Miller Magazine Issue 108 / December 2018

58 MILLER / DECEMBER 2018 COVER STORY for protein in semolina is a NIR Transmission analyser. In Line NIR Measurements in the Flour Milling Industry NIR technology lends itself to in line measurements due to the ruggedness of the hardware and the fact that analysers can operate unattended for long periods with little or no need for maintenance. There are many loca- tions within a flour mill to place NIR In Line analysers, i.e., incoming grain, tempering, milling streams and final products. Typically protein and moisture are the major parameters measured in line, however other quality and physical parameters can also be measured. Figure 6 shows an example of an in line NIR analyser installed in an Aust- ralian flour mill to monitor the protein and moisture in wheat as it is received into the plant. Figure 7. Shows the trend plot of Moisture as measured by the in line NIR analyser as compared to the laboratory NIR analyser. Discussion: The use of NIR in the flour milling industry is well es- tablished. The benefits of NIR over traditional testing procedures lie in the speed of analysis, the simplicity, the ease of operation and the ability to measure several com- ponents simultaneously. Figure 4. NIR Calibration Plot for Starch Damage in Flour. Figure 5. NIR Calibration Plot for Protein in Semolina Figure 7. Trend Plot for Moisture in Whole Wheat Figure 6. NIR In Line Analyser installed in an Australian flour mill