Page 44: of Marine News Magazine (January 2020)

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T “The grain industry is facing challenges on multiple fronts. This year, grain barges were stalled for weeks by ? ooding on the

Mississippi river … Compounding the issue, many of these barges were held even longer due to the trade dispute with

China. There is no way to know what is happening inside them, so there is no way to take action when a problem develops.

Each of these barges contains one million dollars worth of grain, so it’s a big deal when one is lost due to spoilage.” – Naeem Zafar, TeleSense Co-Founder and CEO one million dollars worth of grain, so it’s a big deal when ventilate not. Hot to cold ventilate bold.” one is lost due to spoilage.” In a nutshell, this time-honored adage describes how to

It should be no surprise that the longer grain is stored, predict the problem of condensation just as well today, as the greater the risk of spoilage. Hence, the owner will it did 100 years ago. The Cellular SensorSpear monitors want to sell it quickly; all other things being equal, such ‘post-harvest’ grain, enabling and providing the data and as current and future grain prices. Beyond this, the lon- insight necessary to make good storage decisions that do ger grain is stored, the more it will cost to maintain its protect the grain. quality through ventilation, heating, gassing and other Grain produces heat during storage due to natural procedures. For farmers and barge operators alike, being metabolic processes. When warm grain is stored against stuck with grain in long-term storage is not ideal, but is a barrier which is in contact with something cold, such oftentimes inevitable. as the hull of a vessel in contact with water, it produc- es condensation. Condensation produces areas of high

Cold to Hot; Ventilate Not / moisture content, and high moisture levels create an in-

Hot to Cold; Ventilate Bold viting climate for mold, fungus, and insects – which all

Conventional r’s knowledge, when moving from one cause spoilage. part of the world to another with any bulk cargo or hy- By installing TeleSense sensors in strategic areas of a mass groscopic sensitive goods, is rather simple. “Cold to hot; of stored grain, grain managers can see the daily changes

January 2020 44 MN