Magyar
Metal contamination causes major problems in processing plants. Larger pieces of metal can damage the machines, and smaller pieces contaminate the finished product. The question may arise among buyers, how can metal get into the product? We describe how this is possible through the production of flour.
Production phases of flour:
1 Harvest
The wheat is harvested with combine harvesters, which have metal parts that wear out constantly and can often fall off the machine and into the storage. Any piece of metal can also be present on the surface of the soil, which can also be picked up by the machine and mixed into the wheat. The machine packs the wheat into a metal container, from which a lot of metal contamination can also get inside (rust, screws, iron dust,…)
2 Storage
Storage takes place in silos, where they are dried to the required level.
3 Arrival at the mill
The stored wheat is loaded into trucks and transported to the mills.
4 Preparation
- surface cleaning (intensive dry abrasion)
- conditioning (moisture content adjustment)
- relaxation
It goes through various machines that can be easily damaged by a large piece of metal and the large amount of wheat wears down the machine parts
5 Grinding
Wheat used to be ground on millstones, but today it is done with the help of metal rollers. During a lot of friction and wear, even the metal can give itself, small particles come off and move on with the ground wheat. Most of the old mills transport the product through metal pipes, which greatly contribute to the metal dust in the finished product.
6 Sieving
Sieving takes place on a large vibrating sieve. Separates flour grains of different sizes.
7 Dosing and packing flour
The final phase, where the flour is packed into bags with the help of automatic machines.
Metal contamination can enter the product in any of these phases. Whether it’s a loose screw, worn metal part, rust… We provide an effective solution for this!
Metal contamination is removed from the system using strong magnets. We usually recommend installing a metal separator at the front of the processor, which protects the machines, and one or more magnets right before the packaging.