Have you ever wondered how the calorific value of a food item (how much energy it contains) is Measured.
The most commonly used method for food labeling is to determine the amount of each component in the food (i.e., proteins, fats, carbohydrates, alcohol, organic acids) and add up the amounts of energy for each component.
One of the main procedures to calculate these values, the ā4-9-4 Method,ā was developed by Professor W.O. Atwater, also know as AtWater Chart method.
But how to measure the value of energy contained in each component be it carbohydrates, fats or protein, etc.. For that BOMB CALORIEMETER is used.
š What Is Calorific Value?
The calorific value of any food item is nothing but number of heat units liberated by a unit mass of a sample when burned with oxygen in an enclosure of constant volume.
The heat liberated is measured in terms of the rise in the temperature of the water that runs outside the burning sample in the Bomb Calorimeter.
š©āš§ Working
As it is used to measure the energy contained inside the sample we are putting inside it.
It is made up of an airtight insulated cylindrical bomb-like structure that is put inside the bomb holder,
And chilled water (generally at 5 degree Celcius) is made to flow around the vessel, inside the apparatus.
Now when the sample is burned by igniting a thread in touch of it we note down the change in temperature of water to know the amount of heat produced by complete ashing of the sample, which is eventually the calorific value of its.
Procedure To Measure the Calorific Value.
- Switch on the main of the instrument, chiller and computer.
- Wait till the desired temperature is reached
- Now start the CALWIN software. Main window will appear.
- Accurately weigh the sample in quartz crucible.
- Put the crucible in the bomb.
- Put the bomb on the bomb holder.
- Click on new measurement and enter weight of the sample, sample details and then press OK
- Press the start button on the instrument.
- Wait till the run is completed.
- Remove the sample holder, clean the things and switch off the system and all.
- Submit the ash for further analysis.
š§āš» ABOUT CALWIN SOFTWARE.
Calwin is a software program used in Bomb Calorimeters that does all the required calculations for you, you just need to fill the values of weight of the sample, and sample details. And all the required calculations will be done for you by the software.
Calwin is used in almost 18 countries since 2005 to support tracking of time-on-aid federal requirements CalWIN, like CDS, was purchased from the IT architecture company Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and was originally developed by Deloitte Consulting. CalWIN’s design was driven by federal requirements and regulations, largely as directed by the WCDS Consortium.
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