IMPACTOS TÉCNICOS E FINANCEIROS DA AUTOMAÇÃO A CAVACO NA SECAGEM DE SOJA

Abstract

The grain drying stage represents one of the major operational and financial bottlenecks in soybean post-harvest. Historically, the predominant energy matrix has been based on burning firewood logs with manual feeding, a process that presents thermodynamic limitations, high ergonomic risks, and a severe dependence on seasonal labor. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the technical and economic feasibility of replacing firewood with an automated wood chip system in a storage facility. The methodology was based on a comparative case study between the February 2025 and February 2026 harvests, which used firewood and wood chips, respectively. Data dispersion analysis was used to evaluate the thermal stability of the process, in addition to assessing the Technical Index per Dropped Moisture Point (ITpb - Índice Técnico por Ponto Baixado) for input consumption and the variation in operational costs (OPEX), consolidated through the Power BI tool. The results demonstrated that thermal automation stabilized the system, eliminating atypical operational failures caused by delays in manual feeding, which enabled a significant increase of 93.8% in the volume of processed soybeans. The thermodynamic performance, attested by the ITpb, proved an optimization in specific energy consumption, an advantage strategically leveraged by the complete elimination of the need to hire temporary workers (safristas) for furnace management. The operational scale gain, coupled with a substantial reduction in the payroll, resulted in a 46.8% decrease in the effective drying cost per grain unit (dropping from R$ 4.01 to R$ 2.13 per ton). It is concluded that the transition to wood chips transcends strict energy efficiency, configuring itself as a logistical modernization that ensures greater occupational safety and sustainable economic optimization for the agro-industry.