September 25, 2018

Bühler launches digital service MoisturePro for optimal food and feed drying
 
 

At Microsoft Ignite, Bühler has officially launched MoisturePro™, a cloud-based digital service that drives significant improvements in yield and reduces energy costs and the environmental footprint of thermal processing within the food and feed industry.

Harnessing the power of cloud connectivity, the service can deliver a return on investment of US$300,000, translating to an annual energy saving of US$20,000. MoisturePro is just one of a suite of digital services available on Bühler Insights. Built on Microsoft's Azure, Bühler Insights is one of the first cloud platform for the food and feed processing industries.
 
With MoisturePro™, Bühler introduces a new level of customer-partnership that can drive significant efficiency and sustainability improvements in food and feed processing. Following an initial phase of testing and successful implementation with customers in the US, MoisturePro is now a reliable and proven service, according to the company.

"Leveraging the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technology, we can make our expertise available to our customers at every stage of the drying process and drive real change," said Paul McKeithan, Bühler's head of digital services.

The food and feed industries face the challenge of consistently achieving the precise level of moisture control for their products in order to meet requirements. In response to these needs, MoisturePro uses Microsoft's Azure IoT cloud platform technologies to build an intelligent drying solution with real-time, continuous moisture management."

As the product is discharged through a chute, data from moisture sensors is relayed to the dryer control software. Control algorithms, developed with the benefit of Bühler's extensive process knowledge, immediately and continuously adjust production parameters, so that the optimum moisture content is achieved and maintained throughout while ensuring food and feed safety. Real-time data and dynamic reporting show meaningful correlations that support decision making.

A significant improvement on the traditional method of manual sampling and adjusting, MoisturePro reduces moisture deviation, improves dryer yield and reduces dryer energy consumption. In an industry where margins are tight and even a small percentage gain can increase profitability, a net increase of 1% in moisture gain in final product water content represents a return on investment of US$300,000 a year for a typical feed dryer operation. This translates to an annual energy saving of US$20,000.

MoisturePro makes a tangible difference both to the business's bottom line and its environmental footprint. Food production is the most underestimated factor in climate change, responsible for a third of the world's energy consumption. Therefore, Bühler's goal is to build sustainable food value chains, reduce 30% of waste and 30% of energy in the processes of their customers by 2020. Digital technologies and services such as MoisturePro are a game changer in striving to achieve these goals.

"The use of digital technologies has revolutionised food and feed processing. These changes have driven huge improvements in quality and efficiency," said McKeithan. "Now, we are leveraging connectivity to drive the next revolution. With MoisturePro, our expertise is available on an ongoing, real-time basis to our customers, so that we can proactively help to create and sustain improvements. It's a true partnership."