ABE 421

Agricultural Products Process Engineering

Laboratory Exercise No. 4
RICE MILLING SYSTEMS

I. INTRODUCTION
Rice is the major commodity in Philippine agriculture. It is the staple food of the
Filipinos and a major source of livelihood. However, it is estimated that around 15 percent
are lost in harvested paddy (BPRE, 1996). Reasons cited include lack of good facilities,
and inappropriate postharvest practices, among others. Milling is a crucial step in post-
production of rice. The basic objective of a rice milling system is to remove the husk and
the bran layers, and produce an edible, white rice kernel that is sufficiently milled and free
of impurities.
Rice milling is one of the post-harvest handling technology that is quite popular in
agriculture (rice farmers). This machine has helped many farmers in terms of processing
paddy to rice. In the aspect of business, these machines are also able to increase the
marketability of agricultural products as opposed to selling in the form of paddy directly.
On the other hand, demand for rice continues to increase, because the rice has been a staple
food for most countries in the world. Hence the development of rice mill machine is more
effective, more efficient and more quality is promising.
The basic objective of a rice milling system is to remove the husk and the bran
layers to produce white rice for consumption. A rice milling system can be a simple one or
two step process, or a multi stage process. In a one-step milling process, husk and bran
removal are done in one pass and milled or white rice is produced directly out of paddy. In
a two-step process, removing husk and removing bran are done separately, and brown rice
is produced as an intermediate product and in multistage milling, rice will undergo a
number of different processing steps. Depending on whether the paddy is milled in the
village for local consumption or for the marketing rice milling systems can be classified
into two categories: (1) village rice mills and (2) commercial mills.
The milling yield and quality of rice is dependent on the quality of the paddy, the
milling equipment used and the skill of the mill operator.

II. OBJECTIVES
After performing the exercise, the students should be able to:
1. Know the principles of milling.
2. Know and understand the systems of milling based on the scale of operation;
3. Know and understand the two major operations considered very critical in
attaining higher efficiency, and
4. Know the indices of efficient milling.
 III. PROCEDURES

1. The rice milling principles and methods were discussed and determined.
2. The two common system used in rice milling operation according to the scale of
operation involved were determined.
3. The different parts of rice mill and their specific functions were discussed.
4. The two major operations considered very critical in attaining higher efficiency, the
(a) hulling operation and (b) whitening operation. Included the following:
a) Two common types of huller (under-runner stone disc huller and rubber
role huller).
b) Three kinds of whitening machines (vertical abrasive whitening cone,
horizontal abrasive whitening cone and horizontal jet or friction whitener).
5. The following were also discussed:
a) Features of a rice mill design and performance criteria;
b) Indices of efficient milling

IV. RESULTS & DISCUSSION

1. RICE MILLING PRINCIPLES AND METHODS

RICE MILLING PRINCIPLES
Paddy Cleaning
- Essential for removal of undesired foreign matter, paddy cleaning is given utmost
importance to ensure proper functioning of the Rice Milling machinery. Rough rice is passed
through a series of sieves and closed circuit aspiration system is provided to remove dust and
light impurities through positive air suction.
Undesired material, heavier than rough rice (but of similar size) is removed through a de-
stoner/gravity separator. This machine works on the principle of specific gravity. Stones and
other heavy impurities, being heavier, stay on the screen surface whereas rough rice, being
lighter, fluidizes into the positive air gradient created by an external source.
Paddy De-husking
- A streamlined paddy flow is directed into a pair of rubber rolls, rotating at different
speeds, in opposite directions. A horizontal inward pressure is applied on the rubble rollers,
pneumatically. Due to the difference in the seed of rotation, a shear force is generated on the
surface of hull (with two sides being rubber by tow rubber rolls) that breaks apart of the
surface/hull.
Husk, being of lower specific gravity, is then separated form brown rice by a closed
circuit aspiration system. This process leads to breakage of brown rice. Although a proper
horizontal inward pressure is most important factor for breakage or rice, de-husking efficiency is
equally important and should be maintained between 75 to 85%.
Paddy Separation
 - Rice surface is smooth as compared to rough paddy surface. This difference in surface
texture is utilized to separate brown rice from paddy through paddy separator. Grain surface with
smooth texture, being of higher width, is removed off along with red grains by precision sizes.
Rice Whitening
- Brown rice is rubbed with a rough surface, created using emery stones of specific grid
size. The rough emery removes off the brown bran layer. The radial velocity of the stone wheels,
grid size of the stones, clearance between stone surface & the other screen and the external
pressure on the outlet chamber of the whitening machines determine the extent of whiteness.
The bran layer removed from the surface if pneumatically conveyed to a separate room
for further processing /storage.
Rice Polishing
- The surface of whitened rice is still rough and is smoothened by a humidified rice
polisher. The process involves rubbing of rice surface against another rice surface with mystified
air acting as lubricant between the two surfaces. Usually a modified version of this process is
used to produce superfine silky finish on rice surface.
The bran layer removed from the surface if pneumatically conveyed to a separate room
for further processing/storage.
Rice Grading
- Broken rice is removed from whole rice by passing the lot through a cylindrical
indented screen rotating at a particular speed. The broken/small grains, fit into the indents of the
rotating cylinder, are lifted by centrifugal force and gravitational pull falls the grains into a
trough. Adjusting the rotational speed and angle of trough can vary the average length of grains.
Rice Colour Sorting
- Discoloured rice grains are removed off from the like coloured grains by Rice colour
sorting machines. Photo sensors/CCD (Charged Coupled Device) sensors generate voltage signal
on viewing discoloured grains, which are then removed off by air jet generated through solenoid
valves.
RICE MILLING METHODS

2. Two common system used in rice milling operation according to the scale of operation involved.
3. Different parts of rice mill and discuss their specific functions.
4. Two major operations considered very critical in attaining higher efficiency, the (a) hulling operation
and (b) whitening operation. Included the following:
a. hulling operation
two common types of huller (under-runner stone disc huller and rubber role huller)
b. three kinds of whitening machine (vertical abrasive whitening cone, horizontal abrasive whitening cone
and horizontal jet pearler or friction whitener).
5.
a. features of a rice mill design and performance criteria
b. indices of efficient milling
A milling machine should ensure consistency in quality of the end product and hence
enhance the economic value of the raw material. Energy conservation, proper utilization of human
resource and consistently large volumes with least recurring costs is also a need of the hour. With
over 94% of Rice Milling units in India relying completely on conventional Paddy and Rice
Processing techniques, there is still lot to be done in the field of Rice Milling Technology adoption
and up-gradation.
As observed, a modern rice processing unit, as compared to conventional unit, produces
consistent quality product with as much as 3-5% less breakage of kernel, a net power saving of 15-
20% and practically negligible down time. The performance of Rice mill in terms of Milled Rice
recovery and quality, not only depends on the type or the condition of the equipments but also on
the quality of rough rice (paddy) to be converted into milled rice.

Parameters that affect rice milling

The milling potential of rough rice largely determines the performance of the rice mill in
terms of milled rice recovery and quality. These milling potentials can be varietal origin, can be
related to the quality condition of rough rice, or can be added through the pre-milling processes.
A brief review of the impact of rough rice quality, specific varietal characteristics and parboiling
on the performance of the rice mills is covered in the sections below.

Varietal Characteristics
Varieties of rough rice are differently grouped. They are classed as short, medium, long
and extra-long. A sub-classification – round, bold and slender refers to ratio between length and
breadth of brown rice. Most of the short varieties (e.g. Japonica) are round and bold. Most of the
medium varieties are bold or slender and most of the long and extra-long varieties (e.g. Indica
varieties) are bold or slender.

 Hull weight of rough rice - The weight of hull as a percentage of the weight of rough rice varies
from 17 to 24%. The thicker grains have the lowest percentage of hull weight and the thinner
grains have the highest. The milled rice recovery is directly related the brown rice yield.
Therefore a lower hull weight will result in higher miller rice recovery and vise versa.
 Grain Shape - This refers to the length-width ratio of the brown rice. Round grains with low
ratio are difficult to break, whereas the slender grains with higher ratio are easy to break.
 Hardness - The surface hardness of the brown rice kernel is a varietal characteristic that
determines the extent to which the grain can resists the forces applied during milling. Lower
 surface hardness facilitates breakage during milling, resulting in lower milled rice recovery and
quality.
 Chalkiness - Chalkiness can be developed as a result of prevailing weather conditions during the
growth period or introduced as a result of pre-milling processes such as improper parboiling.
Chalkiness reduces the grain’s resistance to applied milling forces.
Quality parameters of rough rice
The extent of quality aspects is determined by prevailing weather conditions during the
production period, applied production practices, soil condition, applied harvesting methods and
applied post-harvest practices such as field handling, threshing, winnowing, drying and storage.
Moisture Content - Rough rice has optimum milling potential at moisture content of
about 14%. The drying process is therefore critical, for it determines whether or not fissures
and/or full cracks are introduced in the grain structure. These are important as presence of
fissures and/or cracks lead to breakage in milling, resulting in lower milled rice recovery and
quality. Milling of very dried rough rice (<11% moisture content makes grains too brittle) results
in unnecessary breakage during milling.
o Cracked Grains - Over exposure of matured rough rice to fluctuating weather
conditions leads to development of numerous fissures resulting into breakage during
the milling process.
o Immature Grains - Immature grain has a high hull weight and consequently a low
yield of brown rice. Immature grains are very slender and dominantly chalky, resulting
in excessive production of bran and broken.
o Damaged Grains - Presence of black spots around the germ end of the brown kernel,
caused by the development of micro-organisms (fungi) leads to excessive breakage of
rice during milling.
o Varietal impurities - Grains of different varieties vary not only in length-width ration
but also in tensile strength. Grains of lower tensile strength / higher length-width ration
therefore break in a higher proportion when milled along with other varieties.
V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
VI. REFERENCES’