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Milling operational efficiency compared via endosperm quantitative spectroscopic chemical imaging of 81,920 pixels
D. L. WETZEL (1), M. D. Boatwright (1). (1) Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, U.S.A.

Quantitation of endosperm in mixtures of solid materials (e.g. flour millstreams) of known flow rates enables calculation of both the purity and yield resulting from individual unit processes. As the operational parameters of key unit processes are adjusted individually or in concert, the summation expression: ∑ (% Endo<sub>1</sub>)(Wt<sub>1</sub>) + (% Endo<sub>2</sub>)(Wt<sub>2</sub>) + … (% Endo<sub>n</sub>)(Wt<sub>n</sub>) enables an objective measure of the impact of fine tuning by the attending operator in charge to maximize the yield of high value product. The pixel by pixel quantitative chemical imaging procedure described enables an array of 81,920 individual spectra that reveals the endosperm distribution in the selected field of view. Each resulting near infrared spectrum enables identification and estimation of the prevalent chemical species for that x, y coordinate of the image by a partial least squares data treatment. Mass balance of endosperm is subsequently reported for intermediate products of individual or successive unit processes using the summation expression described. The practical purpose is to demonstrate optimization of the physical process by objective measurement of the chemical composition of intermediate product streams. We introduced this method to the scientific community in <i>Applied Spectroscopy,</i> <i>Cereal Foods World, </i>and <i>International Miller</i> in 2009, 2011, and 2013, respectively. Various applications have included the optimization of purifier operation, comparison of first/second break roll gap settings based on endosperm yield, and the development of a cumulative endosperm curve for flour streams. Presently, we report the utility of this technique that has been recently applied to more than 20 individual sampling sites in a modified wheat milling operation preceded by debranning. Optimization and relative efficiency of this operation is revealed in this paper.

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