Did you celebrate National Shower with a Friend Day last Month? Before you start to think that this blog has gotten NSFW (not safe for work), let us explain. The cheeky National Shower with a Friend Day was born out of a marketing strategy by a water filtration company in 2014. The goal: educate people... Continue Reading →
Choose your Adventure: Taking NIR from the bench to production
This editorial on NIR calibration transfer from benchtop to production was submitted by Mark Sullivan, a Senior NIR Applications Specialist for BUCHI North America. Not long after many new users become accustomed to the speed and convenience of laboratory NIR over conventional techniques, it dawns on them that this technology is inherently suited for use... Continue Reading →
NIR as a tool for real-time quality determination of Distiller’s Dried Grains
In a prior blog, we shared how NIR online sensors could be used to optimize biofuel processes, starting at the farm, through fuel processing, and into feed applications. In this post we take a closer look at how NIR can be used as a measurement tool for a valuable co-product of the biofuel industry: distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Most ethanol plants in the United States are dry-grind facilities, which use starch... Continue Reading →
From the Field to Fuel to Food: On-line Process Control of Grain, Biofuel and Co-Products
Summer is coming to a close, and the once plentiful corn stands that dotted country roads and even well-traversed city highways are beginning to dwindle down in number (replaced by donut stands, thankfully). Despite countless summer BBQs tugging on the supply chain at peak season, the vast landscape of cornfields in the Midwest (and beyond)... Continue Reading →
NIR vs. Kjeldahl
Protein is a critical parameter across the food, beverage, and feed industries. However, the best solution for obtaining protein varies across the production cycle. In this blog, we propose Kjeldahl and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy methods for protein determination, with arguments for which technology is the best fit based on factors such as: Application scope Variation... Continue Reading →
BUCHI and CEMSI: Partners in Integration
A rapidly rising consumer food company needed NIR technology to quickly test final product quality in their pilot plant R&D facility. The R&D team wanted an NIR to provide non-contact, process control measurements of food products passing rapidly by on a conveyor belt. However, being a pilot facility, they desired adjustable and temporary mounting approaches... Continue Reading →
Fall is Doughnut Season (add an NIR for the perfect Baker’s Dozen)
In the northeast, fall ushers in crisp, cool air, vibrantly colored leaves... and doughnut season. Perfectly glazed Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Whether you're getting your round, deep-fried cake from roadside from the Pennsylvania Amish or from a commercial bakery, quality is key. Krispy Kreme has been serving up delicious doughnuts for generations in the USA and... Continue Reading →
Things are really getting cheesy at BUCHI.
When prodded, I suppose many at BUCHI would agree that some of the cheesiest members of the team belong to the NIR group. Maybe that's something to be proud of! More cheese, please! Cheese is delicious, after all. With a global market of around $100 Billion USD, I think there is a general agreement on... Continue Reading →
Quality is Going to the Dogs.
Don't worry, it's a good thing. This week, BUCHI Product and Application Specialists mingled with pet food suppliers and manufacturers at the Petfood Forum 2019 in Kansas City, MO. Some key topics on deck for event speakers include nutrition, labeling, product development, safety and manufacturing. Did you know BUCHI has its paws in the formulation,... Continue Reading →
Chemical Industry QC with NIR
Read this post, or watch the webinar instead! Quality control for many labs involves a heavy dose of wet chemistry methods, things like titration and separation techniques that take skill, time and (even more) chemicals to execute. Luckily, some of these traditional testing methods can be replaced by simple, fast and safe NIR spectroscopy. While... Continue Reading →