INFORM April 2026

28 INFORM APRIL 2026 , VOL. 37, NO. 4

using electromagnetic waves. Energy is deposited throughout the product mass rather than transferred from hot surfaces, reducing the risk of localized overheating. In Agrifirm’s application, soy and canola meal was heated to approximately 130 °C. This temperature achieves microbial reduction while limiting thermal stress on proteins. The approach also supports Agrifirm’s Greenwave rumen bypass protein technology, which is designed to preserve nutritional functionality during treatment. While radio frequency treatment addressed the regulatory requirement to eliminate chemical additives, it also introduced additional thermal demands. Meal entering the system had to be preheated to ensure stable, reproducible operation. After treatment, the product was cooled to allow safe handling, storage, and transport. These stages account for a significant portion of the process’s overall energy balance. MEAL PROCESSING In many oilseed processing facilities, heating and cooling are treated as independent functions. Energy is added where required and removed where necessary, often with little consideration for how these steps might be linked. ENERGY USE IN CONVENTIONAL

In solid-based processes, this approach can lead to substantial energy loss. Hot meal exiting a thermal treatment step contains a large amount of recoverable energy. In conventional systems, this energy is removed during cooling and disposed to the environment. At the same time, upstream steps may require fresh energy input to raise the temperature of the incoming product. Recognizing this disconnect, Agrifirm conducted an internal assessment of energy use across the proposed process. Energy recovery between outgoing and incoming products emerged as the most promising opportunity for improvement. Capturing energy from hot solids and reusing it for preheating offered a way to reduce primary energy demand without compromising product quality or safety. TECHNOLOGY SELECTION AND THE ROLE OF MOVING BED HEAT EXCHANGERS Recovering energy from solids requires equipment capable of handling variable flow, and accommodating changing material properties. Solex Thermal Science was selected as the technology partner based on its experience with gravity-fed moving bed heat exchangers in oilseed processing.

Moving-bed heat exchangers use pillow-plate, heat-transfer surfaces arranged to allow solids to flow downward under gravity. This configuration minimizes mechanical handling while providing stable and uniform heat transfer. Solex systems are widely used in rapeseed and soybean applications, including heating and cooling of cake and meal at temperatures up to 130 °C. A key element of the Agrifirm project was the ability to validate the concept through pilot testing. Working with hot solids introduces challenges that are difficult to predict through calculation alone, making on-site testing an essential step in the design process. Pilot testing was conducted on-site in 2021 which confirmed and validated key design parameters for the solution. COOLING THROUGH ENERGY RECOVERY The final process design integrates moving bed heat exchangers at both the preheating and cooling stages. After radio frequency treatment, the hot meal enters a moving-bed cooler, where thermal energy is transferred from the solids to a circulating water loop. Rather than being discarded, this warm water becomes part of the energy source for a heat pump. The heat pump extracts energy from INTEGRATING HEATING AND