JNIRS Biodiesel Paper Featured by USDA ARS
Submitted by ianm on 20 September 2012 - 5:30pm
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have featured a paper published in JNIRS—Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy in the September 2012 issue of their Agricultural Research magazine.
Dan Long from the ARS is studying how to use remote sensing tools to quickly assess seed oil quality and quantity before and after harvest. He believes that NIR sensors could be installed in seed crushing facilities to rapidly and continuously measure the oil content of clean seeds flowing into the expeller, where they are crushed to obtain the oil. Using NIR to monitor extraction efficiency might enable workers to adjust the choke setting on the expeller to compensate for oil loss in meal.
This would boost profits associated with seed processing, and lower the costs of the oil feedstock that is converted into fuel. NIR measurements might also help reduce the number of acres needed for oilseed feedstock production by maximizing seed oil extraction rates in the seed crushing facilities.
