Removal of Ergot from Barley by Density Separation

Abstract

<p>A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the feasibility of density separation for reducing ergot contamination in barley. Four 1.1-m3 (30-bu) lots of contaminated barley were conditioned with an air-screen cleaner followed by density separator. Samples were collected before and after conditioning with each machine. The amount of ergot in collected samples was determined separating and weighing the ergot and calculating the percentage by weight. The ergot contamination level was significantly reduced from 0.52%, 0.16%, 0.10%, and 0.12% to 0.02%, 0.01%, 0.02%, and 0.01%, respectively, for the four contaminated lots near the conditioning operations. An economic analysis indicated that it was advantageous to clean barley and use it as an animal feed rather than to sell it at salvage value.</p>