Premises and equipment for hydrothermal treatment
Premises and equipment for hydrothermal treatment
AREA.
When the enterprise capacity is 2-4 tons of mushrooms per month, it requires more than 70 m2 of overall area. 30 m2 is needed for the “dirty zone” and 40 m2 for “clean zone”. When growing more mushrooms, dirty zone area should be increased up to 40-50 m2.
Dirty area has a room with tanks for hydrothermal treatment, as well as the room where polypropylene bags will be placed for cooling. This room should be enclosed, clean and it should have two access points – one for the “dirty” and one for the “clean” area. Inoculation takes place in a clean area. Hand packing or vibrating tables are used for the production of mushroom blocks. Material feedstock may be located either in proximity to the dirty zone or at some distance (the second option is preferable in terms of microbiological and fire safety) Raw materials should be clean and dry. When humidity exceeds 17% in the straw and husks begin to develop microorganisms which often leads to self-heating of raw material and the appearance of rotten smell. Such raw material is unsuitable for later use, as it can be a source of spoilage even after proper heat treatment.
EQUIPMENT.
Iron tank’s price: price of metal parts + welding works.
Please note that in the tanks of more than 5 cubic meters in volume it is not possible to fully ensure proper and uniform substrate heating. So, when you grow 5-8 tons of mushrooms per month the number of tanks (not the tank volume) should be increased – two or three tanks depending on the enterprise cycles (workers and technical resources). Also you will need water storage tank – it is also possible to use it to preheat water befor hydrothermal treatment.
When using straw – you will need a straw chopper (its cost starts from 50,000 RUB or around 860 USD).