Chillcuring is a grain

GRAIN

GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...

 ventilating process, especially of fresh-harvested shelled corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

.

Process

As described in inventions of Sylvester L. Steffen, chillcuring is an electrical ventilating process that facilitates the photoelectric after-ripening of bulk stored seeds

SEEDS

SEEDS is a voluntary organisation registered under the Societies Act of India....

. The ventilation

Ventilation (architecture)

Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...

 process is controlled by monitoring the wet-bulb temperature

Wet-bulb temperature

The wet-bulb temperature is a type of temperature measurement that reflects the physical properties of a system with a mixture of a gas and a vapor, usually air and water vapor. Wet bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached by the evaporation of water only. It is the...

 of air around the grain (as measured by evaporative cooling), by which the grain is brought to equilibrium moisture and temperature with atmospheric air. Seed dormancy

Seed dormancy

Seed dormancy is a condition of plant seeds that prevents germination when the seeds are under optimal environmental conditions for germination. Living, non dormant seeds germinate when soil temperatures and moisture conditions are suited for cellular processes and division; dormant seeds do...

 is better maintained at cooler (chill) atmospheric temperatures, and grain weight and seed vigor are better preserved. The after-ripening of seeds is a biochemical process of carbohydrate

Carbohydrate

A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...

/protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 stabilization associated with the chemical release of water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 (H:OH), a reverse process of hydrolysis

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...

. The triatomic molecules of water and carbon dioxide are especially reactive in attenuating infrared light-spectrum waves, which provides energy necessary in photosynthesis and (curing) after-ripening. Infrared electrical heat is supplied by “grainlamps” so as to energize water vapor in the air under high humidity conditions.

History

The Steffen Patents were at issue in federal lawsuits in Minnesota, Indiana and Iowa. The validity of the Steffen Process Patents was upheld. The chillcuring process was marketed from the 1960s into the late 1990s by Harvestall Industries, Inc., an agribusiness of the former and now deceased Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, Vincent B. Steffen.