Rice Milling System

Nitat Tangpinijkul
Post-harvest Engineering Research Group
Agricultural Engineering Research Institute
Department of Agriculture
 Rice Milling

The processes of converting paddy into rice

• Removing the husk from the paddy
• Removing all or part of the bran layer
 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. Depending on the requirements
of the customer, the rice should have a
minimum of broken kernels.
Factors Affecting Milling Recovery
• Paddy quality
• Type of machinery, efficiency, system
• Operator
• Others
• milling degree
• ambient condition

Milling Recovery = Weight produced milled rice x 100%

Weight processed paddy
Course : Grain Quality
Module 4 : Rice Milling
Lesson 1 : Introduction to the milling process and its outputs

If Then
you have good the mill will produce
quality paddy in a high quality head
well-maintained mill rice.
Good that is operated by a
Equipment skilled miller,
you use poor quality the mill will always
paddy, produce poor quality
milled rice, despite
Good Paddy Skilled the skill or the miller
Rice Miller or maintenance of
the mill.
the miller is not the use of good
skilled, milling equipment
and good quality
paddy does not
guarantee a high
quality product
Course : Grain Quality
Module 3 : Determining the Physical Characteristics of Paddy Rice
Lesson 1 : The quality characteristics

Quality characteristics of paddy

These characteristics are

determined by the
environmental weather
conditions during
production, crop
production practices, soil
conditions, harvesting,
and post harvest
practices
Course : Grain Quality
Module 3 : Determining the Physical Characteristics of Paddy Rice
Lesson 1 : The quality characteristics

QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC: MOISTURE CONTENT

Moisture content has a significant

influence on all aspects of paddy
quality. To obtain high yields, it is
essential that paddy be milled at
the proper moisture content.
Paddy is at its optimum milling
potential when its moisture
content is 14%
Course : Grain Quality
Module 3 : Determining the Physical Characteristics of Paddy Rice
Lesson 1 : The quality characteristics

QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC: IMMATURE

Immature rice kernels are

very slender and chalky and
result in the production of
excessive bran, broken
grains and brewer’s rice
Course : Grain Quality
Module 3 : Determining the Physical Characteristics of Paddy Rice
Lesson 1 : The quality characteristics

QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC: VARIETAL PURITY

A mixture of varieties in a sample

of paddy causes difficulties in
milling and usually results in
reduced milling capacity,
excessive breakage, lower milled
rice recovery, and reduced head
rice yields.
Course : Grain Quality
Module 3 : Determining the Physical Characteristics of Paddy Rice
Lesson 1 : The quality characteristics

QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC: DOCKAGE

Dockage includes chaff,

stones, weed seeds, soil,
rice straw, stalks and other
foreign matter. These
impurities generally come
from the field or from the
drying floor.
Course : Grain Quality
Module 3 : Determining the Physical Characteristics of Paddy Rice
Lesson 1 : The quality characteristics

QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC: DISCOLORED

Water, insects and heat

exposure can cause paddy to
deteriorate through biochemical
changes in the grain which may
result in the development of off-
doors and changes in physical
appearance
Course : Grain Quality
Module 3 : Determining the Physical Characteristics of Paddy Rice
Lesson 1 : The quality characteristics

QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC: CRACKED

Overexposure of mature paddy

to fluctuating temperature and
moisture conditions leads to
the development of crack in
individual kernels.
 OTHERS QUALITY CHARACTERISTIC:

• Weight per volume or density, gram/litre

Weight per 100 or 1000 grains
Thai rice variety: 100 grains weight 2.25 - 3.67 g

• Color of Husk
Affecting color of parboil rice

• Color of Brown rice

Affecting color of parboil rice
Milling recovery and quality of milled rice grade
• Grain Dimension
Grain size and shape (length-width ratio) is a varietal
property. Long slender grains normally have greater
breakage than short, bold grains and consequently have a
lower milled rice recovery
Type of Paddy : Length of brown rice
Extra long ≥ 7.5
Long ≥ 6.5 < 7.5
Medium ≥ 5.5 < 6.5
Short < 5.5
Sub-type of Paddy : Length/Width Ratio
Slender ≥ 3.0
Bold ≥ 2.0 < 3.0
Round < 2.0
Thai rice variety: Length 7.1 - 7.6 mm
Slender 3.1 – 3.4
• Chalkiness
• grain with opaque areas in the endosperm, caused by
the loose packing of the starch and protein particles,
breaks more readily during milling than clear grain,
greatly reducing its market value
• controlled by genetic and environment

white center white belly white back

Good Quality Paddy
• uniformly mature kernels
• uniform size and shape (vareital purity)
• free of fissures and cracks
• free of empty or half filled grains
• less chalky, red kernel
• free of contaminants such as stones and weed seeds
• moisture content ~ 14%
• high milling yield variety

Ø Good variety, good crop management

Ø Harvest at optimum period
Ø Drying immediately after harvest to safe level m.c.
Ø Proper drying to prevent cracking
Ø Good aeration during storage to prevent grain deterioration
Ø Prevent birds & rodents during storage
 Purity of paddy
Milling Recovery = Weight produced milled rice x 100%
Weight processed paddy

Purity % Impurity % Milled rice %

100 0 68.00
99 1 67.32
98 2 66.54
97 3 65.96
96 4 65.28
95 5 64.60
 Cracks
Bran Rice
grain
Embryo

Bran Rice flour

Embryo Splinters

Total bran produced

+ = when whitening
cracked grains
 Paddy Quality
Good Crack Immatured Japonica
Paddy 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Husk 23.0 23.0 25.0 17.0
Brown Rice 77.0 77.0 75.0 83.0
Bran 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.5
Milled Rice 69.0 67.0 65.0 75.5
Brewer Rice 1.0 1.5 1.5 0.5
Recovery 68.0 65.5 63.5 75.0
 Size of Rice Mill
• Small 12 ton/day
• earning from bran, broken or money as milling wage
• no grading of milled rice
• Medium 13-59 ton/day
• commercial mill
• for domestic market
• Large > 60 ton/day
• for domestic market and export
Number of rice mill by region, 1993 - 1997

Year North- Northern Central Southern Whole

Eastern Plain Kingdom
1993 25,213 10,183 5,223 4,400 45,019

1994 24,905 10,104 5,156 4,395 44,560

1995 24,888 10,065 5,129 4,390 44,472

1996 24,887 10,049 5,114 4,386 44,436

1997 28,533 8,779 3,232 2,731 43,275

Source : Factory Control Division, Ministry of Industry
Number of rice mill in Suphanburi province (2004)

Number of village 962

Number of Rice mill 194
< 5 ton/day 90 (46.4%)
> 5 < 20 ton/day 42 (21.6%)
> 20 ton/day 62 (32.0%)
 PRICE LIST OF MODERN RICE MILL
RICE ENGINEERING SUPPLY CO., LTD.
(BANGKOK, THAILAND)
For Month January-April 2008

Capacity (Paddy) Price (F.O.B)

Ton/Hour Ton/Day (USD)
2-3 50-80 348,000
4-5 100-120 624,000
8-10 200-240 1,050,000
18-20 420-500 1,824,000
All price exclude installation cost, electric motor, cable, control etc.
The Aim of Rice Milling

• To attain the highest

yield of white rice
• With the best quality
– Remove least amount
of hull and bran
– Minimum brokens
– Little foreign matter
Rice milling system
• 0ne step process
• Two step process
• 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.
In multistage milling, rice will undergo a number of
different processing steps.
 Rice Milling Process
Paddy into rice mill

Cleaning Impurity

Paddy

Husking Husk

Paddy, Brown rice

Paddy
Paddy Separation
Brown rice

Whitening & Polishing Bran

Milled rice
Head rice
Grading and Blending Broken
Paddy Intake
• Quality input = quality output
• Garbage in = garbage out!

The quality of milled white

rice will be dependant on
the quality of the paddy or
rough rice coming into the
mill as well as the milling
process. Good paddy into
the mill means quality
milled rice output.
Paddy intake chute
Paddy Cleaning
• After harvest, foreign matter can be as
high as 5-10%
While most paddy has been
cleaned after harvesting, some
foreign material is still present.
This can be as high as 5-10%.

Rice pre-cleaner
Pre-cleaning of Paddy
• Remove foreign material such as sand,
stones, straw, seeds etc. from paddy
• Prevent damage to the milling machinery
• Prevent clogging which cause the reduction
in capacity and efficiency of rice mill
• Remove materials that cause a reduction in
the grade of milled rice
Paddy Precleaner
• Sieve: separate large/ small impurities
• Aspirator: separate light impurities
• De-stoner: separate same size impurities but
heavier
• Trieur (Length Grader) : separate impurities
having same width but different in length
• Magnet : separate irons
Open double-sieve precleaner

Examples of
perforated sheets
and wire mesh
 Closed-type Closed-type
single-action aspirator double-action aspirator
precleaner precleaner
Double-drum type of Single-drum type of
Precleaner Precleaner
(West Germany) (Japan)
Magnetic separator

Brass

A, B: Simple permanent magnet

C: Rotating brass cylinder and
permanent magnet
Magnet
De-stoner
 Paddy in

Paddy

Stone
Air stream
 Vibration direction

Stone

rice

Wind direction
 De-husking

• Underrun disc huller

• Rubber roll huller
• Centrifugal disc huller
Underrun disc huller

Paddy

Brown rice
Husk
Particulars of the under-
runner disc huller:
V = peripheral speed
(recommended 14 m/s);
W = width of coating;
D = stone diameter;
and W/D = 1/6 or 1/7.

Ratio of W/D ~ 1/6 or 1/7

Composition:
• Emery grit 14, 16
• Silicium carbide grit 16
Peripheral speed ~ 14 m/s
Under-runner disc huller
peripheral speed-curve for
V = 14 m/s.

D = stone diameter = 700

mm (0.7 m);
and V peripheral speed =
14 m/s.

V = ¶ x D x n (m/s)
60
n = 60 x V = 60 x 14
¶xD 3.14 x 0.7
= 380 rpm.
 Capacity and power requirement of
underrun disc huller

Diameter Capacity Motor

(mm) (kg of paddy/hr) (hp)
750 450-600 3
1000 700-1000 3.5
1250 1000-1400 4
1400 1600-2100 5.5
 Underrun disc huller
• Advantage
§ Operational simplicity, low running cost
§ The abrasive covering can be remade at the
site
• Disadvantage
§ Given grain breakage
§ The abrasions to outer bran layers
 Rubber Roll Huller

Rice Huller

Rollers
 Dehusking principle of rubber roll huller:
• The rubber roll huller consists of two rubber rolls.
• Both rolls have the same diameter.
• One has a fixed position, the other is adjustable to obtain
the desired clearance between the two rolls.
• The rolls rotate in opposite directions.
• The adjustable roll speed running about 25% slower than
the fixed one.
 Size and speed of the rubber roll
When the rolls are new, their peripheral speed is about 14 m/s
so that a smaller roll runs faster than a larger one.

High Low
Diameter Width speed speed
(mm) (Inch) (mm) (Inch) (rpm) (rpm)
150 6 64 2.5 1320 900
220 8.5 76 3 1200 900
250 10 250 10 1000 740
 The relation between paddy variety and hulling capacity
• The wear for long grain variety is higher than short grain.
• The wear of adjustable roll is lower than the fixed one.
 Durability of Rubber Rolls

Type Short grain Long grain

(Inch) (ton) (ton)
10 300 170
8 240 140
6 110 60
4 75 40
3 35 20
2.5 30 15
 Capacity and power requirement for
different rubber roll hullers

Size Diameter Width Capacity (ton/hr) Motor

Long Short
(Inch) (mm) (mm) grain grain (hp)

4 100 220 0.9 1.25 2.5

6 150 220 1.2 1.9 4.0
10 254 254 2.2 3.8 6.0
 Rubber Roll Huller

• Advantage
§ Hulling efficiency is higher.
§ Reduce grain breakage and loss of small
broken.
§ The silver skin of brown rice is undamaged.
§ Sieving the husked products is unnecessary.
• Disadvantage
§ The cost of replacing rubber rolls.
 Husk Separation
Paddy

Dehusker
Brown rice, Broken, Paddy, Bran, Husk

Brewer Coarse
rice Sieve bran

Husk Aspirator Husk

Brown rice, Broken, Paddy

Paddy Separator
Husk Aspirator
 Plansifter &
Husk Aspirator
Closed Circuit Husk Aspirator

1 เกลียวลําเลียงแกลบ
2 เกลียวลําเลียงเมล็ดออน
3 เกลียวลําเลียงขาวกลอง/
ขาวเปลือก
4 แผนปรับลม
5 แผนปรับลม
Rubber roll huller with husk aspirator
 Huller with
Husk Aspirator

(BUHLER: DRHC/DRSC)
 Paddy Separation
• Removal of paddy from brown rice

After husk 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. The separated
paddy is returned to the husker for dehusking.
Paddy and brown rice have different characteristics
• Weight per volume of paddy is less than that of brown rice,
• Specific gravity of paddy is lower than that of brown rice,
• Dimensions of paddy are longer, wider and thicker,
• Coefficient of friction is different.
Types of paddy separators
• Compartment (table) type
• Tray type
• Screen type

(BUHLER: DNTB)
Compartment-type Separator
The main part of this paddy separator is the oscillating compartment-
assembly where the actual separation of paddy and brown rice takes place.
The compartment-assembly consists of a number of compartments in one,
two, three, or sometimes four decks.
The number of compartments depends on the capacity of the rice mill,
 Paddy, brown rice

high
low

Paddy Brown rice

Paddy, brown rice

Paddy

Brown rice
 High Paddy HUSKER

a Adjustment
• Speed 90 - 120 strokes/min
• Slope
• Stroke

Lower Brown rice WHITENER

Tray type separator
First rubber roll huller

Second rubber roll huller

 Whitening Machine
• Removes bran layer to produce white rice.
• Amount of bran removed (usually 8-12%)
 Whitening
Whitening Actions
• Abrasive type
High speed / Low
pressure
• Griding action
• Impact action

• Friction type
Low speed / High
pressure
• Tearing action
• Cutting action
 Milled rice & bran

Friction type Abrasive type

Smooth Rough
surface surface

Large Fine
 Whitening Machine
• Vertical abrasive whitening cone
• Horizontal abrasive whitener
• Horizontal friction-type whitener
• Bottom-Up Vertical friction-type whitener
 Feeding
Air
Vertical Abrasive Abrasive
Whitening Cone cone

Wire
mesh
Rubber
brake

Bran
sweeper

Bran
Rice

Level
adjust
 Number of Brakes = Cone Diameter - 2
100
Eg. Cone Diameter = 600 mm
Number of Brakes = 600/100 – 2 = 4

Peripheral Speed 13 m/s

 Capacity of Cone-type Whitener
(kg of brown rice / hr)

Diameter Power 1 Cone 2 Cones 3 Cones

mm hp Long grain Short grain Long grain Short grain Long grain Short grain

500 4 350 420 570 680 680 800

600 7.5 550 650 890 1100 1050 1250

800 10 750 900 1230 1450 1460 1725

1000 15 1000 1200 1700 2000 1900 2300

1250 20 1350 1600 2200 2600 2600 3000

1500 25 1700 2000 2700 3200 3200 3800

 Composition

Whitening Cone No. 1 and No. 2

Emery grit 16 25%
Silicium carbide grit 16 50%
Silicium carbide grit 18 25%

Whitening Cone No. 3

Emery grit 18 25%
Silicium carbide grit 18 75%
Horizontal abrasive whitener
 Horizontal abrasive whitener

Abrasive roll
Screw

Counter
Weight

Bran

Aspirator
 Resistance pieces

Abrasive grit Screen

#30, 36
Long Short
grain grain
900
%
Bran
450

00

0 30 45 60 90
 Characteristics of
Abrasive Action Milling
(Speed 12 - 13 m/s)
 Shaping Action Factors

Condition Flat Shape Slim shape Round Shape

Peripheral Speed Low Medium High

Roll Grit Small Medium Large

Pressure High Medium Low

Horizontal friction-type whitener
 Brown rice
Perforated
sheet Milling
roll

P control

Bran
Milled rice Aspirator

Screw

Perforated
sheet
 Characteristics of
Low-Speed Machine
(Friction-type)
Effect of Ventilation on Low Speed Machine
(Friction-type Whitener)
Bottom-Up Vertical friction-type whitener
(SATAKE)
 Polisher

• Humidifying Rice Milling Machine

• Vertical Polishing Cone – Brush type
• Vertical Polishing Cone – Leather type
• Horizontal Polisher – Leather type
Humidifying Rice Milling Machine
 Nozzle

Bran
Water addition rate 0.3 - 0.4 %
Mold Growth on Rice from Non-Humidifying
and Humidifying Milling
Humifying rice-milling machine is used in the
last step of whitening system
 Characteristics of
Humidifying Milling
Machine
Polisher

(BUHLER: DRPE)
Vertical Polishing
Cone
– Brush type
Vertical Polishing Cone - Leather type
Horizontal
Polisher
 Whitening System
System 1 2 3 4 5

Long grain (Indica)

1 Abrasive Abrasive Abrasive - -

2 Abrasive Abrasive Abrasive Vent Friction -

3 Abrasive Abrasive Abrasive Hu Friction -

4 Abrasive Abrasive Abrasive Vent Friction Hu Friction

Short grain (Japonica)

1 Abrasive Vent Friction Vent Friction Vent Friction Hu Friction

Milling System for Indica-type variety

ABRAS ABRAS ABRAS ABRAS ABRAS ABRAS FRICT FRICT

Abrasive Friction
Combined System vs
Low Speed System

Combined System
(High + Low speed)
1st Vertical whitening roll
2nd Vertical whitening roll
3rd Hor Humidifying friction
polisher
 Grading
Size of brokens according to Thai Rice Standard (1997)
General standard

Japanese standard
A from B : By thickness
A from C : By thickness / length
B from C : By length

A from B : By length

Bold grain
A from B/C : By thickness / length
B from C : By length

Slender grain
A from B/C : By length
B from C : By length
 Grading of White Rice
• After polishing,
white rice
contains:
– Head rice
– Large brokens
– Small brokens
• The white rice is
separated using
– Sifter Rotary Seiver
– Length grader
Rotary Sifter
White Rice Grading

One double layers sifter

and two trieurs in
parallel.

One double layers sifter

and three trieurs in
series.
 Rice Mixing
• An efficient rice mill will produce:
– 50% head rice (whole kernels)
– 5-15% large broken and
– 5-15% small broken kernels
• Depending on the country’s standards, rice
grades in the market will contain from 5-25%
broken kernels.
 Rice Mixing
Small Large Whole
brokens brokens kernels

Variable speed motors

allow the mill operator to
mix the appropriate
amount of whole kernels
with large and small
brokens.
Rice Weighing
• Rice is normally sold in
50 kg sacks which scales
must be accurately
weighed and labeled.

Bag filler and

weighing
Color Sorter
 Conveying System

Scaling and Packaging System

Duct Collecting System

Milling Quality Assessment
Assessment the milling quality of paddy
• Sampling / dividing
• Measure moisture content
• Cleaning sample
• Milling test
• Grading
Sample divider
Scale Sieve
Aspirator
Moisture Meter
Resistance type
Capacitance type

Oven for m.c. determination

130oC 1 hr
103oC 72 hr
105oC 5 hr
A, B : Weight per Volume Tester
C : Volume Measuring Cylinder
D : Counting plate
Rubber roll huller
Abrasive-type Whitener
Length Grader, Trieur
Friction-type Whitener
Friction-type Whitener with Length Grader
 Procedures for Milling Quality Assessment

Using Abrasive-type Whitener

• Weigh clean paddy 250 g
• De-husk paddy with the rubber roll husker
• Weigh brown rice
• Whiten brown rice w the abrasive type whitener for 90 s
• Weigh milled rice
• Separate broken from milled rice w the trieur for 90 s
• Weigh head milled rice
 Procedures for Milling Quality Assessment

Using Friction-type Whitener (De-husking method)

• Weigh clean paddy 100 g
• De-husk paddy with the rubber roll husker
• Weigh brown rice
• Whiten brown rice w the friction-type whitener for 25 s
• Weigh milled rice
• Separate broken from milled rice w the length grader for 90 s
• Weigh head milled rice
 Procedures for Milling Quality Assessment

Using Friction-type Whitener (Un-husking method)

• Weigh clean paddy 100 g
• Whiten paddy with the friction-type whitener for 30 s
• Weigh milled rice
• Separate broken from milled rice with the trieur for 90 s
• Weigh head milled rice
Brown Rice Recovery = Wt of Brown Rice x 100 %
Wt of Paddy

Milled Rice Recovery = Wt of Milled Rice x 100 %

Wt of Paddy

Head Rice Recovery = Wt of Head Rice x 100 %

Wt of Paddy

Milling Degree = (Wt of WBR – Wt of WMR) x 100 %

Wt of WBR

WBR = Weight of whole brown rice 1000 kernels

WMR = Weight of whole milled rice 1000 kernels
 Moisture Content = Wt of Water x 100
Wt of Sample

After Drying Weight = (100 - Initial MC.) x Initial Weight

(100 - Final MC.)

Eg. Paddy 500 t with initial MC 26%

Final MC after drying is 14%
Then After Drying
Weight = (100 - 26) x 50000 = 430,23 t
(100 - 14)
Thank you