Introduction: From Traditional Stone Grinding to Intelligent Factories
In the long river of human civilization, food processing has always been the core link of agricultural industrialization. From primitive stone mills to modern intelligent production lines, the powder milling process has undergone earth shaking changes. Nowadays, with the deep integration of artificial intelligence, precision machinery, and optical technology, core technologies such as color selection, grinding, and screening have become the soul of modern milling processes. They not only ensure food safety and quality, but also accelerate the grain processing industry towards efficiency, green, and intelligence.
Core Technology 1: Color Selection – Precise Art of Optoelectronic Intelligent Sorting
Optoelectronic color sorter: the “golden eye” of grain quality
Color selection technology is the first line of defense in modern powder production processes. Through the collaborative work of high-speed cameras, spectral analysis, and AI algorithms, the color sorter can identify and remove moldy particles, impurities, and even foreign objects in milliseconds. For example, a certain international brand of color sorter is equipped with a CMOS sensor with a resolution of up to 4K, which, when combined with deep learning models, can achieve an accuracy rate of over 99.8% in purity detection of raw materials such as wheat and rice.
Technological breakthrough: from monochrome recognition to multispectral fusion
Early color selection devices relied on a single light source and color threshold settings, making them susceptible to environmental light interference. The new generation of equipment adopts multispectral imaging technology (such as near-infrared and ultraviolet light), which can penetrate the surface of particles to detect internal defects. For example, in response to the problem of easy oxidation and deterioration of corn germ, fluorescent signals can be accurately removed by ultraviolet light to eliminate inferior particles.
Core Technology 2: Grinding – Materials Science with Nanoscale Control
Ultra fine Grinding and Gradient Grinding: Balancing Efficiency and Accuracy
The grinding process is the key to determining the characteristics of the finished powder. Modern flour mills adopt the “gradient grinding” strategy: first use a hammer crusher to roughly crush the raw grains to the millimeter level, and then use an air flow crusher to achieve nanometer level refinement. For example, when producing high gluten flour, the grinding speed needs to be precisely controlled at 3000-4000rpm to ensure that the protein structure is not excessively damaged.
Material Innovation: Wear resistant Ceramics and Adaptive Grinding Discs
Traditional steel grinding discs are prone to metal contamination, while the new zirconia ceramic grinding disc has a hardness increase of 40% and a lifespan extension of three times. A more advanced adaptive grinding disc system can adjust the gap in real time according to the humidity of the material, reducing energy consumption while ensuring a stable powder output rate of over 95%.
Core Technology Three: Screening – Aerodynamics and Intelligent Sorting
Dynamic Grading Screen: Separation Art of Multidimensional Vibration
The screening process classifies the powder according to particle size through sieves with different pore sizes. Modern equipment introduces the “three-dimensional elliptical vibration” technology, combined with an air injection system, to form a parabolic motion trajectory for particles on the sieve, increasing separation efficiency by 50%. For example, when producing infant formula rice noodles, it is necessary to strictly control the particles within the range of 100-200 μ m, and the dynamic screening system can accurately complete this task.
Data Driven: Quality Closed Loop in the Internet of Things Era
By installing pressure sensors and flow meters on the screening equipment, the system can monitor the production distribution of each particle size segment in real time. When a certain piece of data is abnormal, the AI system automatically triggers a warning and links with upstream grinding equipment to adjust parameters, forming an intelligent closed-loop of “detection feedback optimization”.
Process integration: full process control in the digital age
MES system: Transparent traceability from raw materials to finished products
Modern powder mills commonly deploy Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to collect real-time data from processes such as color selection, grinding, and screening. For example, the MES system of a leading enterprise can record more than 200 indicators such as the origin, moisture content, and impurity rate of each batch of raw materials, and generate blockchain traceability code. Consumers can scan the code to view the entire production process.
Green Energy Conservation: Resource Reuse under Circular Economy
The tailings (such as bran and debris) generated during the screening process are no longer considered waste. Through enzymatic hydrolysis technology, bran can be converted into dietary fiber additives; Dust is recycled and reused after electrostatic precipitator, reducing comprehensive energy consumption by more than 30%.
Conclusion: The future is here, technology reshapes dining table safety
From the fields to the dining table, modern flour milling technology is safeguarding food safety with unprecedented precision and efficiency. Color selection technology allows every grain to undergo “thousands of selections”, grinding technology carves quality at the molecular scale, and sieving technology weaves a perfect particle size network using aerodynamics. Standing at the intersection of artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0, the flour milling industry is not only the endpoint of grain processing, but also the starting point of healthy eating – perhaps this is the warmest power that technology has given to agriculture.
Post time: Jun-05-2025