Modern Engineering recently completed a rice seed storage facility for RiceGrowers Co-operative Limited at Whitton, NSW.

The facility comprises 3 x 800 T (equivalent to 1,000 tonne wheat) silos, complete with gantry walkways and conveyor supports. The company's scope included all engineering design for the footings, silos and gantry.

The silos are sealed gastight and feature the "Kotzur" patented plenum aeration cone. The aeration system, whilst not installed with fans at this stage, allows for the future storage and drying of high-moisture rice. Aeration flow rates up to 6,000 litres per second have been accommodated in the design.

RiceGrowers plan to use the silos to store rice seed at harvest for distribution to growers at the following planting. To ensure seed integrity, "clean design" requirements had to be met in the silo design.