Sunday, July 13, 2008

Furniture & Wood Products

Wood products such as furniture, handicraft from wood, wooden pallet, banana leaf, and sea grass, bamboo are very sensitive to humidity. Moisture content in wood products is very high. This moisture content of a product will be instantly increased after it is taken out from the oven, although in fact moisture content has been decreased below 15%. Inside the container, during daytime, the temperature is very high; it makes the moisture from the wood to vaporize. The air inside the container will become extremely humid. This will lead to the growth of fungi, molds, and crack.

Fungus and crack on furniture














































Damage Rattan

















Mold and crack on bamboo



























Broken and Mildew Wooden Pallet















Paper Products

Paper products such as paper, tissue paper, carton, picture album, etc are good commodities to export but the moisture content is high. Humidity will make paper products to have spots and wrinkles, and eventually to shrink.

Mold on paper


















Wrinkles on paper

Garment, Textile and Yarn

Because textile and its packaging have been given paper to absorb humidity, garment exporters have relatively fewer problems compared to other products. However, the capability of paper to absorb humidity is very limited because the paper itself contains moisture. Shirts after being sewn are usually ironed and dried before being shipped. During the drying process those clothes, however, may not be completely dry enough. As a result of this, inside the container where the air is very humid, fungi will grow and give black spots to the clothes. Normally the importer cannot resale these clothes.

YARN
In damp weather (rain, snow), the cargo must be protected from moisture, since yarns are strongly hygroscopic and readily absorb moisture. No hooks of any kind should be used, since they may very easily cause damage.



Yarns are strongly hygroscopic (hygroscopicity), i.e. moisture (seawater, rain, condensation water) may cause mustiness, mildew stains and mold growth. Cargo handlers must not contaminate the goods (drinking water, urine).Paper yarns rapidly lose strength when stored under damp conditions and are very prone to mold.



Agriculture Products

Natural Rubber
Moisture due to rain, seawater or condensation water must be strictly avoided, as it can lead to rot, mold, mildew stains and discoloration. Rubber which has become wet and absorbed too much moisture is termed bleached rubber.
Natural rubber is not hygroscopic. The poor thermal conductivity of rubber may lead to condensation on the surface from capillary water, which in turn leads to mold and rot.
Since mold and mildew stains can occur in the middle of the cargo block, it is not possible to detect damage when the consignment is accepted. This can only be detected when the container or means of transport is unloaded.

Mold and Condensation Natural Rubber















Ginger
Ginger has poor moisture tolerance: the intrinsic moisture content of inadequately dried goods and moisture from external sources may cause mold growth. Contact with water in any form (seawater, rain or condensation water) may result in significant depreciation. For this reason, moisture measurements should ideally be carried out at the time of acceptance of a consignment.

Rotten and Mold Ginger















Mold Nutmeg
The cargo must be protected from moisture, since this may lead to mold and spoilage. The goods develop a foul smell and crumble. The molds growing on moldy goods may include Aspergillus flavus, which produces the toxic substance aflatoxin.




Coconut Fiber
Coconut fiber is strongly hygroscopic (hygroscopicity). It must be protected from sea, rain and condensation water and also from high levels of relative humidity, if decay, staining, self-heating, mold, attack by microorganisms and rusting of the steel strapping are to be avoided.
In damp weather (rain, snow), the cargo must be protected from moisture, since coconut fiber is strongly hygroscopic and readily absorbs moisture. This may lead to staining of the bales, decay and mold growth and to rusting of steel strapping. Rusty steel strapping contaminates the coconut fiber and reduces its value.

Wet, Fungus and Damage Coconut Fiber




























Tobacco
Tobacco leaves, cut tobacco and paper are all extremely hygroscopic which means that they give up their moisture to the surrounding environment if the air is too dry. Dry air causes tobacco's properties to degrade resulting in shrinkage, weight loss, brittleness, flaking, splitting and tearing.














In natural agriculture products such as seaweed, betel nut, gambier, cocoa, rice, coffee etc the moisture content is high, so it is detrimental if they are not protected by humidity absorbent. In the past, an exporter used silica gel to solve this problem, but silica gel was not too effective. Research has found out that silica gel is not safe because it is toxic, so in some countries it is not allowed as humidity absorbent mediator, especially for food and agriculture products.

Damage on Seaweed


















Coffee Bean
Coffee beans have an excessively high moisture content, there is a risk of mustiness, mold growth and post- or overfermentation. Washed coffee frequently has a higher moisture content than unwashed coffee, due to the processing technique used, so meaning that it also releases more water vapor and is therefore more at risk from sweat. Moisture damage (vapor damage, fresh and salt water damage) does not generally become apparent until several days after the beans have come into contact with water and is then manifested by a musty odor and visible changes to the beans.

Fungus and Damage Coffee Bean














Cocoa Bean
Cocoa beans are known to be highly hygroscopic (hygroscopicity) and to release large amounts of water vapor during transport. Water content has accordingly been observed to fall by 1 - 3% during extended voyages. Improperly fermented and dried cocoa beans have a greater tendency to release water vapor.
If the water content is <> 8%, there is a risk of vapor and mold damage which cause depreciation which may go as far as total loss due to rot.

Mold and Damage Cocoa Bean
















































Damage on Rice

















Fungus betel nut export to India

Electronic Products

Electronic products are usually produced in a cool room, used to secure those components from humidity because when humidity stays on the components they have the potential to become rusty or damaged. Inside the container, the humidity level should be maintained as well.

Rust Nail and Screw

















Leather and Skin Product

Leather products like shoes, jackets, bags, etc are usually made in a dry place. They can be easily damaged by humidity. Humidity will cause fungi, molds, spots on the surface and bad smell.















Products of Dry Box

Dry Box
Dimension of Dry Box : H: 91 cm, L: 14 cm, D: 4,5 cmWeight: 1 Kg

Material: Polypropylene, Aluminum, Corrugated wall carton Absorber: CaCl2 (Calcium chloride)

One box consists of 14 pieces. One container 20 foot contains 280 boxes












Desiccant Keep Dry
Dimension: L: 84 cm H: 10 cm Weight: 1 kg. One piece has 4 sachets

Materials: Calcium Chloride ++ , no leak and non woven
One box consists of 12 pieces. One container 20 foot contains 1120 boxes
Keep Dry box
Dimention: H: 23 cm, L: 18 cm, D: 9,5 cm Weight: 1 kg
Materials: Polypropylene, Alumunium, Corrugated wall carton Absorber, Calcium chloride

One box consists of 20 pieces. One container 20 foot contains 280 boxes