The PhosCapt MP is used in Australian atmospheric conditions.
Australia produces an average of 34 million tons of grain, of which 10 – 15 million tons come from Western Australia.
In this state, harvests are highly variable, entirely dependent on winter rainfall and requiring very reactive fumigation treatment.
At the end of the season, if the weather remains favorable, Australia’s 2016 harvest is predicted to be a good one with 18 million tons of grain.
Yet, its permanent stock capacity will not be adequate to store the surplus.
To cover this lack of space, the grain will be stored outside on tarmac under tarps.
These piles are called bunkers.
The bunkers are metal structures into which the grain is poured and then covered with waterproof tarps, glued together.
The grain is fumigated as soon as the pile is full.
It is inspected before the fumigation to check the tarp gas-tightness.
This year, the number of bunkers will be enormous, so much so that tarp manufacturers will be working 24/7 to satisfy the demand.
In Western Australia, gas concentration monitoring is mandatory in order to avoid poor treatments liable to create insect pesticide resistance.
But these bunkers are often situated near production sites, which are isolated and far from central silos.
Concentration monitoring requires continual and often long journeys for the technicians responsible for taking measurements.
A PhosCapt is currently being tested in different configurations by Chris Newman, our representative in Australia.
The PhosCapt MP is responding well to these difficult conditions due to:
Its capacity to carry out automatic measurements over tubes as long as 200m/650ft in total autonomy, with no need for a technician.
-Its transmission of data over 3G networks (a necessary condition to remotely follow the evolution of gas concentrations in case one needs to add extra gas).
In certain isolated regions of Western Australia where 3G network coverage is not optimized, the satellite communication option is recommended.