ekS - Instytut Agrofizyki im. Bohdana Dobrzańskiego PAN w Lublinie ...

PREFACE
The importance of water for human needs, material technologies and for the
ecosystem is well known. Water is present in most areas of nature and technology
and influences a variety of product properties, industrial systems and natural
processes. However water is useful only, if it is present in the appropriate
quantity, at the right place and time.
The material water content is an important quality criterion in many industrial
processes, and has great influence on the production process. Soil water content
determination is an important issue in tillage, irrigation, application of fertilizers
and harvesting. Water content of agricultural goods is essential concerning
harvest, trading, transportation and storage. The determination of water content of
many raw materials, foods and agricultural products will help to improve the
quality and reduce losses during manufacturing and storage. Adequate and
accurate techniques and methods for water content determination are rare
although they are commonly needed and required by ISO standards. Water
content controlled manufacturing processes will help save energy for example in
drying, and will thus reduce pollution of the environment and improve quality of
life.
Trading of most natural goods is based on weight, which is mainly influenced
by water content. Adequate water content measurement methods will help to fix
the true value of the product to reflect this in its price. Natural hazards such as
landslides, avalanches, mud streams and flooding depend on water content
significantly, especially in mountainous regions or close to rivers.
The interaction of water with porous substances like soil needs
interdisciplinary approach. It is necessary to know details about the presence of
water in the various substances and its interactions with the material matrix.
Physicists, hydrologists, soil scientists, agronomists, material scientists, civil and
electronic engineers and food chemists are representative selections of the
professionals that are confronted with water related problems day by day.
Electronic in-line determinations in production processes or fast continuous
monitoring methods based on radio- or microwave frequency techniques are
especially underdeveloped. Increased application and accuracy of such methods is
of great importance.
The present reference method, the oven-drying is destructive, time and energy
consuming technique that is unsuitable for continuous monitoring. This method
also does not reflect all the water present in the material (bound water). It is also
desirable to replace certain water content measurement methods such as obsolete