Rapid Drying of Parboiled Paddy Using Hot Air Impinging Stream Dryer

A method for rapid drying of parboiled paddy via the use of an impinging stream dryer was proposed and assessed. The effects of the drying air temperature, number of drying cycles, as well as time of tempering between each drying cycle on the moisture reduction, head rice yield, and whiteness index of the dried parboiled paddy were studied. The drying experiments were carried out at drying air temperatures of 130, 150, and 170°C; inlet air velocity of 20 m/s; impinging distance of 5 cm; and paddy feed rate of 40 kg_{dry_paddy}/h. Parboiled paddy was dried for up to seven cycles. Between each drying cycle the parboiled paddy was tempered for a period of either 0 (no tempering), 15, 30, 60, or 120 min. After impinging stream drying, paddy was ventilated by ambient air flow until its moisture content reached 16% (db). Moisture reduction of the paddy was noted to depend on both the impinging stream drying temperature and tempering time. Drying at a high temperature along with tempering for a suitable period of time could maintain the head rice yield of the paddy at a level similar to that of the reference parboiled paddy. To avoid discoloration and low head rice yield, parboiled paddy should not be dried at a temperature higher than 150°C and should be tempered for at least 30 min.     

Overall Energy Requisite and Quality Feature of Industrial Paddy Drying

Energy consumption and rice quality are the main concerns of millers and must be assessed to ascertain suitable industrial drying strategy. In this article, industrial paddy drying methods as usually practiced in the BERNAS paddy drying complexes of Malaysia have been evaluated. The analysis showed that the specific electrical and thermal energy consumption varied between 16.19 kWh to 22.07 kWh and 787.22 MJ to 1015.32 MJ, respectively, in single-stage paddy drying (SSPD) using an inclined bed dryer (IBD) to dry each tonne of freshly harvested paddy with average moisture content of 23.35 ± 0.86% wb. On the other hand, the energy consumptions for two-stage paddy drying (TSPD) with a fluidized bed dryer (FBD) followed by IBD were 21.37 kWh/t to 30.69 kWh/t and 666.81 MJ/t to 1083.42 MJ/t, respectively. SSPD at 35–39°C and TSPD using FBD at 120°C as the first stage, followed by IBD as the second stage at lower temperature of 35–39°C yielded 2–3.6% higher head rice yield than paddy-dried by a single stage with IBD using comparatively higher temperature of 40–44°C. Therefore, IBD is recommended to be operated using a temperature of 35–39°C both in single-stage drying and second-stage drying of paddy after fluidized bed drying to obtain quality rice.     

Stationary versus Fluidized-Bed Drying of High-Moisture Paddy with Rest Period

Drying of high-moisture paddy was examined experimentally under stationary and fluidized bed with and without intervening rest periods. Introduction of a rest period between first and second stage of drying improved drying rate and lowered the energy requirement and increased head rice yield. Fluidization further improved the overall drying process. A single-term drying diffusion equation was suitably fitted to first, rest, and second stage drying data of fluidized and stationary bed by applying nonlinear regression method and effective diffusion coefficients were evaluated. During the period of rest stage, paddy grain released a considerable amount of moisture as an effect of residual grain temperature. An appropriate moisture ratio at which resting should start and the length of resting were evaluated by measuring changes in relative humidity in the headspace of mass of paddy and also from the diffusion coefficient values obtained from the experimental drying data. Resting duration between 75 and 90 min at moisture ratio around 0.715 was found suitable for overall good performance in both fluidized and stationary bed drying. A considerable amount of energy (21–44%) can be saved by providing a rest period from 30 to 120 min between the two stages of drying. Fluidization further reduces (≈ 50% against continuous drying under stationary bed) the energy requirement. No significant difference was found in head rice yield obtained from fluidized and stationary bed experiments, though discontinuing drying by providing intervening rest periods considerably improved the percentage head rice when compared with the results from continuous drying.     

Effects of High-Temperature Fluidized Bed Drying and Tempering on Kernel Cracking and Milling Quality of Vietnamese Rice Varieties

Studies on the effects of high-temperature fluidized bed drying and tempering on physical properties and milling quality of two long-grain freshly harvested Vietnamese rice varieties, A10 (32±1% wet basis moisture) and OM2717 (24.5±0.5% wet basis moisture), were undertaken. Rice samples were fluidized bed dried at 80 and 90°C for 2.5 and 3.0 min, then tempered at 75 and 86°C for up to 1 h, followed by final drying to below 14% moisture (wet basis) at 35°C by thin-layer drying method. Head rice yield significantly improved with extended tempering time to 40 min. Head rice yield tended to increase with decreasing cracked (fissured) kernels. The hardness and stiffness of sound fluidized bed dried rice kernels (in the range of 30–55 N and 162–168 N/mm, respectively) were higher than that of conventionally dried ones (thin layer dried at 35°C). The color of milled rice was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by high-temperature fluidized bed drying, but the absolute change in the value was very small.     

Effect of Fluidized Bed Drying Temperature on Various Quality Attributes of Paddy

Abstract

As reported by many researchers, it was found that fluidized bed paddy drying using high drying air temperatures of over 100°C affected the head rice yield and whiteness of dried rice. However, only a few studies on fluidized bed paddy drying with drying air temperatures below 100°C were so far reported. The main objective of this work was therefore to study the effect of fluidized bed drying air temperature on various quality parameters of Suphanburi 1 and Pathumthani 1 Indica rice. Paddy was dried from the initial moisture contents of 25.0, 28.8, and 32.5% dry basis to 22.5 ± 1.2% dry basis using inlet drying air temperatures between 40 and 150°C at 10°C/step. After fluidized bed drying, paddy was tempered and followed by ambient air aeration until its final moisture content was reduced to 16.3 ± 0.5% dry basis. The results showed that the head rice yield of Suphanburi 1 was significantly related to the inlet drying temperature and initial moisture content whilst there was no significant relationship between the head rice yield, drying temperature and initial moisture content for Pathumthani 1. The whiteness of the two rice varieties was slightly decreased with increase in drying air temperature and initial moisture content. It was also found that the hardness of both cooked rice varieties exhibited insignificant difference (p < 0.05) comparing to rewetted rice, which was gently dried by ambient air aeration in thin layer. The thermal analysis by DSC also showed that partial gelatinization occurred during drying at higher temperatures. Using inlet drying air temperatures in the range of 40–150°C therefore did not affected the quality of cooked rice and paddy. The milling quality of paddy was also well maintained.     

EFFECTS OF DRYING ON HEAD RICE YIELD USING FLUIDIZATION TECHNIQUE

ABSTRACT

Experimental results of fluidized bed paddy drying using high inlet air temperatures (140 and 150 °C) showed that head rice yield could be increased to a maximum value at a range of paddy final moisture contents of 19 to 22 % wet-basis. In case of reducing moisture content of paddy to lower than 19 % wet-basis, head rice yield of tempered paddy was higher than that of no-tempered one. Initial moisture contents of paddy that could increase head rice yield were in a range of 23 to 31 % wet-basis. As initial moisture content increased head rice yield increased. Whiteness of dried paddy was mostly accepted. However, if tempering temperature was higher than 60 °C, it may cause the problems for trade.     

Evolution of mechanical properties of parboiled brown rice kernels during impinging stream drying

Information on mechanical properties of parboiled brown rice kernels upon impinging stream drying, which is important for effective control of kernel fissure and head rice yield, is reported. Experiments were performed at the drying temperatures of 130, 150, and 170°C; inlet air velocity of 20?m/s; impinging distance of 5?cm and paddy feed rate of 40?kg_{dry_paddy}/h. Parboiled paddy was dried for up to seven cycles. Between each drying cycle, the paddy was tempered for a period of either 0 (without tempering) or 30?min. The moisture evaporation rate was noted to be very high during the first two drying cycles and rapidly dropped in the later drying cycles. When tempering was included after a particular drying cycle, the drying rate in a subsequent cycle was higher than without tempering. At the kernel moisture contents immediately after drying of 25.3–47.5% (d.b.), the drying temperature and existence of tempering did not affect the mechanical properties although microcracks were formed in the kernels. However, both factors played a more important role on the mechanical properties when the kernels were evaluated at 16% (d.b.). The head rice yield correlated well with the tensile strength of the kernels.     

Multi-stage intermittent drying of rough rice in terms of tempering and stress cracking indices and moisture gradients interpretation

In this study, multi-stage intermittent drying (MSID) of rough rice is considered based on stress cracking index (SCI), tempering index (TI), and total drying/tempering duration for Hashemi and Koohsar varieties experimentally and theoretically. The samples were dried at 60°C for 20, 40, and 60?min and tempered at 60°C for 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, and 240?min after each drying stage. Afterward, the completion of the tempering process was assessed using the TI along with analysis of moisture content kinetics by a simplified drying model. For both varieties, the SCI decreased significantly until continuing the tempering operation to certain durations and increased for longer drying durations in each drying stage. Considering the SCI and the total drying/tempering duration, the tempering durations of 200 and 160?min after 40?min drying in each stage were determined as the best performed conditions for MSID of Hashemi and Koohsar varieties, respectively. The results achieved by the TI were in conformity with those obtained by the mathematical model. It was concluded that the TI and simulation of surface moisture content on a kernel could be applied for estimating the time required for supplementation of the tempering process to eliminate moisture content gradients created inside the kernels during the drying process.     

Drying Characteristics of Malaysian Paddy: Kinetics & Grain Cracking Quality

Abstract

Drying kinetics of Malaysian paddy dried in a laboratory scale batch rapid bin dryer was studied. Quality of paddy after drying at temperatures of 60 and 80°C, bed heights of 2 and 4 cm, and at different drying stages was presented in terms of cracking percentage. Moisture content of paddy reduced exponentially with time and became stable at equilibrium moisture content. Characteristic drying rate curves exhibited mainly falling rate period, with an induction period in deep beds, but without the constant rate period. A custom-made light box was built to visually analyze the cracking in paddy kernel. The extent of breakage is directly related to the crack percentage. The percentage of cracks increased with drying and tempering temperatures and was higher after 2 weeks of storage before milling. Bed heights did not significantly affect the head rice yield as much as tempering between two drying stages. Temperatures above 80°C caused severe cracking in paddy kernel and produced miserable yield of head rice after milling, which could be slightly improved by tempering. The use of a proper miller is also important in ensuring good head yield results and whiteness quality.     

EFFECT OF TEMPERING ON SUBSEQUENT DRYING OF PADDY USING FLUIDISATION TECHNIQUE

Drying and tempering models for paddy drying by a fluidised bed technique have been developed to describe the moisture movement inside a single paddy kernel. The grain shape was considered as a finite cylinder. The internal diffusion is an important contribution to control the drying rate of paddy. The dependence of effective diffusion coefficient on drying temperature can be adequately explained based on Arrhenius form. The parameters of this equation were evaluated in the range of temperatures between 110°C and 170°C by using the regression analysis with 189 experimental drying data. As compared with no tempering, the faster drying rate can be obtained by tempering treatment between drying stages. The effect of degrees of tempering on determining the moisture reduction in the second stage has also been explored. According to the simulation results, a prediction equation of the required tempering time for the tempering index of 0.95 has been established in which the drying air temperature, initial moisture content and drying time are taken into account. The tempering time for 35 min is recommended for the continuous fluidised bed dryers being operated in rice mills.     

MANAGING MOIST PADDY BY DRYING,TEMPERING AND AMBIENT AIR VENTILATION

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a strategy for reducing moisture in paddy by fluidized bed drying, tempering and ambient air cooling. Experimental results showed that after the three processes, moisture content was reduced from 33 % to 16.5 % dry-basis within approximately 53 minutes. During the first process, a fluidized-bed dryer was used to reduce the moisture content of paddy down to 19.5 % dry-basis within 3 minutes. Then the paddy was tempered for 30 minutes. Finally, it was cooled by ambient air (temperature and relative humidity of 30 °C and 55-60% respectively) with air velocity of 0.15 m/s for 20 minutes. Quality of paddy in terms of head rice yield and whiteness was acceptable.     

流态化及缓苏干燥技术对泰国香稻的香味和磨粉品质的影响

将高温（〉100。C）流态化干燥和缓苏相结合干燥泰国香稻（KhaoDawkMali105，籼稻），使其湿含量降至13-14％（湿基），以便于安全贮存。研究了干燥与贮存过程对籼米香味和磨粉品质的影响。泰国香稻需要经过两个干燥阶段。第一阶段是在高温流化床中干燥，缓苏30分钟，然后返回高温流化床干燥或阴干，直至湿含量降低到安全贮存水平。实验结果表明，干燥温度对香稻的整精米率（HRY）、白度指数（wI）和2AP含量均有影响。多数干燥温度下整精米率的水平都比较低，但150℃除外，此情况下整精米率（psO．05）显著提高。然而，当一次流态化干燥和缓苏之后，以阴干代替二次流态化干燥，香稻的整精米率显著增加，尤其是在135℃和50℃时（p≤O．05）。在贮存期间，白度指数和2AP舍量显著降低（ps0．05），而整精米率保持不变。对比环境温度（28．30℃）和15℃贮存温度，结果表明保持香米2AP舍量和白度指数的适宜保存温度是15℃。然而贮存条件对整精米率影响不大（p〉0．05）。本研究将有益于泰国香米行业的发展，为泰国香米的干燥起到指导性作用。     

Drying and Heat Transfer Characteristics for a Novel Fluidized Bed Dryer

Abstract

The use of a fluidized bed dryer with a lateral air flow and mechanical agitation to the drying of sludge from a wastewater treatment plant was investigated. Experimental curves of moisture content vs. drying time, as well as heat transfer coefficients and the size characteristics of the products, were determined at temperatures between 80°C and 110°C, a stirring rate of 55 rpm and air velocity of 0.9 m/s for 3 kg sludge batches with initial moisture contents of 0.55 and 0.65 (d.b.). Experimental drying kinetics were compared with values derived from three models based on Fick's second law, namely: the constant diffusivity model, the simplified variable diffusivity model, and the modified quasi-stationary model.     

A Superheated-Steam Fluidized-Bed Dryer for Parboiled Rice: Testing of a Pilot-Scale and Mathematical Model Development

This article describes the testing of a pilot-scale superheated-steam fluidized-bed dryer for parboiled rice along with development of a mathematical model for predicting the changes in temperature of steam and moisture content of parboiled rice during drying. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the superficial velocity of steam from 1.3 to 1.5 times of the minimum fluidization velocity had no significant effect on the drying rates of rice. The energy consumption for reducing the moisture content of paddy from 0.43 to 0.22 kg/kg dry basis was approximately 7.2 MJ/kg water evaporated. Drying temperature caused the appreciable change of parboiled rice qualities as characterized by water adsorption, whiteness and pasting viscosities, white belly, and hardness. Soaking paddy at a temperature of 70°C for 7–8 h before drying was sufficiently enough for producing parboiled rice, with no white belly. The gelatinization of starch during drying resulted in higher head rice yield of the product as compared to that of raw paddy.     

Stationary versus Fluidized-Bed Drying of High-Moisture Paddy with Rest Period

Drying of high-moisture paddy was examined experimentally under stationary and fluidized bed with and without intervening rest periods. Introduction of a rest period between first and second stage of drying improved drying rate and lowered the energy requirement and increased head rice yield. Fluidization further improved the overall drying process. A single-term drying diffusion equation was suitably fitted to first, rest, and second stage drying data of fluidized and stationary bed by applying nonlinear regression method and effective diffusion coefficients were evaluated. During the period of rest stage, paddy grain released a considerable amount of moisture as an effect of residual grain temperature. An appropriate moisture ratio at which resting should start and the length of resting were evaluated by measuring changes in relative humidity in the headspace of mass of paddy and also from the diffusion coefficient values obtained from the experimental drying data. Resting duration between 75 and 90 min at moisture ratio around 0.715 was found suitable for overall good performance in both fluidized and stationary bed drying. A considerable amount of energy (21-44%) can be saved by providing a rest period from 30 to 120 min between the two stages of drying. Fluidization further reduces (≈ 50% against continuous drying under stationary bed) the energy requirement. No significant difference was found in head rice yield obtained from fluidized and stationary bed experiments, though discontinuing drying by providing intervening rest periods considerably improved the percentage head rice when compared with the results from continuous drying.     

MANAGING MOIST PADDY BY DRYING, TEMPERING AND AMBIENT AIR VENTILATION

This paper describes a strategy for reducing moisture in paddy by fluidized bed drying, tempering and ambient air cooling. Experimental results showed that after the three processes, moisture content was reduced from 33 % to 16.5 % dry-basis within approximately 53 minutes. During the first process, a fluidized-bed dryer was used to reduce the moisture content of paddy down to 19.5 % dry-basis within 3 minutes. Then the paddy was tempered for 30 minutes. Finally, it was cooled by ambient air (temperature and relative humidity of 30 °C and 55-60% respectively) with air velocity of 0.15 m/s for 20 minutes. Quality of paddy in terms of head rice yield and whiteness was acceptable.     

A Cross-Flow Model for Continuous Plug Flow Fluidized-Bed Cross-Flow Dryers

Plug flow fluidized bed cross-flow dryers have been used in drying of particulate solids such as paddy and other grains for many years. However, simulation of the performance of any particular design of the dryer has always been problematic due to the inadequate overall empirical models used that are too inflexible and too specific to the particular design. In addition, previous theoretical models of the plug flow fluidized bed cross-flow dryer did not model the gas cross flow properly and had difficulty in modeling the moving solid bed. A new steady-state cross-flow model of the dryer that models the gas cross-flow is proposed. The profiles for the solids and air moisture contents and temperatures were found to be dependent on the gas-solid flow ratio, G/F, the specific heat demand, C _PY (T _I  ? T _A )/(Y _E  ? Y _I ), the total number of a transfer units, N _T  = Gε/KφaSL and the specific drying load, (X _I  ? X _P )/ (Y _E  ? Y _I ). The model was validated by comparing the simulated data with experimental data that were obtained by drying paddy in a plug flow fluidized bed cross-flow dryer pilot plant. The model was found to estimate very well the solids moisture content and temperature, the gas moisture content and temperature profiles, and the driving force profile.     

Experiments on In-Store Paddy Drying Under Tropical Climate: Simulation and Product Quality

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to study the rice whiteness and paddy qualities of rice in terms of hardness, stickiness, cohesiveness, and germination of rice. The prediction results of moisture content and whiteness are compared with the experimental results using a near-equilibrium drying model, which is modified by including whiteness kinetics of rice kernel. The long grain rice (Suphanburi 1 high amylose indica variety), which consists of 27% amylose was used for all experiments. The experiments were carried out at the average ambient temperature range of 28.6–30.8°C, average relative humidity of 65.2–80.6% with a fixed bed depth of 1.0 m. Specific air flow rates of 0.65 and 0.93 m³/min-m³ of paddy were forced continuously through the paddy bulk at initial moisture contents of 18.5% and 20.1% wet basis, respectively. The desired final moisture content of paddy is about 13.3 ± 0.6% wet basis. The results show that drying rate and the whiteness predictions are in good agreement with those from the experiments. The in-store drying using ambient air condition did not produce notable effect on the rice whiteness, head rice yield, and the percentage of paddy germination. However, the hardness, stickiness, and cohesiveness of rice were changed.     

Drying of Turnip Seeds with Microwaves in Fixed and Pulsed Fluidized Beds

This article presents experimental and modeled drying kinetics of turnip seeds as a function of the type of air-particle contact (fixed bed, pulsed fluidized bed), humidity of the air, and three levels of microwave irradiation. The effects of those factors on the drying time required to reach a moisture content of 0.1 kg/kg d.b. were determined with an experimental design of 12 experiments by using the software Statgraphics. It was found that in drying, a significant factor was the application of microwaves to a pulsed fluidized bed. The effect of the humidity of the air only became noticed when the moisture contents of the seeds was below 0.2 kg/kg d.b. The simplified variable diffusivity model (SVDM) gave the least deviations for the experimental data. The effective diffusivity values determined in this work are similar to those informed in the literature for experiments without microwave application. The application of microwaves in combination with pulsed fluidization of the turnip seeds resulted in a fourfold increase of the effective diffusivity.     

A Small-Scale Pneumatic Conveying Dryer of Rough Rice

This article studies the possibility of reducing the high initial moisture content of wet rough rice using a small-scale low-cost pneumatic conveying dryer as a first stage dryer. The parameters investigated are final moisture content, surface temperature of rough rice, head rice yield, drying rate, power consumption per unit mass of evaporated water, and physical characteristics of rice. Parametric effects of the following variables are examined: velocity of drying air from 20 to 30 m/s, feed rate of rough rice from 150 to 350 kg/h, initial moisture content from 22 to 26% (wet basis), and drying air temperature from 35 to 70°C. From the experimental results, it is found that this drying method can be used for fresh rough rice with an initial moisture content of over 24% (wet basis). The drying process is able to lead to very rapid drying without any grain quality problems such as cracks in the rice kernel. The moisture content can be reduced to approximately 18% (wet basis) or about 5–6% of the initial moisture content within 3–4 s. The optimal drying air temperature is in the range of 50 to 60°C. A comparison of pneumatic conveying drying data obtained from the present study with fluidized bed drying data reported in the open literature is also discussed.