RICE MILLING

B. Mvumi
 Introduction
• Rice milling is one of the postharvest handling
technology that is quite popular with rice farmers
• Rice milling machines help to increase the
marketability of rice 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.
 Steps in Rice Processing
(1) Paddy rice huller is used to break and release bran (husk). Input materials
of this machine is a un-hulled rice with a moisture content of about 14% and
output in the form of brown rice
(2) Husk separator is used to separate grain of rice and husk using a blower
system
– System utilizes the difference in specific gravity between rice and husk.
– Husk has a smaller specific gravity and is sucked by the blower, while rice
tends not to be affected by the air blower and goes straight out through the
rice outlet.

(3) Rice polisher is used to remove the epidermis (aleuron) on brown rice to
produce white rice that is ready to be marketed or cooked
– Machine uses the screw extruder system in the cylinder which has the inner
surface uneven
– When brown rice fed into the cylinder it will jostle and rub against the cylinder
surface which causes the epidermis to be eroded.

(4) Rice shifter is used to separate the rice based group quality such as whole
rice (best quality) and broken rice (second quality).
• Rice mills vary in capacity from 250 kg to 5 t/h
• Small-scale mills fall into two categories:
– steel hullers, and (research & make notes)
– rubber roll mills
• These are a one-pass operation in that a batch of paddy is
processed in a single machine
• Within the machine are a number of processing components each
with a dedicated purpose
• Throughput is dependent on the size of the machine and the quality
of the raw material but is generally in the range of 500-5000 kg/h
• Paddy is fed into the mill and passes through a single pair of rolls,
coated with a layer of rubber
• The gap between the rolls is set in such a way that the husk is split
open and removed with minimal damage to the rice kernel
• The dehusked grain (brown rice) then passes to an integral polisher,
usually an abrasive cylinder, where the bran and germ are removed
• Large-scale mills (typically 2-4 tonnes per hour) operate on
the same system as the small rubber roll mills though there
is a separate machine for each unit operation
• Extra equipment may be added to further improve product
quality
• Large-scale mills usually have additional components such
as:
– grain cleaners,
– destoners,
– broken grain separators, and
– colour sorters to ensure production of a high-quality, uniform
product
 1) Shutter-main valve,
Paddy Rice Huller controls the expenditure of
grain in hopper.
and Husk Separator 2) Feeding roll, a roll leveler
serves to regulate the
importation and spread the
rice on the rubber roll.
3) Rubber roll-breaker of rice
4) Roll gap adjuster, serves as
spacer rubber rollers.
5) Distribution, divides flow
of rice out of a rubber roll.
6) Wind adjuster controls the
air entering the blower.
7) Blower, suction air
function is the air flow from
inlet to rice husk and then
brought out through husk
outlet.
8) Husk outlet, serves as the
drain husk
9) Rice outlet, serves as a
channel that has a separate
rice with husk
The basic concept of huller rubber rolls
• Paddy rice huller uses two pieces of rubber roll as a means
of breaking the un-hulled rice
• Both roll is mounted adjacent (parallel) with a certain
distance and rotated at different speeds in opposite
directions
• Roller that rotates at high speed is called main rollers or
fixed roll, while the other roll is called auxiliary rollers or
moveable roll
• The main roll is mounted on a stationary shaft while the
auxiliary roller mounted on a shaft whose position can be
shifted to adjust the distance (gap) between the two roll
• Auxiliary roll speed should be slower - about 24% of the
main roll.
• The basic concept of 'huller rubber roll' is the process of
peel bran (husk) using frictional forces that occur between
rice and rubber roll
• When un-hulled rice goes through the gap between the
rubber roll
– on the one hand it will be restrained due to friction with the
auxiliary roll, and
– on the other hand will be pushed due to friction with the main
roll
• Because the distance between the two rollers is set at
around 0.5-0.8 mm or smaller than the thickness of the un-
hulled rice grain
– then the friction that occurs will be stronger than the resilience
husk itself resulting in the husk being separated from brown
rice.
 The basic concept of husk separator
• Husk separator using air blower system with the
capacity to suck husk but unable to suck brown rice
• Separation possible because of differences in density
between brown rice and husk; brown rice has the
higher density
• The machine is equipped with two air ducts
– The first ducts as the main separator which serves to suck
out husk from the rubber roll
– The second ducts serves as a second separator.
• If there is any brown rice carried along with the husk on the main
separator or if there are husks carried along with paddy rice on the
main separator, it will be separated again by the second separator.
 Controls in the Rice Mill Machine
• Huller processing speed can be set through:
– the shutter,
– the feed adjuster, and
– roll gap adjuster
• The speed and power of the suction blower
can be adjusted by the wind adjuster handle