International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

In the paper, the current situation in the production of crop growing by-products in Ukraine is examined. The potential output of crop growing by-products in various regions of Ukraine, part of which could be allocated for energy production, is determined. The fuel properties of the main types of biomass are presented. The state-of-the-art approaches to the use of straw and plant residues in agriculture are analysed. The possible ways of utilising straw and plant residues in crop growing for maintaining and regenerating the fertility of soils, in livestock husbandry as bedding and a supplement to coarse fodders and in heat power industry as an energy source for the production of thermal power are established. The state-of-the-art technologies and machinery for the rational use of straw and plant residues are described. The need for additional research into what plant residues and what quantities of them can be reasonably used for the fertilisation of soils, taking into account the saturation of the crop rotation systems with cereal crops, the limitation of the phytopathogenic load on grain varieties, the development of weeds, the management of the soil’s nitrogen status under different soil and climate conditions.

There are considered contemporary trends in the improvement of the technological process for the preparation of sugar beet roots for digging out and directions of the development of the designs of the working tools for the removal of the tops. Analysis of contemporary machines has been carried out according to the indicators of their quality, energy consumption and efficiency of the technological process. Tasks have been determined for creating new working tools. It is noted that at the current stage of development of the beet top removing machines the efficiency and quality problems of the top separation process are solved by increasing the number of operations, which is an energy-consuming, material-intensive and costly way to improve the technological process and the working tools. And, as a consequence, it is necessary to look for technical solutions, technologically allowing operations required only for the preparation of the root crops to be harvested. Therefore, further research should be conducted in the direction of creating a working tool that combines good tracing of the heads by cleaners with low-energy intensity of the cutting tools.