Question

From a processors’ point of view, why is it important to know when the critical moisture content is reached?

Answer 1

Moisture content analysis is a critical component of material quality and used as a measure of quality control in laboratory and production facilities. Moisture content is the amount of water in a material or substance. Water content of a sample material is referred to as moisture content in the testing and evaluation process of moisture analysis.

The critical moisture content is the average material moisture content at which the drying rate begins to decline, that is, rate of drying or evaporation is less than rate at which moisture enters the substance or material.

Excessive or deficient moisture content of a substance can adversely impact the physical properties of a material, such as weight, amalgamation, electrical conductivity etc. The presence of moisture is unavoidable and also, a balanced moisture is necessary. Therefore, it is important to have some control parameters for processing. Knowing when the critical moisture content is reached, can help determine the shelf life of processed food, fabric choice in textile industry, the reactivity of chemical compounds in inventory, etc.

For example, various fabrics are studied to get the optimal choice for next-to-skin (soft, skin-friendly) fabric with hydrophilic and/or porous fiber to maintain a pleasant skin micro-climate on the basic of the time when the critical moisture content of the fabric is reached. This provides a well-ventilated fabric with different climate and metabolic (sweating) conditions.

Hence, knowing when the critical moisture content is reached is equivalent to success in in many commercial fields employing scientific operations.