15 - 20 September 2019. Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Australia. At the 19th International NIR Spectroscopy Conference, the Casillo Group, in collaboration with Idea75 and Dr. Silvia Grassi of the University of Milan, presented the main results of its research published in the conference proceedings under the heading “Milling process automation: a process analytical approach by an IoT NIR device”.

In summary, the research starts from an awareness that quality control in the milling industry is of significant importance and that the established analytical practices in the sector do not meet modern production objectives, which can instead be satisfied by IoT and Industry 4.0 technologies.

Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is one of the predominant e-sensing technologies used in QbD (Quality by Design, a scientific and systematic approach for the development of product quality and its assurance through control along the entire production chain). Its success, however, has so far been limited to checking the raw material (wheat, ed.) and it has never been used to control and manage the entire grinding process.

The study conducted by Casillo Group, working with Idea75 and Dr. Silvia Grassi of the University of Milan, aims to bridge the gap between the established success of NIRS in cereal control and the as yet unachieved success at each stage of the production process.

Its results have demonstrated the positive aspects of implementing an IoT (Internet of Things) NIR device directly in the plant, which allows the main quality indices of wheat and flour to be estimated, making the control operations non-destructive, faster and considerably reducing the amount of resources wasted.

A further in-depth article on the premises of the study is available in the 19th July issue of the Molini d'Italia magazine.