PSAE Region IV Agricultural Engineering Board Review Materials

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Rice Post Production Processing

Arnold R. Elepao
Associate Professor
Agricultural and Bio-Process Division
Institute of Agricultural Engineering
College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology
University of the Philippines Los Baos

I. Introduction

Processing the palay harvest provides added value to the product.

The modern rice varieties are non-photo-periodic and harvest during the wet
season is very vulnerable to spoilage. The farmers need basic postharvest
facilities, such as threshers, dryers and storage facilities to prevent
postharvest losses.

II. Physical Properties

A. Product dimension and structure
The length of the paddy grain varies due to variations in the length of the awn
and the pedicel.
Types of paddy:
1. Extremely long 80% of the whole brown rice have a length of 7.5 mm or
more
2. Long 80% of the whole brown rice have a length of
6.5 mm or more but
shorter than 7.5 mm
3. Medium 80% of the whole brown rice have a length of 5.5 mm but < 6.5
mm
4. Short paddy with 80% of the whole brown rice kernels are shorter than 5.5
mm
Length/ Width ratio of the whole brown rice kernel:
1. Slender: 3.0
2. Bold: 2.0 but < 3.0
3. Round: < 2.0

Head rice grain is a rice particle with length of 6/8 or more of the length of
the whole unbroken milled rice kernel.

Large broken milled grain a rice particle with a length of 3/8 or more but
shorter than 6/8.

Small brokens are rice particles which will not pass through a perforated
sieve with a round perforation of 1.4 mm but length of the grain is shorter
than 3/8.

Brewers rice is composed of rice particles which will pass through a sieve
with a round perforation of 1.4 mm diameter.

B. Mass properties
Physical Characteristics of Paddy:
1. Bulk density 576 kg/ m3
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2.
3.
4.
5.

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Voids, air space 48%

Kernel specific gravity 1.11
Angle of repose 36 degrees
Coefficient of friction :
Smooth steel = 0.41
Finished concrete = 0.52
Smooth wood = 0.44

6. Husk density
(well-packed) = 128 kg/m3
Loosely packed = 117 kg/ m3
Husks represent 20 to 24% of the weight of paddy.
The free load density of husks is about 125 kg per cubic meter.
The calorific value of husks varies from 3000 to 3500 Kcal.
C.

Moisture content amount of water in the grain

Two methods are used to represent moisture content:

1. Wet basis obtained by dividing the weight of water in the material by the
total weight of the material.

% MCwb =

Ww
(100%)
Ww + Wd

Where:
MCwb = moisture content, wet basis
Ww = weight of water
Wd = weight of dry matter
2. Dry basis obtained by dividing the weight of water by the weight of dry
matter.

% MCdb =

Ww
(100%)
Wd

The moisture content on a dry basis and wet basis are

equation below:

% MCdb =

related by the

MCwb
(100%)
100 MCwb

III.Rice Drying
A. Theory of Drying
Two major periods of drying
1. Constant rate period drying takes place from the surface of the grain i.e.
similar to evaporation of moisture from a free water surface. The magnitude
of the rate of drying during this period is dependent upon (a) the area
the

exposed, (b) difference in humidity between air stream and wet surface, (c)
coefficient of mass transfer, and (d) velocity of the drying air.

2. Falling rate period comes after the constant rate period. It is controlled
largely by the product and involves the (a) movement of moisture within the
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material to the surface by liquid diffusion, and (b) removal of moisture from
the surface.

Heat utilization factor ratio of temperature decrease due to cooling of the air
during drying (evaporative cooling) to the temperature increase due to heating
the air.

HUF=

T3
T1

T2
T2

Where:
T1 = original dry bulb air temperature
T2 = temperature of air after heating
T3 = dry bulb temperature of air exhausted from dryer
B.

Drying methods

1. Pre-cleaning of paddy
Harvested paddy contains a high percentage moisture, impurities such as
immature grains and others. These impurities should be removed prior to drying
and storage by a simple sieve combined with a ventilator or a scalping reel.
2. Sun drying the process of drying grains under the heat of the sun.
3. Direct heated air drying
Products of combustion are forced through the product with the drying air.
This type of dryer is less expensive and makes more efficient use of the energy of
the fuel.
4. Indirect heated air drying
The heat transfer surface is heated by the burning fuel and the air which is
used for drying the product is circulated around the outside of the heat transfer
surface and then through the products. This method is expensive compared to
the direct heated dryer because the overall thermal efficiency is low. Most of the
energy of the fuel is lost through the smokestack.
C. Crop dryer components
A complete drying system is composed of the ff:
1. Drying bin
2. Blower and air heating device
3. Instrument for quality control
4. Loading and loading facilities for the grain

IV. Rice Milling

A. Principles of milling and size reduction
Milling is a term that describes the processes of converting paddy into rice. It
includes:
1. Cleaning removing foreign materials such as particles of sand, stone, straw,
seeds, etc. from the paddy.
2. Dehusking and husk separation removing the husk from the paddy with
a minimum of damage to the grain, and separating the husk from the paddy.
3.

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4. Paddy separation separating dehusked paddy from any remaining paddy

grains. Most dehuskers remove about 90% of the husk.
5. Bran removal removing all part of the bran layer from the grain to produce
polished rice.
6. Grading separating (or grading) broken from unbroken rice. The brokens
are often separated in different sizes.

Rice Milling Operation

To get a clearer understanding of the different processes in rice milling, the
different rice milling operations have been outlined in a tabulated form below.
This is a complete outline and not necessarily the process in a particular rice mill.
OPERATION
Pre-cleaning and de-stoning

Husking (from paddy to brown rice)

BY-PRODUCT
Foreign materials (straw, chaff,
leaves, sand, stones, weed seeds,
metals, etc.)
Paddy of different length or
thickness
Husk

Sifting
Aspiration

Coarse brans and brokens

Husk

Grading (from non-uniform to uniform sizes)

Paddy separation
Grading of brown rice (from non- uniform brown
rice to uniform brown rice)
Conditioning (addition of steam and air to
increase from 14% to 15.25%)

Immature, brown rice of different

length or thickness
length or thickness
None

Tempering (storage to allow moisture to equalize None

among the grains to 15%
Abrasive whitening (from brown rice to
Bran and germ
undermilled rice with powdered bran)
Friction whitening (from undermilled to milled
rice)

Fine bran

Rice polishing or refining (from milled rice to

polished rice)

Polish or very fine bran

Sifting
Rice grading (from mixture of rice and
broken to head rice and different sized
brokens)

Brewers rice
Broken grain

Sorting (from mixture of milled rice and is

colored rice to white milled rice)

Discolored grain

Glazing or coating (with glucose talcum

and lyzine)

None

Blending (with enriched rice and

of known percentage)

None

Weighing

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brokens

None

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Packaging

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None

Types and components of mills:

C. Types of rice mill commonly available in the Philippines

1. Kiskisan more popular and most patronized mill in rural areas. It is composed
mainly of a metal cylinder with rectangular protrusions running along its whole
length and a hollow cylinder casing. It works on the principle of friction in
dehulling the paddy. A (low) recovery of 50 to 60% is obtained.
2. Cono-type rice mill technically known as the under runner disc which consists
of 2 horizontal cast iron disc partly coated with an abrasive layer. The top disc is
fixed in the frame housing while the bottom disc rotates. This mill is equipped
with a vertical cone-shaped polisher.
3. Centrifugal type most advanced milling machine that works on the principle
of centrifugal force and impact.
4. Rubber roll this falls under friction type machines consisting of two rubber
rolls rotating in opposite directions at different speeds. One roll moves about 25%
faster than the other. The difference in peripheral speeds subjects the paddy
grains falling between the rolls to a shearing action that strips off the husk. The
clearance between the rolls is adjustable and is kept at less than the thickness of
the grain. It has a 70% milling recovery.
D. Husk Separation
1. Husks are easily separated with aspiration.
2. The brokens, germs, and stone bran can be separated by a vibrating or rotary
sieve. A vibrating sieve oscillates while a rotary sieve, termed a rotary sifter or
plansifter, moves in circular motion. These are not used to separate large
brokens because their perforations are the same diameter as unbroken rice.
E. Paddy Separation
A mixture of 85-90% brown rice and 10-15% paddy is fed into the paddy
separation stage. The paddy must be separated before the brown rice goes to the
bran removal stage.
Paddy and brown rice have different characteristics that make separation easy:
1. The average weight of paddy by volume is less than that of brown rice i.e. specific
gravity of paddy is lower than that of brown rice.
2. Paddy grains are longer, wider, and thicker than those of brown rice.
3. The coefficient of friction is different.
Types of paddy separators
1. Compartment-type separator makes use of the difference in specific gravity and
buoyancy of the paddy grains and brown rice.
2. Tray-type separator makes use of the difference in specific gravity and length.
3. Seven-type separator makes use of the difference in width and thickness.
F. Bran Removal
Two processes used to remove the bran layer from the grain:
1.

Abrasion process - uses a rough surface, which is an abrasive stone, to break

and peel the bran off the grain.

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2.

Friction process uses the friction between the grains themselves to break and
peel off the bran.

Whitening is the process of removing the outer and sometimes inner bran layer.

Polishing refers to the process of removing small bran particles that stick to the
rice surface after whitening and gives the rice grain a shiny appearance.

Three kinds of whitening machines widely used in the industry

1. Vertical abrasive whitener available with the cone directed either up or
down, but with no difference in performance or capacity.
Operation: The dehusked paddy (brown rice) enters at the top
center
and
moves outward by centrifugal force to the edge of
the metal cone. The cone
has an abrasive surface and turns
inside a cylinder covered with a wire
screen. The clearance between the cone and screen is adjusted about 10 mm
by raising or lowering the cone. As the brown rice moves down
between the
cone and the screen around the cone, the
abrasive action of the cone peels
the bran off the grains. The
bran moves through the screen and is collected
separately. The whitened rice is discharged at the bottom.
2. Horizontal abrasive whitener is more compact than the vertical abrasive
whitener. The machine consists of an abrasive roll (emery stone attached to a
steel shaft) operating in a cylindrical metal perforated screen mounted
horizontally.
Operation: Brown rice enters one end, and moves around and
around
the
abrasive roll to the opposite end before discharge.
The abrasive action is the
same as that in the vertical abrasive whitener where the abrasive roll and
perforated screen cut and
peel the bran layers from the grain.
3. Horizontal friction whitener are often called jet or pneumatic pearlers. This
machine uses the friction process in which the bran is peeled off by friction of the
rice grains. Steel hullers are also used as friction-type whiteners.
The major components of the friction whitener are the metal
roller and the
metal perforated screen. A feeding worm is used
to force the grain into the
milling cylinder.
G.

Grading
Grading is the separation of broken rice grain from unbroken rice grain, and
separation of brokens into different sizes.
The length of the brokens differs from the length of the unbroken rice thus length
separators such as trieurs, rotating cylinders, or drum graders are used.

V. Rice Storage
A. Principles of crop storage

The purpose of storage is to preserve and possibly enhance the inherent

edible quality characteristics of harvested crops until they are processed or
consumed in the fresh state.
Cold storage as applied to fresh fruits and vegetables refers to storage in the
temperature range of approximately 30F to 50F.

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Freezer storage storage at temperatures below 30F employed for holding

foodstuffs in the frozen state.

B. Principles of storage

Decay caused by disease organisms is a primary problem in the storage of

fresh commodities.
The most effective method of retarding decay
development is by temperature reduction. Practically, all decay organisms are
slowed in their rate of growth and development when the temperature is
reduced from field temperatures to near freezing.
However, a few
commodities are susceptible to physiological injury because of storage at low
temperatures above freezing.
This so-called chilling injury results in
weakening of the tissues and an increased susceptibility to disease infection.

Respiration combining of the carbohydrates in the plant cells with the

oxygen of the air to form carbon dioxide and water and to release energy,
mostly as heat.

C. Types and methods of crop storage

Types of storage
1. Bag storage Stacks are safe up to 20 bags high. The height of each bag of
paddy in gunny bags is 0.27 m. It should always be stacked on wood dunnage
to prevent moisture migration and to permit good sanitation practices.

Dunnage wood frames used on concrete floors for stacking of bags of

rice. Prevents direct contact between the grain and the floor.

Advantages:

Flexible

Lower capital cost

Disadvantages:
Labor intensive, and slow
Involves much spillage
Higher operation cost
More difficult to monitor for control of insects, rodents, and birds.
Deterioration is difficult to monitor
2.

Bulk storage
Advantages:
Not labor intensive; requires fewer men
Results in little spillage
Lower handling cost
Easier to monitor for control of insects, rodents, and birds
Changes in temperature and moisture is easy to observe
Insect infestation is easier to prevent; easy to fumigate
Disadvantages:
Inflexible
Requires a higher level of skill in construction and operation
Requires mechanical handling equipment
Higher capital cost

Aeration is the process of moving air through stored paddy at low flow
rates to maintain or improve its quality. This is used to:

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a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

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Cool stored paddy

Prevent storage odors
Remove small amounts of moisture
Reduce moisture accumulation
Apply fumigants

Principal parts of an aeration system:

a.
Fans to move the air
b.
Ducts to carry air from the fans to the storage system.

Godown a warehouse used for storing paddy or rice either in bulk or

bag.

VI.

Trier small metal probe for taking samples of paddy or rice from bags
or from bulk containers.

Glossary

Rice milling - this refers to the process of removing the husk from the paddy and
the bran from the kernel (brown rice). In Japan and some other countries where rice
is stored or transported in the form of brown rice this refers to the removal of the
bran layers.
Milling degree - this refers to the extent in which the bran layer has been removed,
expressed in percentage of the original brown rice or paddy.
Brown or cargo rice - this is the form of rice after the husk has been removed and
separated from the kernel.
Husking or shelling - this is the operation of removing the husk from paddy.
Whitening - this is the process of removing the bran layer from the brown rice
causing its whitening.
Milled rice - this is the form of rice when the bran layer has been removed from the
brown rice.
Polishing or refining - this is the process of removing the powdered bran adhering
to the milled rice.
Broken rice - this is milled rice whose size ranges less than to of a whole grain.
Brewers rice or points - these are broken milled rice whose sizes will allow them
to pass through a 1/16-inch sieve (also called binlid in the Filipino language).
Head rice - this is rice, which is at least the size of the whole kernel.
Foreign matter - these are impurities found in the rice such as weed, seeds, stones,
sand, dirt, etc. Also termed dockage.
Chalky kernels - these are milled rice with white or chalky portions.
Yellow or damaged kernels - yellowish milled rice damaged by fermentation or
heat and/or by water, insects or mechanical means.
Total milling recovery - this is the weight of rice obtained in a milling operation
expressed as a percentage of the original paddy weight.

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Head grain recovery - this is the weight of head rice obtained in a milling operation
expressed as a percentage of the original paddy weight.
De-stoner - a machine that separates stones from paddy during milling.

VII.

References

Wimberly, J.E. 1983. Technical Handbook for the Paddy Rice Postharvest Industry in
Developing Countries. IRRI.
The Food Agency. 1995. Rice Post-Harvest Technology. Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, Japan.

Rice Post-Production Processing