-By Ayşe Nur Akpınar, PhD., Bastak Instruments, Türkiye.
Cereals and cereal products, which are the staple food of mankind, have been the source of farmers, millers, feed, food industry, trade, science, and consumers worldwide for thousands of years.
The most important stages in determining the quality of Grain and Grain Products are to sample in accordance with the standards, prepare the sample as stipulated by the specifications, prepare the minimum amount determined by the regulations to be sent to the laboratory for the first analysis, and finally analyze it accordingly.
While dry cereal grains with low moisture content generally show little change during normal storage, some negative changes are observed with the increase in moisture content and temperature of the grains. Under inappropriate storage conditions, many adverse conditions such as browning, mold, germination, rotting, seizing, burning, rancidity, and alcohol odor formation occur due to these changes and as a result, serious economic losses occur.
A part of the mass taken from the piles of grain and grain products to determine any property of the pile and subjected to various chemical, physical and biological analyses is called a sample. Representative sample; The sample that covers the result obtained as a result of the analysis of a sample is the representative sample of the stack.
In order to carefully examine the physical and chemical changes occurring in the storage process of cereals and to take the necessary measures quickly against possible negative changes, samples are taken from the stacks of cereals and cereal products at certain periods to represent the entire sample mass and the physical, chemical and biological properties of these samples are examined, and time and ground are created for taking the necessary measures by detecting the problems occurring in the storage of cereals before they occur or at the initial stage. Otherwise, in the late detection of problems to be seen in grain samples, the complete disposal of the grain pile, production inputs, time, labor and energy consumption are seen.
The sampling of granular products such as cereals, cereals, oil seeds, and pulses differs and probes are generally used for granular materials in sampling processes.
Sampling systems known in the literature and used in industry are hand probes, horizontal probes, and vertical probes. In horizontal probe systems, the mouth of the probe is inserted into the load with the probe pointing towards the bottom, rotated 180°, and slowly withdrawn to collect a single sample from the entire cross-section. To ensure that the sample is representative, the granular element in each sample batch is collected from three different heights (upper, middle, and lower levels) and different points. In the case of vertical probes, three different methods of sampling are possible.
a) It is a method of sampling from a single chamber with a single or double pipe system with only pulling (vacuum) or pulling (vacuum) + pushing (blowing) method starting from the sample surface until it reaches the bottom of the vehicle body or from the vehicle body to the vehicle surface.
b) When the specially designed probe patented by Bastak Company with at least 8 or more sampling chambers on the sample probe reaches the required depth, the sample chambers are opened and the sample is filled into the probe from the chambers and then the chambers are closed by rotating the movable inner chamber. When the probe is taken out of the vehicle, the vacuum process is started and the sampling process is carried out.
c) It is a single chamber sampling method (generally used in mines such as fertilizer, coal, etc.) with a single pipe system with a single spiral method starting from the sample surface until it reaches the bottom of the vehicle body or from the vehicle body to the vehicle surface.
In addition to this; the manual sampling method can also be used for taking samples from large piles such as wagons, trucks, and lorries. In the manual sampling method, the personnel stand on the granular pile and take the sample manually with brass or aluminum long rods, which are defined as hand probes, ranging from 1-2 m in length. However, there are some problems in this case; the main one is that the sample cannot be taken correctly due to the sloppy work of the sampling personnel. In this case, if the sample does not represent the main bulk sample correctly, no matter how accurate the subsequent physical and chemical analyses are, the result obtained is incorrect. Analyzing with a sample that does not have the correct representation can give false information about the quality of the granular product and in this case, it can cause great economic losses to the company that purchases the powder and granular product. In the manual sampling process, occupational safety problems occur during sampling. At the beginning of this, during sampling from the pile, the risk of falling the personnel climbing on the pile, in the case of sampling from each wagon, climbing up to the wagon, taking the sample, going back down, transporting it to the laboratory requires extra time and manpower. The maximum length of the hand probe is 2 meters and the stack height is much higher. Therefore, it is not possible to take samples from the bottom points with a hand probe. In addition, it is not possible to take accurate and homogenous samples in very cold hot, and rainy weather.
Fixed sampling systems used and known in the literature and industry do not take samples that are representative of the sample, but with the sampling device models mentioned above, it is possible to take real samples representing the product in the desired amount, in the desired regions and the desired number from each layer of the products with probes determined according to the product characteristics.
As a result of analyzing a sample that does not have the correct representation, incorrect information about the quality of powder and granular products is obtained. In this case, the company that purchases the product in the construction, mining, oilseed, oilseed, legume, grain, and grain industries can suffer great economic losses.
With the 10500 model portable sampling device, with the help of survey companies, especially in the lodges on the ships, all grain, oilseed, and legume trade is directed worldwide by taking samples in the desired quantity and quality.
Bastak Brand 10000, 10100, 10200, and 10500 model sampling probes with grains such as wheat, barley, paddy, rye, and oats as well as heavy products such as corn, beans, and chickpeas with 10300 model coal probe and 10350 model fertilizer probe from trucks, ships, lorries and wagons with the mobility of sampling probes unlike existing devices in the industry; With the R&D studies carried out in Türkiye's first and only R&D center under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Türkiye, 6 different model sampling systems have been configured to move on different lines at 240-360°C angles. Again, Bastak R&D Centre has patented a device that can take samples from multiple sampling chambers. The patented sampling device is the first and only device in the World with its features. Bastak Brand robotic sampling systems include at least one first gear in order to provide freedom of rotation between the upper body and the said lower body and at least one worm gear configured to rotate around itself by associating with the said first gear and the arm is rotated with maximum effect around the movement mechanism by rotating the upper body back to the lower body.
The 10000, 10000, 10100, 10200, 10200, 10300, 10350, and 10500 model sampling probes have a joystick arm configuration that can be extended and shortened, allowing sampling to be performed at different distances. Thanks to the remote control feature of the sampling probes, sampling is performed automatically by giving up, down, right, left, forward, and backward commands from a distance of 40 meters.
It provides 6 (up, down, forward, backward, right, left) remote control functions at the same time, performs movements with pistons with a power of 2 tonnes, activates security measures when it touches the search box, and has a new generation probe system, has a total scanning capacity of 9.7 meters, can take representative samples from 6 different points in 40 seconds, and can take representative samples from 6 different points in a single vacuum with its powerful hydraulic system, Bastak Brand sampling probes with 0.4-1 kilograms sampling capacity and 100% representative sampling are manufactured at world standards in Bastak Factory, which is a member of IAOM, AACC in the USA, ICC in Europe, DESMUD in Türkiye and have ICC, ISO, CE, Bipea, FSSC, US and European Utility Models and Patents, Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK) Accredited Laboratory, TSE Service Competence Certificate.
Bastak Instruments has become an indispensable part of the fertilizer, construction, chemical, legume, oilseed, grain, and cereal products industries with more than 900 sampling probes in operation in Türkiye and all over the world. Our company, which produces 72 quality control devices, robotic sampling systems, and 35 types of flour additives, continues to invest especially in legume, oilseed, grain, cereal products, and world milling.
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