World Grain - August 2020 - 49

ADVERTORIAL

GRAIN
DOWN
THE
DRAIN

HUGE SUMS are lost annually
due to grain damaged by moisture
during transportation. In addition
to the direct costs of these
damages, the claims they lead to
are lengthy and costly. As food
loss is already a public concern
and a target for the United
Nations Sustainable Development
Goals (Target 12.3), this is a
pressing issue. The burden for the
environment makes it even more
urgent.
The demand for grain will
increase over the coming years.
Asia will stand for the lion's share
of this increased need, but the
grain will be cultivated elsewhere.
To solve the equation, a boost in
grain transportation will follow
the rising demand for grains.
Containers are one of the most
common ways to transport grains
overseas. The conditions during
these shipments are harsh,
especially so for grains, leading to
many discarded shipments.

Moisture is the main
culprit
An empty shipping container
contains several liters of water,
because of the water in the air.
It's a threat to the grains, as the
water condensates as an effect
of temperature variations during
transportation. These variations
are due to different temperatures
during daytime opposed to
nighttime, and because of different
climate zones.

Insect infestations, mold and
changes in the taste and smell of
the crops are the most common
effects of the moisture. This is a
common problem that no-one
knows the cost of, but estimated
to amount to substantial values.
Other negative effects these
damages lead to are excess use
of water, nutrients, soil loss, fuel,
and other limited resources.
These effects are a huge and
unnecessary burden for the
environment.

Easily avoided
Installing desiccants in the
container carrying the grains
effectively protects the grains
from moisture damages. The
leading moisture damage
prevention company Absortech
uses a mix of calcium chloride
and starch in their desiccants.
The product is an extremely
potent desiccant that is fast to
install and cheaper than other
alternatives in the market.
"The cost of protecting a
single container is normally
less than 100 USD. A small
amount compared to the potential
losses companies face if they don't
protect their cargo at all", says Ted
Rotkirch, Global Segment Leader
for the Agricultural Sector at
Absortech.
Absortech is a Swedish
based company with over 20
years of experience preventing

moisture damages in logistics.
The efficiency of their moisture
damage prevention is good news
for the planet.

A special mix
"Our desiccants are made of
94% calcium chloride mixed with
a starch to bind the moisture into
a gel. Our mix absorbs about 10
times the amount of moisture
that silica gel or clay absorbs", Ted
says. "This means that a company
currently using 60 kg of clay,
need only 6 kg of our desiccants.
Installation time and costs will
be lower because there will be
less desiccants to install, but it
also translates into a reduction of
plastic used."

agents. Using Absortech'
desiccants instead of clay leads
to a 60-80% decrease in plastic
needed to protect the same
amount of grain. If a company
ships 5 000 containers a year, a
shift to Absortech from clay would
mean a decrease in plastic used
equivalent to 250 000 (500 ml)
PET bottles.
If more companies decide
to go with modern desiccant
solutions like these, they will
save both money and the
environment. It will also contribute
to the achievement of the United
Nations Sustainable Development
Goals.
Absortech Group offers a full
moisture damage prevention
concept called Peace of Moisture
Mind®. They deliver in house
produced desiccants and offer a
variety of services like audits,
ﬁeld validation tests and
global supply chain solutions.
Their product range, called
AbsorRange™, contains diverse
installation options to place the
container moisture absorbers to
adapt to the diverse ways to pack
agricultural commodities and load
them into shipping containers.

The use of desiccants during
transport keeps the moisture in
harmless levels for the grain.
And here is a big plus for the
environment, because plastic is
used to contain the absorbing

Visit absortech.com
for more information.
http://www.absortech.com
World Grain - August 2020

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