Renewable Energy for Food Processing

Description

Renewable energy has arrived. In matter of a decade, it has grown from a fringe player to a mainstream actor in the energy sector. In the past ten years, installation of renewable energy for electricity has grown at an annual rate of 25 per cent. Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Reaching from home cooking to grinding grain and further complex industrial methods, food processing involves a broad variety of processes to produce convenience foods. This solar-powered oil press allows offgrid oil extraction of sesame seed. Being a counter-seasonal crop that requires little fertilizer or pesticide inputs, sesame grows under harsh weather conditions and can promise higher income when processed appropriately. Designed by the University of Hohenheim, the solar-powered oil press for sesame seed includes a solar panel connected to a control unit which calculates the optimal operational setting dependent on seed moisture content and the current weather conditions, increasing its energetic efficiency. Globally, the agri-food value chain consumes 30 percent of the world's available energy. Energy is needed in the production of crops, fish, livestock and forestry products, food storage and processing, food transport and distribution and, of course, in food preparation. The book is a treasure of all relevant informations regarding natural resources especially renewable resources and bio-energy concept in rural context along with the eco-friendly, energy production and utilization.