GIFSQ Tools · Module 5 — Cereal, Grain, Flour & Milling Technology · Tool 90 of 500
Flour ash by incineration to constant weight by ICC 104/1. Enter the crucible weights to get ash as-is and on a dry basis, with the extraction grade call.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
–
Ash, as-is (%)
–
Ash, dry basis (%)
–
Extraction grade
Equation: Ash % (as-is) = (mash − m0) ÷ (msample − m0) × 100, where m0 is the empty crucible, msample the crucible plus sample, and mash the crucible plus ash after incineration. Ash % (dry basis) = ash % (as-is) × 100 ÷ (100 − moisture %).
Method: ICC 104/1 (determination of ash in cereals and cereal products): the sample is incinerated in a muffle furnace at 900 °C to constant weight and the residue is weighed.
Assumptions: incineration is complete and the residue is constant in weight; no ash is lost as dust; the moisture is the ISO 712 value for the same sample.
Limitations: volatile mineral salts can be lost at 900 °C; a sample that is not fully ashed reads high; ash measures total mineral residue, not the bran content directly.
Rounding: ash to 2 decimal places. Intermediate values are not rounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: ICC 104/1 (determination of ash in cereals and cereal products): the sample is incinerated in a muffle furnace at 900 °C to constant weight and the residue is weighed.
Assumptions: incineration is complete and the residue is constant in weight; no ash is lost as dust; the moisture is the ISO 712 value for the same sample.
Limitations: volatile mineral salts can be lost at 900 °C; a sample that is not fully ashed reads high; ash measures total mineral residue, not the bran content directly.
Rounding: ash to 2 decimal places. Intermediate values are not rounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: Crucible 25.000 g, crucible plus sample 30.000 g, crucible plus ash 25.028 g. Sample = 5.000 g, ash = 0.028 g. Ash (as-is) = 0.028 ÷ 5.000 × 100 = 0.56 %; at 13.5 % moisture, ash (dry basis) = 0.56 × 100 ÷ 86.5 = 0.65 % — medium extraction.
Enter values above to see results.
Typical ash: patent flour below 0.45 %, straight-grade flour 0.45–0.55 %, whole wheat flour about 1.5 %. Ash tracks the bran content and therefore the extraction rate. Tool 90 of 500 — GIFSQ Tool 90 of 500 — GIFSQ
