In line NIR monitoring of grain in the flourmill

This feature first appeared in the April 2017 edition of Milling and Grain magazine

Flour milling requires control of the protein and moisture content of wheat. Traditionally, samples of wheat are collected from each truckload and decisions are made to segregate the wheat into low, medium and high protein silos. These grab samples do not necessarily reflect the protein variation within the truck or railcar loads. As such, a Manildra Flour Mill, Narrandera, NSW installed a CropScan 3000S In Line Whole Grain Analyser (fig 1 and 2) to measure protein and moisture in wheat at the in-take elevator of the mill.

A calibration was developed by collecting spectral data from daily intake loads over several weeks. Having a good range of samples with low to high protein and moisture values and different varieties helped to develop a robust calibration that predicts accurately in the future. To validate the CropScan 3000S, calibration for wheat samples from many weeks were compared to the flourmill’s laboratory NIR analyser. This study compares the protein and moisture in wheat as analysed by the CropScan 3000S In Line Whole Grain Analyser with the flourmills’ bench top NIR analyser.

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