PSAE Region IV – Agricultural Engineering Board Review Materials VI- 1

Rice Post Production Processing

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

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.

 Brewer’s 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
2. Voids, air space – 48%
3. Kernel specific gravity – 1.11
4. Angle of repose – 36 degrees

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5. 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.

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.

The moisture content on a dry basis and wet basis are related by the equation
below:

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

exposed, (b) difference in humidity between air stream and wet surface, (c) the
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 material to the surface
by liquid diffusion, and (b) removal of moisture from the surface.

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 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.

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.

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.

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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
Grading (from non-uniform to uniform sizes)
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 Coarse brans and brokens

Aspiration Husk

Paddy separation
Grading of brown rice (from non- uniform brown rice to Immature, brown rice of different length
uniform brown rice) or thickness
Conditioning (addition of steam and air to increase None
from 14% to 15.25%)

Tempering (storage to allow moisture to equalize None

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

Friction whitening (from undermilled to milled rice) Fine bran

Rice polishing or refining (from milled rice to Polish or very fine bran
polished rice)

Sifting Brewer’s rice

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

Sorting (from mixture of milled rice and is colored rice Discolored grain
to white milled rice)

Glazing or coating (with glucose talcum and lyzine) None

Blending (with enriched rice and brokens of known None

percentage)

Weighing None

Packaging None

 Types and components of mills:

C. Types of rice mill commonly available in the Philippines

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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.
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.

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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 30°F to 50°F.
 Freezer storage – storage at temperatures below 30°F 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

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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:
a. Cool stored paddy
b. Prevent storage odors
c. Remove small amounts of moisture
d. Reduce moisture accumulation
e. Apply fumigants

Principal parts of an aeration system:

a. Fans to move the air

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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.

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

VI.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 ¾ to ¼ of a whole grain.
Brewer’s 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 ¾ 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.

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

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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