Simplify soya analysis in feed, avoiding the need for a lab, by using portable NIR technology.

In line with our philosophy of always looking ahead for innovative, practical and functional solutions, we are pleased to present a new service offered by AB Vista. Specifically, we’re talking about portable NIR technology and will explore the practical benefits of its use in the field.

What is NIR?

Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIR) technology is an analysis method that exploits certain physical properties of matter and in particular its interaction with infrared radiation. This interaction provides immediate and accurate information on the chemical composition of raw materials and the finished product.

NIR is now a commonly used technology, although previously it required to be located in a laboratory, that is not always within easy reach of the operator who wants to carry out analysis on his raw materials or feed. This forces one to collect the samples, send them to the laboratory and wait for feedback with the risk that, in order to speed up the process, far fewer samples are sent and the evaluation is far less reliable.

This article provides an in-depth look at the capabilities of portable NIR, an instrument that has now officially entered the range of services available to AB Vista customers.

Crude protein in soya-based feeds (n. = 20)

	Reference	Desktop	HHNIR	Chemical Analysis
Average	47,35	47,00	47,10	47,10
Min	45,22	45,17	46,31	44,87
Max	49,62	48,76	48,13	49,77
Standard Deviation	1,07	0,86	0,51	1,21
SEPc*	–	0,58	0,69	0,50

More advantages of portable NIR.

Traditionally, one thinks of NIR as a large instrument sat on a table in the lab. Although this is often still the case, in recent years the size of spectrometers has reduced to the point where they can now be carried out of the laboratory, e.g. in a feed mill or out in the fields.

In addition to being portable, these Hand-Held NIR (HHNIR) are also very simple and intuitive to use. NIR analysis can be integrated into many aspects of the feed production process:

• Receipt of raw materials: approval or rejection according to supplier standards, updating of formulations, separation of the same raw material into different silos according to nutritional profile.

• Grinding: ensuring uniform particle size.

• Mixing: calculating mixer efficiency by scanning a sample from the mixer.

• Loading: the analysis of finished feed.

Practical use of NIR to monitor the quality of incoming soya meal.

The portability of the NIR makes it usable in places other than the laboratory, e.g. at the entrance of the feed mill for raw material analysis. In the table below, a HHNIR was used to measure the crude protein content of incoming soybean meal; the results provided useful information for determining whether to accept or reject th e incoming load from the supplier.

The minimum acceptable crude protein level was 46.5%. All incoming loads were scanned with the HHNIR and samples with low crude protein levels, along with other randomly selected samples, were also analysed by chemical analysis to confirm the HHNIR results.

The results obtained by NIR.

The results of the NIR and chemical analysis are shown below, and samples with differing results between the NIR and the lab analysis are highlighted. Overall, all non conforming samples were identified and therefore rejected by the NIR. In other words, no ‘accept’ results were recorded by the NIR, when the chemical in-lab analysis gave a ‘reject’ result; demonstrating that NIR can be used as a reliable screening tool for crude protein content in soybean meal.

All but one of the discrepant results between the NIR and the reference were within a tolerable standard error of the reference method; in these cases, the sample can be quickly re-analysed by HHNIR to validate the NIR result, which is simpler, quicker and cheaper compared to a second chemical analysis at the lab.

Depending on the supplier, an NIR result may be sufficient as evidence to lodge a complaint about or reject the supply. Alternatively, samples that are rejected by NIR can be analysed by chemical analysis if further validation is required by the supplier.

This study shows that NIR can be used as a tool to make quick decisions as it defines the quality of ingredients, to assess the conformity of a supplier’s raw material and/or to allow it to be sorted into different silos.

NIR Result % Crude Protein	Wet chemistry Result % Crude Protein	NIR Result	Wet chemistry Result
46,27	46,80	Reject	Accept
47,83	48,50	Accept	Accept
47,64	49,00	Accept	Accept
45,90	44,87	Reject	Reject
46,10	46,43	Reject	Reject
46,16	46,59	Reject	Accept
46,03	46,71	Reject	Accept
45,37	46,45	Reject	Reject
46,45	47,29	Reject	Accept
46,88	47,59	Accept	Accept
46,36	48,13	Reject	Accept
47,34	49,77	Accept	Accept
46,48	47,10	Reject	Accept
46,68	47,80	Accept	Accept
46,49	45,50	Reject	Reject
45,99	46,50	Reject	Reject
46,05	46,90	Reject	Accept
46,67	48,20	Accept	Accept
46,36	45,80	Reject	Reject
46,43	46,10	Reject	Reject

A further benefit.

Another advantage of screening all incoming samples is the monitoring of incoming ingredients, which could highlight trends. For example, NIR allows for easy comparison between the quality of ingredients from different suppliers.

The table below shows ten samples of soybean meal from three different suppliers, with an expected crude protein content of more than 46.5%. It is evident that supplier B tends to provide a lower crude protein level. This information can be sent to the purchasing team, the raw materials can be sorted into different silos according to protein content, allowing for a more uniform finished feed, or alternatively, the raw material could be rejected directly at the point of receipt.

	Supplier A	Supplier B	Supplier C
	45,68	47,53	47,56
	47,84	45,68	48,63
	44,68	44,33	47,25
	46,52	45,69	46,75
	46,99	46,58	47,18
	47,56	45,27	47,36
	45,63	46,24	48,51
	44,86	46,32	46,93
	48,56	44,87	45,21
	47,53	46,93	46,87
Average	46,59	45,94	47,23
Min	44,68	44,83	45,21
Max	48,56	47,53	48,63

Why you should use a portable NIR.

NIR instruments can be used for various applications within the feed production process. Sending samples to a laboratory in a different location for testing, can lead to delays, so fewer samples may be sent with the risk of accepting lower quality batches.

Using a portable NIR can increase the number of samples analysed, making enough data available to detect trends and generate more information for the feed production process, optimising feed uniformity and quality. The best reason for using a portable NIR!