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Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small amounts of water can be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in food and in some commercial products. Humidity also refers to the amount of water vapor present in the air.
Moisture control in products
Product moisture control can be an important part of the product process. Dry matter appears to contain a considerable amount of moisture. Moisture in products ranging from cornflake cereal to washing powder can play an important role in the final quality of the product. There are two main areas of concern in controlling moisture in products: allowing too much moisture or too little. For example, adding some water to cornflake cereal, which is sold by weight, reduces cost and prevents it from tasting too dry, but adding too much water can affect the crispness and freshness of the cereal because the water content contributes to bacterial growth. The water content of some foods is also used to reduce the calorie count.
Moisture has different effects on different products, affecting the final quality of the product. For example, wood chips are made by taking wood residues and grinding them to make compact pellets, which are sold as fuel. They must have a relatively low water content for combustion efficiency. The more moisture allowed in the pellets, the more smoke the pellet will produce when burned.
The need to measure the water content of products gave rise to a new field of science, aquametry. There are many ways to measure moisture in products, such as various wave measurements (light and audio), electromagnetic fields, capacitive methods, and more traditional weighing and drying techniques.
