Equilibrium moisture content
The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of a hygroscopic material surrounded at least partially by air is the moisture content at which the material is neither gaining nor losing moisture. The value of the EMC depends on the material and the relative humidity and temperature of the air with which it is in contact. The speed with which it is approached depends on the properties of the material, the surface-area-to-volume ratio of its shape, the speed with which humidity is carried away or towards the material (e.g. diffusion is stagnant air or convection in moving air).
The moisture content of grains is an essential property in food storage. The safe long-term storage moisture content is 12% for corn, sorghum, rice and wheat and 11% for soybean
At a constant relative humidity of air, the EMC will drop by about 0.5% for every increase of 10 °C air temperature.
The following table shows the equilibriums for a number of grains (data from ). These values are only approximations since the exact values depend on the specific variety of a grain.
The moisture content of wood below the fiber saturation point is a function of both relative humidity and temperature of surrounding air. The moisture content (M) of wood is defined as:
where m is the mass of the wood (with moisture) and is the oven-dry mass of wood (i.e. no moisture). If the wood is placed in an environment at a particular temperature and relative humidity, its moisture content will generally begin to change in time, until it is finally in equilibrium with its surroundings, and the moisture content no longer changes in time. This moisture content is the EMC of the wood for that temperature and relative humidity.
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