In-line moisture control in Alfalfa bales
The moisture content is a crucial quality parameter for most dehydrated forage products. Learn how Alfalfa Monegros detects wet spots in their bales and increase their product quality.
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Background
The moisture content is a crucial quality parameter for most dehydrated forage products and yet quite difficult to control – both during the drying process and in the finished products.
Alfalfa Monegros SL is one of the leading and progressive forage dehydration plants in Spain that has great focus on the quality of its products. The plant in Huesca runs the whole year producing baled and pelleted forage products, mainly for export markets.
Case description
In 2015, the company invested in DSE4101 in-line Moisture Meter for their stationary bale press, in order to address the moisture issue in the bale production.
The Moisture Meter was calibrated by the DSE engineers, according to the customer specification, while local technicians made the on-site installation.
Customer testimonial
Mr Luis Manuel Bescos General Manager - Alfalfa Monegros SL
“The Moisture Meter from DSE benefits our production in several ways. First of all, our operators can monitor the average moisture content in every single bale in a real time setting. This means we can sort apart the wet bales right after production and avoid putting them in storage. This is especially important for the bales that are exported in containers, as lacking ventilation can cause mould. The wet bales can then go back in to the dryer, so we eliminate waste.”
“We have connected the Moisture Meter to a monitor inside the operating room, where we monitor the measurements. Any sudden changes in the measurements help us identifying the wet spots in the bales. When we experience repeatedly high moisture measurements in bales, we can use that information to adjust our dryer and control our production process more efficiently.
The in-line moisture meter is a practical and effective way to get an overview of the production and product quality, compared to the hand-held probe or the oven. We would have to poke the bale an endless number of times using the probe in order to analyse same amount of material, as we do with the DSE Moisture Meter.
The system runs very stable and provides important data that we store for documentation. At any time, we can provide our customers with exact information about the product quality and ensure traceability.
DSE4101 Facts:
- High accuracy +/- 1% relative moisture
- Non-contact microwave technology
- Fully automated in-line application
- Representative sample quantities
- Hay, straw, energy grasses, cotton
Download the case here
