Rape is an important oil crop with a wide range of uses. Harvested rapeseed must be cleaned and dried before processing. The process of drying rapeseed as a small-seeded crop has its own specifics. One of the new drying methods is the use of microwave radiation, the disadvantage of which is uneven heating of the product. The purpose of this work was to study the modes of drying rapeseed by electromagnetic radiation in the ultra-high frequency range in combination with filtration. The indicators of the intensity of oilseed drying by infrared irradiation on the experimental stand were determined. The analysis of the conducted studies showed that the temperature of seeds at the maximum microwave power rises in general 1.5 to 1.8 times faster than at half the power. The higher the seed moisture content is, the higher the rate of temperature increase. After each blowing cycle, which lasted for five seconds, the temperature of the rapeseeds was set higher than the previous temperature, and after increasing the blowing time up to fifteen seconds, the temperature decreased by 8–12°C and cyclically stabilized. The applications of microwave drying represented in the paper are environmentally friendly, since the seeds do not come into direct contact with the products of gas combustion, which deteriorate its quality due to the possible penetration of carcinogenic components into the products. Experimental data was taken into account when developing the design of a small-sized grain dryer for farms, in which the drying process takes place without heating the air as a heat carrier.

Diesel generator engines operate in wide load modes; therefore, it is necessary to change the percentage of the mixture of diesel and biodiesel fuel depending on the operating mode of the engine; this ensures its technical performance at the required level in all operating modes, including starting and stopping the engine. This article describes an algorithm for the operation of a diesel generator and an algorithm for determining the composition of the fuel mixture. During the study, the ratio between the components of the mixture changed, taking into account the load modes of operation of the diesel generator, indicators of fuel supply and the formulation of the fuel mixture to ensure optimal values of technical and economic indicators. To assess the efficiency of the flow of working processes in a diesel cylinder, their duration was selected, which is estimated by the duration of the processes of fuel injection, evaporation and combustion. Using the dynamic regulation of the composition of the diesel and biodiesel fuel, the total fuel consumption increased by 5.9%, but the cost of purchasing the fuel is reduced by 10% (at prices as of November 2021) and by 14.6% (based on prices as of the beginning of 2022) compared to engine operation with diesel fuel. This confirms the expediency of using the dynamic adjustment of the composition of the fuel mixture. In addition, even higher economic indicators can be achieved by using an autonomous power plant with a diesel power capacity higher than the generator capacity.

The article examines the environmental performance of a diesel generator that runs on a biofuel mixture. Biofuels are considered to be more environmentally friendly than traditional petroleum products and have become popular alternatives in the field of electricity production. To reduce dependence on petroleum fuels and decrease harmful exhaust-gas emissions from diesel generators, it is suggested to use biodiesel fuel and its mixture with diesel fuel. Various environmental indicators were measured and analyzed in this study, including the emissions of harmful substances, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates. By using biofuels, pollutant emissions are expected to be reduced because biofuels are made from renewable sources such as vegetable oils or biomass. The results of the study show that the use of a biofuel mixture in a diesel generator leads to a significant reduction in the emission of harmful substances compared to the use of traditional petroleum products. A reduction in the emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides was found, which contributes to a reduction of the impact on climate change and air pollution. In addition, a decrease in particle emissions was noted, which contributes to the improvement of air quality and people’s health. The goal was achieved by researching the impact of a mixture of diesel and biodiesel fuel on the technical, economic and environmental indicators of an autonomous diesel generator. The regulation of the composition of the fuel mixture ensured the preservation of the power of the generator in all its modes of operation, while reducing the cost of purchasing fuel by 10% and reducing the smokiness of exhaust gas by up to 57%, depending on the mode of operation of the diesel engine.