stereotypes. And so far, we have been very successful at that.